WEBVTT - Short Stuff: William A. Mitchell: Food Inventor

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>Jerry's here for Dave, and this is short stuff. We're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about one of the greatest Americans to ever fiss earth.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right, a food scientist named William A. Mitchell who

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<v Speaker 2>was a research chemist for thirty five years at General Foods.

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<v Speaker 2>And this is a great guy. He seems like it.

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<v Speaker 2>There was an interview with a guy named Marv Rudolph

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<v Speaker 2>who worked with Mitchell, that said he just knew how

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<v Speaker 2>to amplify flavors in food. He knew what colors to

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<v Speaker 2>make something to make it more attractive, and if you

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<v Speaker 2>had a problem, he was a guy to go to.

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<v Speaker 3>He could figure it out.

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<v Speaker 2>The other great thing was, and this is also from

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<v Speaker 2>the same interviews, they tried to promote him at General

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<v Speaker 2>Foods to management many many times, but he didn't want

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<v Speaker 2>to do that. He was a lab guy and wanted

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<v Speaker 2>to stay in the lab.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, and that is the sign of a true artiste. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>because I think we talked about our Peter Prince full

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<v Speaker 1>episode appropriately enough, because that's what we're talking about here.

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<v Speaker 1>You can very easily get raised. I guess promoted, thank

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<v Speaker 1>you out of your field of expertise and suddenly you're

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<v Speaker 1>a manager and not everybody's a manager. We can tell

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<v Speaker 1>you for sure.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I've done that job. I'm okay at it. I

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<v Speaker 2>don't love it.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm terrible at it. Just screaming, pounding my fists on desks.

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't work.

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<v Speaker 2>But Mitchell, and we'll get to the things he invented

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<v Speaker 2>after this, maybe because that'll be a nice little teaser.

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<v Speaker 2>But he has more than seventy food patents that he

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<v Speaker 2>invented from nineteen forty one to nineteen seventy six. But

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<v Speaker 2>this was a guy that was born to very very

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<v Speaker 2>hard work in a Minnesota farm family, or to a

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<v Speaker 2>Minnesota farm family in nineteen eleven, isn't it right?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, because his dad died while he was in elementary school.

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<v Speaker 1>Although I suspect if you're born to a Minnesota farm

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<v Speaker 1>family in nineteen eleven, you're gonna work regardless. But I

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<v Speaker 1>think the pressure was on William Mitchell even more than

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<v Speaker 1>the average Minnesota farm child born in nineteen eleven because

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<v Speaker 1>of his father's death. So Bill Mitchell had to harvest

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<v Speaker 1>peas and beans for other farmers to help supplement the

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<v Speaker 1>income of their family by the time he was a teenager,

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<v Speaker 1>the family was living in Colorado and he was trapping

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<v Speaker 1>muskrat and I guess selling them at the local muskrat

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<v Speaker 1>market and harvesting melons for other farmers too. So he

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<v Speaker 1>did a lot of work that probably the average person didn't.

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<v Speaker 1>But he also worked his way through college too, I

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<v Speaker 1>guess as a carpenter.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Before that, though, he got a job that would kind

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<v Speaker 2>of come in handy later on as a food scientist

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<v Speaker 2>because he worked the overnight shift at the sugar crystallization

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<v Speaker 2>tank room for the American Beat Sugar Company. So that

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<v Speaker 2>work with sugar just sort of put a pin in

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<v Speaker 2>that because that'll come back.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you can kind of imagine that's probably where he

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<v Speaker 1>started to develop his love of food science, right.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, I don't know one going only guess he

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<v Speaker 2>was around all that sugar.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, he really hyped him up. Well. I say that

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<v Speaker 1>because pretty early on after he graduated with a master's

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<v Speaker 1>degree in chemistry, he went into research chemistry with a

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<v Speaker 1>I guess a lean toward food. Because it was at

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<v Speaker 1>the Agricultural Experiment Station in Lincoln, Nebraska. I'm guessing he

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<v Speaker 1>worked a lot with corn and so that was his

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<v Speaker 1>first career was essentially in food science, or he started

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<v Speaker 1>working with food as a scientist. How about that?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, for sure.

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<v Speaker 2>And as you will see, he was not a person

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<v Speaker 2>to be deterred because not long after he started that job,

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<v Speaker 2>that was a pretty bad explosion from heating a cracked

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<v Speaker 2>beaker with alcohol in it, and he got second third

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<v Speaker 2>degree burns over eighty percent of his body. Took some

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<v Speaker 2>time off to recover a few months, and then that

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<v Speaker 2>is when he landed his job and moved to White Plains,

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<v Speaker 2>New York with the general food foods excuse me, more

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<v Speaker 2>than one food corporation.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't say it. Don't say any names yet, I won't, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>because we're going to take a break real quick, and

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<v Speaker 1>we're come back and talk about some of the great

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<v Speaker 1>things that Bill Mitchell did with his life later after this, so, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>we talked about Bill Mitchell being an amazing person. And

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<v Speaker 1>one of the reasons why is because he developed some

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<v Speaker 1>of the best foods that came out of the twentieth century.

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<v Speaker 1>Not the best for you foods, right, the best?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I wondered.

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<v Speaker 2>After I did this research, I was like, Man, are

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<v Speaker 2>we gonna get people writing in because we're like celebrating

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<v Speaker 2>this guy for creating junk food.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, they just can soak their heads.

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<v Speaker 3>Great. I like that term. That's a nice way to

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<v Speaker 3>say other things.

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<v Speaker 2>So one of the first things was in nineteen fifty seven,

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<v Speaker 2>he was like, how about a powdered drink that tastes

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<v Speaker 2>sort of like sort of citrusy and people might I

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<v Speaker 2>think it's good.

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<v Speaker 1>For you, but it's a ninety eight percent sugar.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it is primarily sugar. Got a little bit of

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<v Speaker 2>vitamin C in there. Oh, and those flavor crystals happening.

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<v Speaker 2>You're gonna mix that together with water. You're gonna get

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<v Speaker 2>a bright, very bright, almost unsettlingly bright orange color, tangerine

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<v Speaker 2>color drink.

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<v Speaker 3>And it's called tang Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>And you said flavor crystals. That was a big one

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<v Speaker 1>because William Mitchell was known in the food science industry

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<v Speaker 1>is the master of disaster. Yeah, and in parentheses they

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<v Speaker 1>would put disaster being flavor crystals. That just couldn't find

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<v Speaker 1>anything that rhymed with it.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Tank wasn't a big hit right away though, it took

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<v Speaker 2>a little while to catch on, but one of the

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<v Speaker 2>big things that helped, you know, helped launch it. No,

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<v Speaker 2>I guess pun intended was when it went into outer

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<v Speaker 2>space in nineteen sixty two. It was on board John

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<v Speaker 2>Glenn's Mercury spaceflight because he was like, Man, we're storing

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<v Speaker 2>this drinking water in metal cans and metal vats and

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<v Speaker 2>it tastes great. So he's like, just throw some tang

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<v Speaker 2>powder in there and you're all good.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. So yeah, I mean this was the time when

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<v Speaker 1>America was just totally fascinated with space. You know, you

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<v Speaker 1>could have put an old leather boot in space and

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<v Speaker 1>solder his tang and people would have drank it.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>So you talked about John Glenn saying it was gross

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<v Speaker 1>to drink metallic water. Later on, buzz Aldrin said tang

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<v Speaker 1>is gross. As a matter of fact, he said tang sucks.

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<v Speaker 1>And he said it while he was doing the most

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<v Speaker 1>twenty thirteen thing you could possibly be doing. He was

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<v Speaker 1>presenting a Spike TV Guy's Choice Award to Felix bombgartnerm.

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<v Speaker 2>I was Hee the parachute Guy. Yeah, yeah, that jumped

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<v Speaker 2>from space. Yeah yeah, sponsored by Red Bullet.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. And I don't know how it came up. I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't see the clip, but that was what made the

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<v Speaker 1>rounds of the media. Tang sucks in quotes.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh good for you buzz speaking of being sponsored though,

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<v Speaker 2>by the time Apollo eight rolled around, Tang was such

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<v Speaker 2>a thing for space flights that the televised event was

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<v Speaker 2>sponsored by Tang.

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<v Speaker 3>They were like, we got we got to get in

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<v Speaker 3>on this thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you drink Tang when you were a kid?

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<v Speaker 3>A little bit? But we I drank a lot of water.

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<v Speaker 2>My mom was you know, we couldn't afford a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of stuff, even though Tang was like super cheap, and

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<v Speaker 2>I think my mom also didn't want us just having

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<v Speaker 2>a ton of junk. It wasn't like super health food

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<v Speaker 2>family or anything, but it was just one of the

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<v Speaker 2>things like I'm not going to waste my money on

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<v Speaker 2>that garbage.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess you probably didn't drink kool aid either.

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<v Speaker 3>A little bit here and there.

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<v Speaker 2>Those were treats I usually got at other kids' houses.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, kool Aid was the best.

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<v Speaker 3>Did you just drink all that stuff?

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<v Speaker 1>I drank so much kool aid. Cherry lime was really good,

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<v Speaker 1>grape was probably the best.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh my god, good freezer pops too.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, But if you ever made it chuck, you would

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<v Speaker 1>put the kool Aid powder in a pitcher and it

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<v Speaker 1>would be like a couple of tablespoons maybe pops and

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<v Speaker 1>did you report literal cups of sugar on top of it,

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<v Speaker 1>add water, stir and just thank me later.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, hey too, lad.

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<v Speaker 1>It was it was nuts, Like, looking back, it was

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<v Speaker 1>insane that that's what kids drank.

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<v Speaker 3>Pretty great, God bless the seventies.

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<v Speaker 2>Bill Mitchell was trying to solve a lot of problems

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<v Speaker 2>often when he came up with these inventions for food,

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<v Speaker 2>try to save people time in the kitchen at the time,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, trying to save moms time in the kitchen.

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<v Speaker 2>And in nineteen sixty seven he was like, jello takes

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<v Speaker 2>way too long to make because you have to use

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<v Speaker 2>this hot water boiling water to dissolve that stuff. So

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<v Speaker 2>he came up with a and got a patent for

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<v Speaker 2>a quick set form of jello using cold water. He

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<v Speaker 2>was like, look at that, everybody, Yeah, presto chaninjo you

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<v Speaker 2>got cold jello and no time flat.

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<v Speaker 1>No time flat. So what's interesting is jello is very

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<v Speaker 1>famous for making some really weird being a part of

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<v Speaker 1>some really weird mid century recipes. So Bill Mitchell had

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<v Speaker 1>his hand in jello. He also had his hand in

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<v Speaker 1>another ingredient some really weird recipes from century, which was

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<v Speaker 1>cool whip, which was total and still is almost totally

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<v Speaker 1>artificial whipped cream. It's made with water, hydrogenated vegetable oil,

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<v Speaker 1>high fruit toast, corn syrup, corn syrup, and then skim milk.

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<v Speaker 1>And the skim milk is a modern addition. There used

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<v Speaker 1>to be nothing that was a milk product in cool whip,

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<v Speaker 1>which meant you could freeze it, which was a huge

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<v Speaker 1>boon to general foods.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, yeah, but I think you missed one ingredient, love

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<v Speaker 2>the hand of God.

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<v Speaker 1>So you're a cool whip dude, huh.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, we don't get it because it's just, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's garbage. But you know when we pumpkin pine and

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<v Speaker 2>pecan pine and stuff like that around Thanksgiving and Christmas,

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<v Speaker 2>we will get cool whip. I don't like the shake

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<v Speaker 2>of can ready whip stuff.

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<v Speaker 3>We're a cool whip family.

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<v Speaker 2>And it does not last long on our house because

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<v Speaker 2>it just gets eaten out of the container with a

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<v Speaker 2>spoon by all three of us.

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<v Speaker 1>Same with ready whip, though, you just turn it up

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<v Speaker 1>and spray it right in your mouth and then when

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<v Speaker 1>it's out you it gives you a pretty good bat.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, but I like that cool it better. I like

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<v Speaker 3>the taste.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I'm with you.

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<v Speaker 2>I like it frozen too. I like it both ways.

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<v Speaker 2>But it's really good frozen as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I think I told you before cool. Yeah, we

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<v Speaker 1>talked about it was cool whipping peanut butter. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>dangerous combination.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh, I still didn't try that. I forgot. I'll have

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<v Speaker 3>to try that this Thanksgiving.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, you probably just shouldn't. I don't think you should.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like you might as well have just said I

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<v Speaker 1>think I'll start smoking cigarettes.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that's a good point.

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<v Speaker 1>So the granddaddy of them all, Bill Mitchell, had a

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<v Speaker 1>hand in in that. He kind of laid the groundwork

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<v Speaker 1>for the product to come. But back in nineteen fifty six,

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<v Speaker 1>William Mitchell was trying to figure out ways to carbonate

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<v Speaker 1>kool aid to basically create instant soda. Yeah, and he

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<v Speaker 1>was like, let me just figure out how to add

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<v Speaker 1>carbon dioxide to flavor crystals, because again he was the

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<v Speaker 1>flavor crystal king. Yeah, and I guess he did enough

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<v Speaker 1>so that, like he created a legacy process of adding

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<v Speaker 1>CO two to two flavor crystals. It just wasn't creating

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<v Speaker 1>the soda that he was looking for, so he shelved it,

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<v Speaker 1>and then somebody else came along and picked it up. Right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, twenty years later, somebody else tweaked it just a bit,

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<v Speaker 2>and thankfully the world, the United States and the world.

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<v Speaker 3>Over got pop rocks.

0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:22.640
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:24.880
<v Speaker 2>Can you describe pop rocks if people don't know what

0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:25.280
<v Speaker 2>those are?

0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:29.680
<v Speaker 1>Oh, they're a little very tiny candy on the kind

0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.560
<v Speaker 1>of like this size and shape of nerds. And if

0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:34.800
<v Speaker 1>you don't know what nerds are, we're just totally lost here.

0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:38.840
<v Speaker 1>Not quite as codd if they are at all. But

0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:42.240
<v Speaker 1>when they touch your tongue, that co two that's inside

0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:45.160
<v Speaker 1>just like starts to get released, and it makes the

0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:48.040
<v Speaker 1>candy crackle. So not only does it make a cool sound,

0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:50.800
<v Speaker 1>fizzing sound just like the top of like when you

0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:54.520
<v Speaker 1>pour a sprite, it like you can feel it on

0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:56.199
<v Speaker 1>your tongue too. It's very delightful.

0:11:56.720 --> 0:11:56.960
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

0:11:57.040 --> 0:11:59.120
<v Speaker 2>So, I mean the idea was you would take a

0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:01.880
<v Speaker 2>scoop of this and add water. So in this case

0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:05.120
<v Speaker 2>the water is just your saliva and the moisture from

0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:06.160
<v Speaker 2>your mouth and your tongue.

0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:08.439
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, And I.

0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.160
<v Speaker 2>Gave Ruby some when she was like four or five.

0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:13.440
<v Speaker 2>I was like, you've never had pop rocks, kiddo, you

0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:15.280
<v Speaker 2>got to try this out, and she was. It was

0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:18.560
<v Speaker 2>sort of one of those great mind blowing moments. As apparent,

0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.599
<v Speaker 2>She's like more no, not really, She's not one of

0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:24.440
<v Speaker 2>those kids that it's weird. She loves the thing, but

0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:27.200
<v Speaker 2>maybe it's the ADHD shees. She kind of forgets about

0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:27.640
<v Speaker 2>it after that.

0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:32.559
<v Speaker 1>Usually ADHD laser focuses on something like a big sugar rush,

0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:36.720
<v Speaker 1>so she's fortunate. Yeah. So there was a myth. I

0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:39.320
<v Speaker 1>think some people probably still believe this if they've heard

0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:43.439
<v Speaker 1>it Chuck, that if you drink soda and pop rocks

0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:46.120
<v Speaker 1>eat pop rocks at the same time, you're at risk

0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:50.000
<v Speaker 1>of blowing your stomach up from all of the carbon dioxide.

0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:54.440
<v Speaker 1>And that is just not true. But it was persistent

0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:56.320
<v Speaker 1>enough that General Foods had to take out a full

0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:59.760
<v Speaker 1>page ad back in the seventies. And I looked it up.

0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:03.520
<v Speaker 1>It's an open letter to parents talking about pop rocks

0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:06.320
<v Speaker 1>and how it's safe, and it was written by Bill Mitchell.

0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:07.600
<v Speaker 3>Oh that's great.

0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:09.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, So they trotted him out and they were like,

0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:12.200
<v Speaker 1>tell everybody Bill, because we don't understand how they work.

0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:13.200
<v Speaker 1>You explain it.

0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:15.440
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they stood next to him with a knife gently

0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:16.320
<v Speaker 2>pressed into the side.

0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:20.360
<v Speaker 3>Of his neck. So we salute you. William A.

0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:23.200
<v Speaker 2>Mitchell, he retired from General Foods in nineteen seventy six.

0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:25.600
<v Speaker 2>Tried to find out some dirt on this guy, but

0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:28.400
<v Speaker 2>he seems like just a pretty great person. He was

0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:31.840
<v Speaker 2>a father of seven, he's married for sixty years, and

0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:34.480
<v Speaker 2>when he passed away in two thousand and four, his

0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:38.839
<v Speaker 2>obituary said he was devoted, stimulating and loving parent and

0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.720
<v Speaker 2>made a pretty big impact on, you know, the diet

0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:43.640
<v Speaker 2>of American kids.

0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:46.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we should say one of those seven children is

0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:50.559
<v Speaker 1>Cheryl Mitchell, his daughter. She became a food scientist as well,

0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.240
<v Speaker 1>followed in her father's footsteps. And if you like rice

0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:57.520
<v Speaker 1>dream you can thank Cheryl Mitchell or Elmhurst nut grain

0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:00.200
<v Speaker 1>and seed milk you can thank her as well. And

0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:03.720
<v Speaker 1>she's known as a quote world authority on sweetener's rice

0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:06.679
<v Speaker 1>processing and the extraction and metabolism of.

0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:10.160
<v Speaker 3>Anulin parentheses, but not flavor crystals.

0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:12.080
<v Speaker 1>No, that was her dad's jam.

0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:14.480
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I love the legacy continues, so pretty cool.

0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:16.960
<v Speaker 1>Same here, all right, Well, thank you and thank you

0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:20.680
<v Speaker 1>for signing off as a salute to William Mitchell to Chuck,

0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:23.040
<v Speaker 1>I appreciate it, and I think that also means short

0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:26.800
<v Speaker 1>stuff is out.

0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:29.680
<v Speaker 3>Stuff you should Know is a production of iHeartRadio.

0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:33.360
<v Speaker 2>For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.480
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