Some snacks didn’t feel like they were made for eating so much as testing how far a food could go before someone stepped in. They were loud, weird, and sometimes flat-out wrong, but that was the fun of it. Here’s a look at the ones that probably shouldn’t have been legal, but were unforgettable while they lasted.
Orbitz Drink
Credit: Reddit
This 1990s drink looked like someone had bottled a lava lamp and called it fruit juice. Orbitz featured gelatinous balls suspended in liquid that just drifted ominously. They lasted barely a year, but it’s still remembered.
Mountain Dew Pitch Black (Original)
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When Mountain Dew rolled out this grape-flavored variant in 2004, it looked like battery acid and lit up under UV light. It was marketed as a Halloween limited edition but earned a cult following before eventually getting reformulated into a tamer version.
Jell-O Pudding Pops
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These ‘80s and ‘90s icons somehow felt like eating velvet. They had a creamy, smooth texture that no freezer snack has replicated since. After disappearing due to licensing drama, a reboot attempted a comeback—but it flopped hard.
Wow! Chips (Olestra)
Credit: Reddit
These low-fat chips delivered full flavor with a side of regret. Thanks to Olestra, a fat substitute, Wow! Chips became infamous for causing, let’s just say, digestive urgency. The packaging even included a warning label. Still, people couldn’t resist guilt-free snacking—until the consequences caught up.
Reese’s Peanut Butter & Banana Creme Cups (Elvis Edition)
Credit: Youtube
This limited-edition treat was released in 2007 to honor Elvis Presley’s love of peanut butter and banana sandwiches. The banana crème tasted wildly artificial, like candy pretending to be fruit. It didn’t last long, and most people weren’t exactly heartbroken.
Butterfinger BB’s
Credit: Instagram
These bite-sized candies looked harmless until someone tried chewing one. They were essentially Butterfinger bars in ball form, coated in a super hard shell. The taste was familiar, but the dental risk was real. After being advertised by The Simpsons, they gained traction in the ’90s before vanishing by 2006.
EZ Squirt Colored Ketchup
Credit: Reddit
In the early 2000s, Heinz unleashed neon condiments on an unsuspecting world. EZ Squirt came in shocking colors like “Blastin’ Green” and “Funky Purple.” Kids loved turning fries into art projects. Parents were less enthused about the radioactive dinner plates.
Hershey’s Swoops
Credit: flickr
Swoops were chocolate slices shaped like potato chips and stacked in canisters. It sounded clever, but they melted fast and were awkward to eat. The idea wasn’t dangerous, just impractical—and weirdly expensive. They launched in the early 2000s and didn’t survive past 2006.
Crystal Pepsi
Credit: Reddit
In the ‘90s, Pepsi bet big on transparency—literally. Crystal Pepsi was a cola without caramel coloring and was marketed as “clear and pure.” It still tasted like Pepsi, only lighter and vaguely citrusy. Consumers were baffled that it looked like Sprite but didn’t taste like it.
Jell-O 1-2-3
Credit: Reddit
This dessert promised three layers from a single mix—gelatin, mousse, and foam. Thanks to a blender and a lot of chilling, it worked like food magic. It was visually impressive but not exactly tasty. The flavors leaned heavily into “sweet air,” the whole thing felt more like a science fair project than dessert.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pies
Credit: Reddit
These green Hostess pies, filled with glowing vanilla pudding, looked like chemical warfare disguised as dessert. They rode the TMNT wave hard, but once the trend faded, so did the pies. The color alone raised suspicions, and the flavor didn’t help.
PB Max
Credit: Reddit
With a thick layer of peanut butter, oats, and chocolate, this bar feel like it was pushing the candy category into “meal replacement” territory. Rumor has it the Mars family just didn’t like peanut butter. Its abrupt exit only made it more mysterious.
Planters Cheez Balls
Credit: Youtube
Cheez Balls were ultra-light, neon-orange puffs coated in powdered cheese that felt like they belonged in an art supply closet. Cheez Balls weren’t illegal, but their color probably should’ve come with a warning. They stained everything and delivered a cheese flavor that was aggressively artificial.
Pizzarias Chips
Credit: flickr
Keebler tried turning pizza into a chip and got close. Pizzarias packed pepperoni, cheese, and tomato flavor into each crunchy bite. But the boldness didn’t translate into long-term success, and the product was shelved.
Keebler Magic Middles
Credit: Reddit
These cookies looked simple on the outside but hid a soft chocolate center that oozed just enough to surprise you. Magic Middles had a perfect balance of crunch and goo. For a while, they felt like the cookie jackpot. They were the rare cookies that felt a little too indulgent to last.
