It seems like everyone once knew a kid, who knew a kid, who knew another kid’s aunt’s neighbor who found a star on his Tootsie Pop wrapper and cashed it in for a free pop. At this point, it’s honestly common knowledge that the star icon is a one-way ticket to free Tootsie Pops. But it turns out that we’ve been living a sugar-coated lie.
Has anyone EVER gotten a free Tootsie Pop because the star was on their wrapper? Is this a myth? I was turned down at a gas station when I was like 8 and I never got over it. pic.twitter.com/984P3Yi4VE
— Michael C. Stibbs (@Stibbs) December 5, 2017
the myth was that if you get a shooting star on the wrapper you can bring it in to get a free Tootsie Pop😊
— Mr. Owl 🎓 (@MrOwl) June 3, 2016
Biggest childhood myth: find an Indian shooting a star on the wrapper and you get a free tootsie pop
— Nichole (@nicholeNdime) May 16, 2013
The stars on the Tootsie pop wrappers were responsible for the biggest myth of my child hood.
— EZ (@Beached_God) November 3, 2011
Stephen LeConte from BuzzFeed decided to unearth the truth behind the shooting star story and after consulting Tootsie’s website, the veil was lifted.
“It has been rumored that local convenience stores used to give a free Tootsie Pop to anyone who brought in a wrapper containing the image of the shooting star,” Tootsie’s website reads. “Unfortunately, we do not know how this rumor started and Tootsie Roll Industries has never actually honored this promotion.”
I just found out that if you find a star on a Tootsie pop wrapper, you don’t get free candy. As if I didn’t already have severe trust issues
— Megan Crowley 🌙 (@mcrowley9) August 3, 2018
The site goes on to state that the shooting star image appears on one in every four to six Tootsie Pop wrappers, just like all the symbols. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not even that rare to come across.
“However,” Tootsie continues, “we do believe the star is a sign of good luck to come.”
If you have a star on your Tootsie Pop Wrapper, you get another one for free! https://t.co/wc7D27rORX
— jordan (@jordanrenie) June 14, 2018
Logistically, the idea of getting a free pop after finding the shooting star doesn’t really make sense. Can you redeem your wrapper at any store that sells Tootsie Pops? Do you have mail it to the Tootsie company? Or do you have to hide it under your pillow so Mr. Owl can reward you with a new pop while you’re sleeping? We’ve never actually tried to redeem a star wrapper so…
Fine, we’ll admit that the Tootsie Pop rumor lacks logic. But we’re still miffed!
And as if this isn’t enough to get upset about, we stumbled upon an entire truckload of brand-and food-related myths that will surely make your stomach hurt. We apologize for the nausea in advance.
That Twinkie you’ve been saving since grade school has definitely gone bad. Although many claim Twinkies can stay fresh in their wrapper for decades, Snopes debunks the myth, stating they stay fresh for about 25 days. Their lack of dairy products keeps them fresher than most other bakery items. But they, too, can go sour.
Back in the 1800s, chocolate and other sugary treats were believed to “powerfully [excite] the genital organs and lead to the [solitary vice],” as one Kellogg’s ad from the time stated. However, there’s no scientific proof to show that chocolate and sugar “powerfully excite the genital organs,” so chill out, Fabio.
Thought you were sooo cool ordering a Triple Triple or Animal Style fries at your local In-N-Out even though those items aren’t listed on the menu? Well, you’re not. All the “secret” menu options are listed on the In-N-Out website.
This myth is technically still debatable. Two cases of exploding Jawbreaker candies caused the crew of Mythbusters to attempt a recreation — however, they weren’t totally successful. Based on the stories, if one puts the Jawbreaker in the microwave before eating, it might explode. But eating it on its own shouldn’t cause you much harm — unless you break your jaw on it.
This myth seems pretty easy to bust. Just take it outside and let the sun do its thing.
This myth is linked to a single letter from Dr. William Crook, penned in 1974 to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Academy published Crook’s opinion that read, “Only in the past three years have I become aware that sugar … is a leading cause of hyperactivity,” however, more recent studies and tests have yet to show a correlation between sugar and hyperactivity.
It was long believed that the creator of Life Savers put a hole in their center to prevent children from choking on the mint-flavored candies, after he lost his own child from choking. But in actuality, the inventor simply wanted his candy to look different from other candies popular at the time.
Little Mikey, the little brother who appeared in a popular LIFE cereal ad, supposedly died after eating a pack of Pop Rocks and then downing a bottle of soda — the combination reportedly exploded in his stomach. But this is an entirely false rumor. Little Mikey is still alive and is actually now the director of media sales for MSG Networks. However, Pop Rocks didn’t “recover” quite as miraculously. General Mills stopped marketing them in 1983 due to the bad press.
Don’t believe what you’ve been told. McDonald’s fries are not okay for vegans to consume. Although they no longer contain beef tallow, they still have hydrolyzed milk hidden somewhere inside them. Vegans be warned.
Ever wonder why the green M&M’s character is always super flirty and wears those sexy boots? It’s because the green M&M’s were thought to be aphrodisiacs. Students in the ’70s would feed their partners the green M&M’s, perhaps believing the color promoted health and fertility. Who really knows? But, M&M’s went with it which is why we have a flirty green M&M’s character.
When KFC rebranded from Kentucky Fried Chicken to just KFC, a rumor emerged that claimed the fast food chain changed names because they don’t actually serve chicken. But they do. So stop that nonsense right now.
According to the Spangler website, candy canes have stronger religious ties to Christmas than we originally thought. The originator of the candy cane we know and love today made the treats in honor of Jesus Christ — hence the “J” shape. “The white color symbolized the virgin birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and the hard candy symbolized the solid rock which was the foundation of the church, and firmness of the promises of God,” the Spangler site reads. The red color is symbolic of the blood of Christ, and when the candy cane is broken, it’s a reminder that Jesus’s body was broken for our sins.
When Bubble Yum debuted in the late 1970s, it was a huge hit. It was so soft that kids began a rumor that it contained spider legs. For whatever reason, this rumor spread and caused a steady decline in Bubble Yum sales. Snopes says that the stories got so out of hand, Bubble Yum’s parent company spent over $100,000 in combative marketing trying to put the spider leg rumors to rest.
Sure, milk is full of calcium and vitamin D, and therefore the recommended three cups of milk per day is warranted. But there is actually no proof that milk does much for our bones. In fact, multiple studies have shown there is no direct correlation between drinking milk and less bone fractures. Mom, Dad — you were wrong.
Oddly, this myth is only half false. Although eating Gummi Bears, and similar gummy candies, is not the same as eating straight car wax, both products contain carnauba wax. In both gummies and vehicle-purposes, carnauba wax is used to achieve a glossy finish. Car wax contains about 30% carnauba wax, and Gummi Bears contain 2%.
The employees actually don’t know something we don’t know. The secret menu at Starbucks is actually completely fan made. So, if you want to order a drink from the secret menu, come prepared with the list of ingredients to translate to your barista. Otherwise, you’ll get the stink eye.
Another rumor that has plagued KFC is that they use eight-legged chickens with no beaks in their buckets. Again, the restaurant has proved this wildly untrue and honestly spooky that someone would come up with this.
In 2017, pseudoscience media mogul David “Avocado” Wolfe went on social media to say that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are poisonous and contain Soy Lecithin, PGPR, and TBHQ — all of which are dangerous to one’s health. Although he’s right in that these three ingredients are bad when consumed in excess (like, very excessively), there’s little to no proof that consuming them in a single, or multiple, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups will do you any harm.
We’re not entirely sure who would keep their McDonald’s burger around for more than an hour, but some people out there have claimed their weeks/months/years-old Mickey D’s patties are still as fresh as the day they bought them. But alas, this is just some tomfoolery. McDonald’s burgers go bad and Serious Eats has the pictures to prove it.
Science proved this myth false. Like, really false. So, eat all the chocolate you can muster.
In 2015, a video depicting maggots in Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls went viral. And in 2017, another video of maggot-infested Ferrero Rocher chocolates also hit the web and gained traction. Of course, many people were scared off from buying a package of the candy again. But Ferrero Rocher stated that, if not staged, the maggot incident likely occurred after they were sent off the factory floor and is a rare situation to have happened.
The Necco plant abruptly closed in 2018, sending fans into a panic. Necco’s Conversation Hearts did not make an appearance for Valentine’s Day 2019, but they will be back just in time for Valentine’s Day 2020. The factory was bought and the Necco company will be officially back on its feet in the coming months.
Remember that story from 2010 of a woman who attempted to sue Wendy’s after finding a human finger in her chili? It turns out she actually put the finger in her own chili bowl. Where did she get a human finger, you ask? Her husband got it from a coworker who had recently severed it in an industrial accident. Because of her scam, Wendy’s suffered an estimated $21 million blow to sales that year.
In 2017, headlines stating that chocolate is going extinct and will be null and void in the next 40 years populated the internet. The claim was made after scientists predicted that worsening climate change will affect the cocoa industry, which is totally true. However, what’s not true is the fact that chocolate will biologically disappear within decades. Cocoa plants may be in danger in their native countries, however, the plant can be grown elsewhere if climate change affects their natural growth habitat.
Don’t worry. The company insists that their scrumptious Apple Pies are made with actual apples — not the strange pumpkin/gourd/potato y’all think they’re made with.
Blogger Food Babe raged against the Pumpkin Spice Latte back in 2014, stating that it’s filled with dangerous toxins like ammonia, petroleum, pesticide residues, and GMO-laced “Monsanto Milk.” But according to Snopes, Food Babe is wrong. The drink is definitely not healthy, but it’s not going to kill you with toxins, either.
If you swallow your chewing gum, you’re not actually stuck with it for the next 7 years. Although the stomach has a near-impossible time trying to break gum down, the gum still moves throughout the digestive system, eventually coming out the other end.
Some believe that Colonel Sanders is a made up character used to sell chicken for KFC — like a Ronald McDonald type. But those of you who believe that: you’re wrong. Sanders was a real man who was an actual colonel-appointed army veteran.
They may not look like the freshly-cracked eggs we’re used to seeing in the pan on Sunday mornings. However, McDonald’s eggs are real, as stated by a Reddit user who used to work at the fast food chain. In fact, one McDonald’s location urges customers to ask about their “real eggs,” which is a weird marketing tactic, but okay.
Taco Bell has been criticized for the quality of their meat, with many people claiming its the same grade as dog food. However, the company addressed these rumors in 2014, stating that its meat is made up of 88% beef and 12% “signature recipe.” That’s still not that comforting, but at least we now know it’s better than dog food.
Can’t get enough candy? We found three different ways to make some seriously delicious candy bars.
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2UZl64NzA0"]*Waves to your sweet tooth*
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