1 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,559 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 2: Guess what Will? What's that Mango? 4 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: So I was listening to an old Ezra client podcast 5 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: this week and it was about burnout and how email 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: and other constant work communications can lead to fatigue, which 7 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: is fascinating. But in this conversation he makes this aside 8 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: to this professor he's talking to, and he mentions he's 9 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: gotten really into weightlifting recently, and one of the things 10 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: he says is that there are all these things you 11 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,319 Speaker 1: don't know as an amateur at the gym, and if 12 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: you're a serious weightlifter, you should be eating gummy bears 13 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: after a. 14 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 2: Workout, gummy bears, Like are there special gunning bears for training? 15 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 2: Are we just talking regular gummy bears? 16 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: Regular gummy bears? And So I looked this up immediately 17 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: after I heard it, and the funny thing is I 18 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: had just come back from playing sports, and as soon 19 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: as I heard that, I didn't need any convincing. I 20 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: just like belged to the bodega around the corner from 21 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: my house and bought gummy bears and shoved them into 22 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:08,759 Speaker 1: my face for my muscles. 23 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 2: Which by the way, is the right way to eat them? 24 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 2: There are two ways to eat gummy bears. You either 25 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 2: eat two at a time, both of the same color, 26 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 2: one on each side of the mouth, or you just 27 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,960 Speaker 2: take a handful and you just push as many as 28 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 2: you ca there. But anyway, is there any truth to that? Like, 29 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 2: do gummy bears actually help with recovery? Yeah? 30 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,400 Speaker 1: I hadn't realized this, but apparently it's pretty well known 31 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: among athletes, and so I found this article in Swimmer's 32 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: World which explains how, after working out with the fibers 33 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: in your muscles, get these miniature tears, which is a 34 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 1: good thing because that's how you grow stronger, and they 35 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,919 Speaker 1: refer to it as a microtrauma, which alerts your body 36 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: that you need nutrients, particularly amino acids, to repair them. 37 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: But because repairing these muscles requires energy, gummy bears and 38 00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: other high glycemic carbohydrates with dextros or alt dextrin, they 39 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: provide this quick hit of sugar to kickstart replenishing what's 40 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: been lost, And because your body is still sort of 41 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: using energy from the workout, the sugar gets put to 42 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: use immediately and it doesn't get stored as fat. 43 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 2: I now know exactly why you chose to do this episode, like, 44 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 2: this is total permission for you to eat gummy bears 45 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 2: as long as you've done like a little bit of exercise. 46 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 2: This is awesome. I know. 47 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: Now I'm gonna do like a single jumping jack and 48 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: tell my family I've got to go to the store 49 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: to get some gummy bears sot on. It did make 50 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: me wonder what other surprises are gummy bears hiding, And 51 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: that's what today's episode is all about. 52 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 2: Hey there, podcat listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm 53 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 2: Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good 54 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 2: friend Mangesh Hot Ticketter and sitting behind that great big 55 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 2: booth and Mango. This one took me a minute. Dylan 56 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 2: is going much deeper with his cuts right now. So 57 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,919 Speaker 2: he's got a rolling pin. He's got a pie sitting 58 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:18,359 Speaker 2: off to the side. It took me a second to 59 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 2: see that. And he's wearing an apron. I was like, 60 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 2: what is he doing? And then he put on the 61 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 2: bear ears. He's Grammy Gummy from one of the greatest 62 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 2: cartoons of all time, The Adventures of Gum Years. Did 63 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 2: you watch that show as a kid? Yeah, of course, 64 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 2: so good. Anyway, well done, Dylan. That's our trusted producer, 65 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 2: Dylan Fagan over there, all right, Mango. So I know 66 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 2: for a fact that we've been friends for a very 67 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 2: long time, and then almost every time you've had a 68 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 2: big essay to write or a big assignment in college, 69 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 2: you'd go to the convenience store right there on campus 70 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 2: and you'd get some gummy candy. Am I right? 71 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, I know it's totally embarrassing, but I think it's 72 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: because I don't like writing, or at least I don't 73 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: like starting writing. So I love research, I love thinking 74 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: about ideas, collecting facts talking about them, but writing a 75 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: paper always feels so overwhelming to me, And somehow, having 76 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: a treat while doing it feels like I'm rewarding myself 77 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: for starting, which is ridiculous but also weirdly. Gummy candies 78 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: are something that remind me of my dad. Like before 79 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: I would travel to various high school events, whether it 80 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: was for like science Olympics or soccer tournaments or jazz 81 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: band competitions or whatever, my dad would always sneak a 82 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: little bag of Harrybo gummy bears in my backpack. Is 83 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: a treat and somehow it was kind of like this, 84 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: like good luck charm, and I think it's a mix 85 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: of all of that that keeps me loving gummies. 86 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 2: Oh, I love that. It's such a great story. I 87 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 2: actually don't think I knew that right. Well, it's interesting 88 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 2: to look at candy and emotions, just sort of the 89 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 2: connection there. Like, obviously there's no shortage of anecdotal evidence 90 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 2: of people eating ice cream or chocolate as a treat 91 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 2: just for a pick me up. But you know, one 92 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,480 Speaker 2: of the things I was fascinated by was Sweden's relationship 93 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 2: to gummy candies. There's this New Yorker piece from twenty eighteen. 94 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 2: It's called how to Eat Candy Like a Swedish Person, 95 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:10,919 Speaker 2: and in it the writer talks about how people in 96 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 2: Nordic countries are crazy for gummies. So, according to the article, 97 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 2: the government ran this study and it showed that Swedes 98 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 2: eat more candy per year per capita than the citizens 99 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,600 Speaker 2: of any other country. And it's not close. It's more 100 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,600 Speaker 2: than thirty pounds per person. So it's incredible how much 101 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 2: candy that they eat. And part of it is because 102 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,559 Speaker 2: every Saturday people like to go out and they buy 103 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 2: this bag of sweet treats. Isn't that awesome? They do 104 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,600 Speaker 2: this every Saturday, I think so. Like according to the piece, 105 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,440 Speaker 2: people trudge out to the store every Saturday they get 106 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 2: themselves something. I think it's pronounced lord AC's goddess and 107 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 2: it means Saturday candy. And it's because in the nineteen 108 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 2: forties the Swedish government performed all these tests on the 109 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 2: hazards of consuming too many sweets, and so when they 110 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,159 Speaker 2: realized that eating this candy was adding the nation's teeth, 111 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 2: they actually urge citizens to limit their intake. But because 112 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 2: they knew total abstinence would get them nowhere, they had 113 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 2: this suggestion. They said, consume as much candy as you'd like, 114 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 2: but only on one day a week. And that's how 115 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 2: this Saturday tradition of going to the store and getting 116 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 2: yourself a big bag of pick and mix. That that's 117 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 2: how this all began. And the article goes on to 118 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,720 Speaker 2: explain that the country almost treats it like self care 119 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 2: because in Sweden it gets really dark in the winters, 120 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 2: as we know, and people rely on things like sugar 121 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 2: to get through the season. And it's also why the 122 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 2: country drinks so much coffee per capita Anyway, the thing 123 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 2: I liked most in the article is this bit where 124 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 2: a friend of the journalist relays that when you look 125 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 2: at each person's candy bag, it almost reflects their state 126 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:48,719 Speaker 2: of mind and like what they need to get through 127 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 2: the day or through that week. 128 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:51,719 Speaker 1: Oh I love that that you can look, like at 129 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: a bag of Swedish fish and various candies that someone's pulled, 130 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: and I almost see it as like an individualized prescription 131 00:06:58,080 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: for bringing them a little joy. 132 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, no, it's pretty cool. You would see all 133 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 2: twenty seven varieties of reeses in the mix with my 134 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 2: candy each week, and I don't know, I guess understand 135 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 2: how I was feeling. But anyway, where do you want 136 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 2: to begin with your first factor of the day here? 137 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: So I think we should talk about the history of 138 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: gummy bears and gummy worms and things like that. But 139 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: before we do, I want to talk about this one 140 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: fact because it's really sweet. So you know, I'm obsessed 141 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: with the Cornell Food Lab and the way they do 142 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,679 Speaker 1: all sorts of food innovations and food science studies. 143 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, I was actually thinking about this not too 144 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 2: long ago. I was remembering back at Mental Floss. You 145 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 2: always wanted to do this story about how they'd added 146 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 2: caffeine to breakfast. Heereal, I guess for people who didn't 147 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 2: like coffee, right. 148 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, And it isn't just that, like, there are innovations 149 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: in ice cream and snacks. Made me actually wonder whether 150 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: I should go into food science at one point because 151 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: it just felt so Willy Wonka ish. But they also 152 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: do a lot of psychology and marketing studies. Actually, my 153 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: favorite study, and this is an aside, but it had 154 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: to do with cereal boxes and they analyzed all these 155 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: cereal blocks is the sugary ones for kids, and on 156 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: the packaging they noticed that often the cartoon characters or 157 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: mascots are drawn looking down to catch the eyes of 158 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 1: children in the grocery aisle, which is crazy and so devious, 159 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: but apparently it's a big marketing point. 160 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, but back to my fact. 161 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: So, one of the things you think about when you 162 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: think about COVID or the lockdown is how many experiences 163 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: kids missed out on. You know, you think about like 164 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: prom or playing in tournaments or getting to go to 165 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: graduations or whatever. And one of the things Cornell's paper 166 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: writes about is that the freshmen at Cornell, who were 167 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,319 Speaker 1: food science majors, got to knock out a lot of 168 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: their chemistry lessons, but they didn't get the joy of 169 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: experimenting in the lab. And that's because the kids got 170 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: sent home midway through their semester in March. And so 171 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 1: this professor, Julie Goddard, who taught the intro class, made 172 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: this promise to the students of that freshman class that 173 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: she would figure out some way to make it up 174 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 1: to them. And exactly one thousand days later, which I 175 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,720 Speaker 1: guess is the anniverse, when they got sent home as freshmen, 176 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: she had a big makeup lab where all these seniors 177 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: got to make gummy worms from scratch before they graduated. 178 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: And I just love that making gummy worms is kind 179 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: of a prerequisite for graduating in this course. But also 180 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: how this professor worked behind the scenes to make it happen. 181 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:21,440 Speaker 2: Oh that's really cool, all right, So why don't we 182 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 2: get into the history of gummy bears. So the story 183 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 2: goes back to a gentleman named Hans Regal, and this 184 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 2: comes from Bonapetite, who wrote a story sort of a 185 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 2: brief history of gummy bears. So in nineteen twenty, Hans 186 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,600 Speaker 2: is a factory worker in this confection factory and he's 187 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 2: sick of this dead end job, so he started experimenting 188 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 2: at home with a gummy candy of sorts. Now, gummy 189 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 2: candies have been popular prior to this. You've got things 190 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,559 Speaker 2: like Turkish Delight, Japanese rice candies, and there are things 191 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,360 Speaker 2: like jelly babies and gum drops in England that pre 192 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,559 Speaker 2: date Regals candies. But you know, he's trying to come 193 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 2: up with something new, and he comes up with this 194 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 2: really satisfying mixture, and then he puts his candies in 195 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 2: a delightful mold, these long, thin dancing bears that resemble 196 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,920 Speaker 2: the circus bears that kids love. And in the beginning, 197 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 2: he makes his candies at home and his wife delivers 198 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:18,520 Speaker 2: them around town by bicycle, and he calls the company Harribo, 199 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 2: which is a combination of the first two letters from 200 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:25,080 Speaker 2: Hans Regal and Bond, the German town that he's from. 201 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 2: And by the time World War two begins, he's grown 202 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,559 Speaker 2: the company pretty significantly. He's got like four hundred employees 203 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 2: working for him, and he's producing ten tons of candy 204 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 2: every single day. So his dancing bears, as they're known 205 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 2: are this massive success. Now, Gummy Bears do have a 206 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 2: dark legacy, like Regal ends up fighting with the Nazis 207 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:48,680 Speaker 2: and dies in the war, and the company goes through 208 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 2: some rough times. But after the war, his sons kind 209 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:55,440 Speaker 2: of rebuild the business from scratch and by nineteen sixty 210 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 2: they're really back on their feet. They've also transformed the candies. 211 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 2: The bears have become squattier and smushier and even cutered 212 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,119 Speaker 2: in order to attract the kids, and they get renamed 213 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,440 Speaker 2: Little Gummy Bears, and the candy gets distributed across Europe. 214 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: And so up until this point, Gummy Bears haven't really 215 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: hit the US market. 216 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 2: Is that right? Yeah, that's right. Gummy Bears actually only 217 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 2: came to the US in nineteen eighty one. It makes 218 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 2: me glad that we weren't borrown long before that, because 219 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 2: it's just really, really sad. And that's because most of 220 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 2: the early demand for Gummy Bears was created by kids 221 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 2: who'd been exposed to the candies from either their German 222 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,720 Speaker 2: language teachers who had brought back packages from Europe or 223 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 2: from soldiers who had been stationed abroad and then brought 224 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 2: some of these candies home. But once they enter the 225 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 2: US market, gummies take off immediately, Jellybelly, the company that 226 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 2: makes jellybean, starts making their own gummy candies, and then 227 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 2: Trolley and other German companies enter the US market, and 228 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:56,679 Speaker 2: before long gummies are one of the most popular candies 229 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 2: in the US. Of course, Harribo continue to maintain their 230 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 2: defence and today they produce one hundred million gold bears 231 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:06,599 Speaker 2: every single day. And while people like Warren Buffett have 232 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 2: made offers to buy out the company, Harribo insists it 233 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 2: wants to continue being family run. 234 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: That's pretty interesting. So one of the things I was 235 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 1: curious about was how we moved from gummy bears to 236 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: gummy worms. And most of this research comes from a 237 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,200 Speaker 1: wonderful newsletter that I like called Snackstack. It's run by 238 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: this author we've actually had on the program, Doug Mack, 239 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: and in it he explains that German manufacturers were making 240 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 1: gummies of all sorts of zoo animal shapes starting in 241 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties, but in nineteen eighty one, Trolley introduced 242 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: something called gummy squiggles. These are the original gummy worms, 243 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 1: and unlike something like gummy bears, which were designed to 244 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: evoke this sense of fun. These gummy candies were intended 245 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 1: to create what the author refers to us quote delight 246 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:59,080 Speaker 1: by way of low risk disgust. So apparently Trolley did 247 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: some market research and realize that American consumers are open 248 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: to products that feel weird but aren't actually abnormal in 249 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 1: terms of flavors, and I guess the theory proved correct. 250 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,719 Speaker 1: In fact, Mack points to this article from the Wall 251 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 1: Street Journal in nineteen eighty four where this Minnesota deli 252 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: owner talks about how this new gross candy is selling 253 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,839 Speaker 1: like crazy. Apparently he was selling hundreds of pounds of 254 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: gummy worms a week, and in the article he says, quote, 255 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 1: I know one guy who uses them as a calling card. 256 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: He's a medical equipment salesman. So I guess all sorts 257 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:36,199 Speaker 1: of people were impressed by the novelty. Anyway, the worms 258 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: become a gateway candy for Americans to even more disgusting candies. 259 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 1: Gummy rats take off in Chicago in nineteen eighty six, 260 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 1: apparently become the second best selling candies in that city 261 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: for a period, and it launches a category of candies 262 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:52,960 Speaker 1: that the author refers to as quote creates that will 263 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: alarm your parents, and not just because of their sugar content, 264 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,360 Speaker 1: which means everything from gummy bacon to roadkill gummy to. 265 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,120 Speaker 2: Fake toxic waste candy to all. 266 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: The extreme candies that exist on the market today. 267 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 2: You know, I've always been into like different and weird candies, 268 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 2: but there's something about gummies where like there's a certain 269 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 2: number of acceptable animals and sizes that they can take 270 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 2: the form of, like gummy bears, gummy worms, other small gummies. 271 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 2: But for some reason, I don't know who's buying these, 272 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 2: like life size gummy rats and gummy pythons. I mean, 273 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 2: I know I talked earlier about loving to take as 274 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 2: many gummy bears and cramming them into my mouth as 275 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 2: much as I can, But actually there's something off about 276 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:38,000 Speaker 2: it when it feels like they're actually the size of 277 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 2: a snake you can wear around your neck. Like it's 278 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 2: just so gross to me or is it just me? 279 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:42,960 Speaker 2: Or you like this too? 280 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: It is so gross? Like I love when gummy candy 281 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: is bite sized, but not like like it has to 282 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: be bite sized for a human, not an alligator. 283 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 2: Right, yeah, yeah, so I know I mentioned this at 284 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:57,120 Speaker 2: the top of the show. Of course, you remember the 285 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 2: Saturday Morning cartoon Adventures of Gummy Bears. 286 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: I love that Dylan referenced them. But also that theme song, right, 287 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 1: they're bouncing here and there and everywhere. 288 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:08,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, he carefully can't go too far with it, fair 289 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 2: usemego so, but yes, it is a fantastic song. But 290 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 2: you know, a lot of our younger listeners have no 291 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 2: idea what you're talking about was Starting in nineteen eighty five, 292 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 2: Disney launched a Saturday morning cartoon called Adventures of the 293 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,880 Speaker 2: Gummy Bears. It was this super popular show with kids 294 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 2: of our generation, and the plotline was basically like the Smurfs. 295 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 2: But what's interesting about this knockoff is that Disney had 296 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 2: said previously they weren't interested in televised animation, Like the 297 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 2: company thought in themselves as purests, you know, they didn't 298 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 2: really want to mess with cheap TV. But the CEO 299 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,560 Speaker 2: at the time, Michael Eisner, decided that Disney really needed 300 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 2: to experiment in the space, and he was super protective 301 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 2: of Mickey Mouse and the original ip they had, so 302 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 2: he wanted to pick a whole new set of characters 303 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 2: to introduce to audiences, and he suggested Gummy Bears because 304 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 2: he knew kids were obsessed with eating gummy bears, and 305 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 2: also gummy bears were in the public domain, so we 306 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 2: didn't have to worry about licensing the characters from anyone else. 307 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,239 Speaker 2: So anyway, according to mental Loss, there are two fascinating 308 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 2: things about this one. At the time, apparently, Saturday Morning 309 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:20,360 Speaker 2: cartoons were dominated by anthropomorphic bears, from the Berenstein Bears 310 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 2: to the care Bears to the bear like animated Adventures 311 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,720 Speaker 2: of Ewoks, and so the gummy bears fit right in. 312 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 2: They were an easy entry into the space. For whatever reason. 313 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 2: I never thought about it, but we were so into 314 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 2: cartoon bears when we were kids. But the other thing 315 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 2: that's interesting is that Disney wanted to do this on 316 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 2: the cheap. They really saw this as an experiment and 317 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 2: they didn't want to invest too much money. So it's 318 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 2: one of the first animations where they outsourced the work 319 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 2: to a studio in Japan, and they end up creating 320 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 2: this really heavy dialogue driven plot so that there isn't 321 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 2: that much animation to do, and it isn't long before 322 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 2: outsourcing becomes a trend in animation. Anyway, the gummy bear 323 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 2: experiment was so successful that it actually kickstarted this renaissance 324 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:08,800 Speaker 2: and Disney animation on the small screen, So things like 325 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 2: Doug tails Ooh and Tailspin Chip Anddale Rescue Rangers, Dark 326 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 2: Wing Duck. I mean, I'm just kidding. I gotta watch 327 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:18,920 Speaker 2: all of these after this episode. They all exist because 328 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 2: they were writing on the code tales of the Gummy Bears. 329 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 2: I did not know that before this episode. 330 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,320 Speaker 1: I love that they were trying to limit the action 331 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:30,160 Speaker 1: scenes and just focusing on dialogue so that they didn't 332 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:31,679 Speaker 1: have to animate that much. Like I feel like I 333 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:34,119 Speaker 1: have to go back and watch how talkie these shows are. 334 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, like I really did so. 335 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: I know I just talked about gummy worms and gross 336 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:43,919 Speaker 1: scummy candies, but I can't get off the topic. I 337 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,479 Speaker 1: was also curious about sour candies and how we got 338 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,200 Speaker 1: into this world of extreme sour patch kids and things 339 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,719 Speaker 1: like that, and NPR has this interesting take on the genre. 340 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,600 Speaker 1: So apparently sour candies have a pretty long history, much 341 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,359 Speaker 1: longer than i'd realized. Back in the Victorian days, we 342 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:03,000 Speaker 1: had acid which were kind of a predecessor to lemonheads. 343 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,879 Speaker 1: But NPR connects gross candies to Halloween, and according to 344 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 1: food historian Samira Kahwah in her book Candy, A Century 345 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: of Panic and Pleasure. Back in the nineteen thirties, Halloween 346 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 1: treats tended to be homemade goods, right like you think 347 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: about brownies or cookies or pieces of fruit that people 348 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: used to hand out. But in the nineteen fifties, when 349 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 1: all these urban legends started about people putting razors and 350 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:31,359 Speaker 1: apples and poisoning things, people moved to buying prepackaged goods 351 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: and it just felt safer to hand out candy. And manufacturers, 352 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: of course, were very excited about this. They took advantage 353 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: and they started connecting weird and scary candies to the holidays. 354 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:46,120 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty four, the atomic Fireball, you know, those 355 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:49,880 Speaker 1: super hot cinnamon candies, they come out, which also happens 356 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: to be the same year that the US detonates their 357 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: first hydrogen bond. It's all over headlines and TV, but 358 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:00,240 Speaker 1: somehow it becomes this weird thing that's exciting for kids 359 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,399 Speaker 1: to have in their mouth. And of course, lemonheads come 360 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:05,879 Speaker 1: out in nineteen sixty two. These start playing up the 361 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,880 Speaker 1: puckery taste of citric acid. But what's interesting is that 362 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: the next entry to this sort of extra sour, extreme 363 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 1: spicy candy is Warheads, and that doesn't happen until nineteen 364 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: ninety three, but it's thanks to a guy named Peter Dijeger. 365 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 1: Yeager actually has a connection to gummy bears. He was 366 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,840 Speaker 1: an importer in the US and he had made a 367 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:29,119 Speaker 1: ton of money on importing gummy bears, and he was 368 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: looking for the next big candy sensation in the nineteen 369 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 1: nineties and he tries this sour candy from Japan. He 370 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,120 Speaker 1: tells Wired Magazine it was so sour that most people 371 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,359 Speaker 1: would take it out of their mouth, immediately throw it 372 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: in the waste basket and be angry at you. You 373 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:49,359 Speaker 1: thought you'd have an enemy for life. So anyway, Dieger 374 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,360 Speaker 1: travels across Asia looking for sour candies and he goes 375 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:55,160 Speaker 1: to various locales and he finds the sourrest of them 376 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,400 Speaker 1: all in Taiwan, and kind of playing off the atomic fireball, 377 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:01,440 Speaker 1: he calls it the warhead. 378 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 2: Now Wired Magazine. 379 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:05,959 Speaker 1: Actually does an analysis warheads to figure out how they 380 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: are so tar, and it comes down to something called 381 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,439 Speaker 1: malic acid, which in smaller doses you can find in 382 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: Granny Smith apples. But there's this researcher named Paul Rosen, 383 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: who NPR talked to. He's a psychologist at the University 384 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: of Pennsylvania, and he calls this phenomena of challenging candy 385 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 1: quote benign masochism, which he defines as seemingly unpleasant things 386 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: we love to do, including watching horror movies or crying 387 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:34,720 Speaker 1: at sad songs. They also talked to another psychologist, Rachel 388 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:37,679 Speaker 1: Hurst of Brown University, who explained that part of the 389 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 1: pleasure of gross candy is that it gives kids the 390 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: opportunity to probe the boundaries of what adults find repulsive 391 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:48,720 Speaker 1: while also mildly scandalizing their parents. And she kind of 392 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 1: likens the phenomena to pop rocks, which is that you 393 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: know they're all right eating by yourself, but the joy 394 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: is really in getting other people to try it and 395 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: watching their reactions, because gross candy is both meant to 396 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 1: be dis gusted and shared. 397 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 2: Well, that's a great way to look at it. And 398 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 2: I love that term benign masochism, which I guess tells 399 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 2: us why gummy candies got paired with extreme sour flavors. Yeah, 400 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 2: but it isn't. 401 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,439 Speaker 1: Just sour flavors. Apparently, there's also an extremely spicy gummy 402 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:20,879 Speaker 1: bear on the market. It's called Little Nitro. I was 403 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 1: repulsed until you said the name of it, and now 404 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:23,480 Speaker 1: I want. 405 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:24,880 Speaker 2: To try it. 406 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 1: It's just one tiny red gummy bear who I think 407 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:31,120 Speaker 1: has a flamethrower on his chest, and he's in this package. 408 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:35,200 Speaker 1: It's just the one bear featured surrounded by flames and 409 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 1: a flammable sign. But apparently the gummy bear is nine 410 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:42,440 Speaker 1: hundred times hotter than a jalapeno pepper, which I think 411 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:49,680 Speaker 1: moves it from benign masochism to like just playing massacreism. Yeah, anyway, Yeah. 412 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:51,399 Speaker 2: I don't quite get that. Although I don't know if 413 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,040 Speaker 2: you remember this, I do love an atomic fireball. I 414 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 2: always have to have one sort of candy addiction at 415 00:21:57,119 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 2: a time. And there was a time when my family 416 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:02,880 Speaker 2: intervened because I was ordering, you know, atomic fireballs by 417 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,680 Speaker 2: the bucket. I mean it was just it was too much. 418 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:07,680 Speaker 2: But they are delicious. 419 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 1: I mean, I love atomic fireballs, and I also love that. 420 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 1: There was like a nuclear science magazine, right the Atomic Bulletin, 421 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,760 Speaker 1: and their candy was the fireball, and they would anytime 422 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:21,639 Speaker 1: someone wrote for the magazine, they'd send them a fireball 423 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:22,320 Speaker 1: in the middle. 424 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 2: I love that. And actually you may know the of course, 425 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,959 Speaker 2: the the co host of two of our most popular shows, 426 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,160 Speaker 2: Stuff they don't want you to know and ridiculous history. 427 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,159 Speaker 2: Mister Ben Bolan himself knows. I'm a big fan. And 428 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 2: back when we were all in the Atlanta office together, 429 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:40,119 Speaker 2: every once in a while, I'd show up and there'd 430 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 2: be a couple of fireballs on my desk, and I 431 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:46,920 Speaker 2: always knew they were left by by then. So yeah, 432 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,400 Speaker 2: all right, Well, I know we've got a couple more 433 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:50,359 Speaker 2: facts to share about gummy bears. Why don't we take 434 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 2: a quick break. 435 00:22:51,080 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: First, welcome back to Part Time Genius, where we're talking 436 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,680 Speaker 1: all things gummy bears. So will I know it's time 437 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:14,120 Speaker 1: for your last fact. But there's also something I wanted 438 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:17,199 Speaker 1: to mention about sour candies that I didn't get to 439 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: and I think it's pretty interesting. 440 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:19,239 Speaker 2: All right, go for it. 441 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 1: That author Doug Mack, the one who created the Snackstack newsletter, 442 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,200 Speaker 1: has a bit about warheads as well, and he makes 443 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:28,880 Speaker 1: a point in his article that there are a lot 444 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:31,959 Speaker 1: of ways to be disgusted, but the way the reaction 445 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: manifests in our bodies, like the physiological response and the 446 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: facial expression is really consistent and shared across all cultures, 447 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,399 Speaker 1: which is something I'd never thought about. Apparently, the ways 448 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,440 Speaker 1: we cringe as we're eating while sucking on a warhead 449 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,040 Speaker 1: is the same the world over, And he cites this 450 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,920 Speaker 1: book by this author, Rachel Hurtz where she talks about 451 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: how even people who've been blind since birth actually make 452 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,920 Speaker 1: the same face of disgust as cited people like, We're 453 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 1: not mimicking someone else's response, it's just how our face 454 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,679 Speaker 1: cringes in reaction to super sour things. And also the 455 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:08,400 Speaker 1: delight of it. 456 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:12,119 Speaker 2: That's really interesting, Like I'd never thought about that before, 457 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 2: the fact that somebody that wasn't able to see somebody 458 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:19,000 Speaker 2: else's reactions would actually be making the same facial expressions. 459 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:19,920 Speaker 2: That's super interesting. 460 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 1: So what do you want to talk about for your 461 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 1: last fact? 462 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,439 Speaker 2: All right? Well, last year there was this huge surge 463 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 2: on Reddit of people who were stunned to realize that 464 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,480 Speaker 2: the green gummy bears and the packet of Haribo are 465 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 2: actually strawberry flavored, which is just so weird. So I 466 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 2: guess for years people have just been eating these gummies 467 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:40,960 Speaker 2: and just assume they were lime flavored, even though it's 468 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,640 Speaker 2: written on the packet, and so I was wondering how 469 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 2: it is that so many people couldn't discern the taste. 470 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:48,960 Speaker 2: So I decided to look into this. Now I know. 471 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,400 Speaker 2: We did an episode of Part Time Genus on flavor 472 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:53,880 Speaker 2: a long long time ago, and it was really fun 473 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 2: to do that, and in it we discussed so much 474 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 2: of how your sense of taste comes from your sense 475 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 2: of smell well, and even how things like sound can 476 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 2: affect your sense of taste, like listening to chickens cluck 477 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,560 Speaker 2: when you're eating ice cream makes you taste the eggs 478 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 2: in the dessert. But one thing that's funny is that 479 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 2: our eyes also play a role in the flavor as well. 480 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,920 Speaker 2: The site Candy Bouquet talks about an experiment where people 481 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,960 Speaker 2: were handed clear gummies and even though the gummies had 482 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:24,200 Speaker 2: various fruit flavors, people perceive the clear gummies as flavorless 483 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 2: when they ate them. 484 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:28,560 Speaker 1: That's really wild, like people couldn't taste the flavor. 485 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,640 Speaker 2: I mean, I guess the participants recognized that the gummy 486 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 2: bears were sweet, but beyond that, they couldn't figure out 487 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:37,920 Speaker 2: what fruit the gummies resembled. But I think it might 488 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:41,760 Speaker 2: also be because the gummy flavors are notoriously tricky. So 489 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:45,199 Speaker 2: in twenty eighteen, the journal Perception printed a study that 490 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 2: found it took healthy adults eight seconds of chewing. This 491 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,680 Speaker 2: is on average for a person to decipher of flavor, 492 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 2: and even then, twenty three percent of the participants guessed wrong. 493 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 2: So in summary, we like gummies even though we have 494 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 2: no clue what flavor was chewing on. 495 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,480 Speaker 1: That's really funny. I feel like kids are always like 496 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:07,120 Speaker 1: fighting over red gummy bears and green gummy bears. But 497 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,359 Speaker 1: if that studies accurate, they can't tell the difference. 498 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, like you said, unless they're super tasters 499 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 2: or something like that. It makes me question my own 500 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:18,159 Speaker 2: practice of having to eat the two colors at the 501 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:21,199 Speaker 2: same time. And so I don't know. I don't know 502 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 2: why it is that we're like that, but it's interesting anyway. 503 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:25,760 Speaker 2: What fact do you want to close with? 504 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,480 Speaker 1: So one thing I didn't realize is that different countries 505 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,840 Speaker 1: have different interests in how chewy their gummies are. Like, 506 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: it didn't even occur to me, but there's a piece 507 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: in the Atlantic called quote Americans don't really like to chew, 508 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 1: which is all about how the US market is more 509 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:47,399 Speaker 1: interested in softer gummy candies, but Asian markets like cheurier textures, 510 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: and the article cites how culturally, like East Asian cuisine 511 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,800 Speaker 1: has been more interested in different textures that are chewy, 512 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 1: like things like the tapioca and bubble tea, or fish eggs, 513 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: or like grass jelly and even things like mochi. Right like, 514 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,440 Speaker 1: they have this chewy texture and it's been popular for 515 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,640 Speaker 1: a long time abroad, and it's only really now slowly 516 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: working its way into the US market. But it isn't 517 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 1: just that Asians who've noticed this. Apparently for years European 518 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,880 Speaker 1: gummy makers have manufactured softer gummies for the US market. Well, 519 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:23,520 Speaker 1: the ones distributed in Europe are cheerier. But back to Japan. 520 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,359 Speaker 1: One of the things the Atlantic article points out is 521 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,280 Speaker 1: that gummies are very popular with adults now, and the 522 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:33,920 Speaker 1: hottest trend in Japan is ultra chewy gummies where packages 523 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 1: say things like high elasticity or hard or crunchy as 524 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:41,120 Speaker 1: part of the sales pitch. In fact, one Tokyo based 525 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 1: company start creating gummies that are extra chewy because they 526 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,480 Speaker 1: believe that when people are frustrated, hard gummies help people 527 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: deal with the stress of modern life, and they're especially 528 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: marketed to men in this hyper masculine packaging as stress relief, 529 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 1: which is, you know, it's really funny, just this idea 530 00:27:58,280 --> 00:27:59,959 Speaker 1: of making gummies seem ultra men. 531 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 2: It's true, but I guess it gets back to your 532 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:04,880 Speaker 2: weightlifting comment from the very beginning. 533 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:07,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess so. But the other thing I learned 534 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:10,160 Speaker 1: while looking into this is that Japan is very invested 535 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,720 Speaker 1: in their gummy candy culture. So in this article I 536 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: read in the Spokesman Review, this Japanese dentist and professor 537 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,960 Speaker 1: talked about how gummies are good at improving saliva secretion 538 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 1: and muscle strength in the mouth. So there's actually going 539 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 1: to be a push for gummies marketed at the elderly, 540 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:31,119 Speaker 1: which is pretty interesting. Also, there's apparently a japan Gummy 541 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,359 Speaker 1: association and they have been recommending different ways for adults 542 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,880 Speaker 1: to enjoy gummies, and one of the things they are 543 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:41,880 Speaker 1: heavily recommending is almost treating gummy candies like fruit. So 544 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: they've promoted this recipe for making a lemon flavored spritzer 545 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,720 Speaker 1: by microwaving your lemon flavored gummies, chopping them up, and 546 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:50,760 Speaker 1: mixing them with ice. 547 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 2: And soda water. 548 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:56,680 Speaker 1: They also talk about skewering ham with citrus based gummies 549 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:02,000 Speaker 1: and cheese and treating it almost like caupraisee style, which yeah, 550 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 1: I'm not convinced, but I don't know, I try it once. 551 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,719 Speaker 1: And also I love that this Japan Gummy Association is 552 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:11,720 Speaker 1: like trying to get the word out about getting people 553 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:12,840 Speaker 1: to eat more gummies. 554 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, that is that is pretty fantastic. All right, Well, 555 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,320 Speaker 2: it's your turn to choose. Who do you think deserves 556 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:19,520 Speaker 2: this week's trophy? Mango. 557 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,160 Speaker 1: I mean, I think most of the facts I was 558 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:26,520 Speaker 1: kind of expecting, like being around the gummy topic, but 559 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 1: the fact that you brought Disney's Gummy Bears into this, 560 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: and the fact that those cartoons were like the catalyst 561 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,760 Speaker 1: for all these other cartoons that I watched in middle school, Like, 562 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 1: it's just so insane to me. I think you've got 563 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: to get this week's trophy. 564 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 2: Such a good cartoon. All right, Well, thank you so much. 565 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 2: My mom is going to be so proud, and it 566 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,880 Speaker 2: really sort of defends all the cartoon watching I did 567 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,280 Speaker 2: at that stage in life. But that's it for this 568 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 2: week's part Time Genius will be back next week with 569 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 2: a whole new episode. Now. Remember we're always scouting for 570 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,520 Speaker 2: great facts and ideas. You know, the topics you want 571 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,640 Speaker 2: to hear about on the show, So be sure to 572 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 2: hit us up. Ptgenius Moms at gmail dot com. That 573 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 2: goes straight to our moms. They get every single message. 574 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,160 Speaker 2: Sometimes they lecture us, sometimes they give us a little 575 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,480 Speaker 2: bit of advice, but they really enjoy hearing from you guys, 576 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 2: and they always pass them along. That's it for this 577 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 2: week's episode from Dylan, Mary Mango and Me. Thank you 578 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:19,800 Speaker 2: so much for listening. 579 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. 580 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:39,640 Speaker 1: This show is hosted by Will Pearson and Me Mongastikler 581 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 1: and research by our good pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's 582 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: episode was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan 583 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:50,959 Speaker 1: with support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced 584 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 1: for iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Ali Perry, with social 585 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:58,240 Speaker 1: media support from Sasha Gay Trustee Dara Potts and buy 586 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,840 Speaker 1: Me Shory. For more podcast from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit 587 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 588 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.