Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Proust and the flavor of Fizzies
Choo-Choo Cherry, Goofy Grape, Jolly Oily Orange, Loudmouth Punch, Freckle-Faced Strawberry, Lefty Lemonade, Rudy Tutti-Frutti, Pistol Pink Lemonade, Captain Black Cherry, and With-It Watermelon
In the late ’60s came the big, bad FDA to say, “Cyclamates cause cancer in exotic lab animals!”
Dear M.A.: Whatever happened to Fizzies, those little lozenges that bubbled up into a glass of flavored drinks? I must have some again. Did they disappear as a health hazard? — Brian Schmidtberger, North Park
Dear Matthew Alice: Please settle a bet by giving us the names of all the flavors of Funny Face drink mixes that were so popular. Rootin'-Tootin' Raspberry, I think, was one of them. — Grantville Girls, Grantville
The glorified Alka-Seltzer you recall so fondly, Brian, was indeed removed from the market for health reasons. Ironic, since Fizzies were made by Warner-Lambert, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms. But that might explain Fizzies’ unique flavor. As I recall, they had a light and fruity chemical impertinence, with a complex petroleum-derivative aftertaste, the perfect accompaniment to almost anything made by Hostess.
Kids loved Fizzies because it was the irresistible parlay of refreshment and entertainment, watching the tablets bubble and dissolve into a beverage only a five-year-old could swallow. Moms loved Fizzies because they were sweetened with cyclamates, not sugar, so the drink was one less thing to cause those expensive cavities. For a while everybody was cheery. But then in the late ’60s came the big, bad FDA to say, “Cyclamates cause cancer in exotic lab animals!” Warner-Lambert promptly pulled Fizzies from the market, although there was no record of any exotic lab animal ever having bought the stuff. End of story.
For our wagerers in Grantville, the Funny Face manufacturer, Brady Enterprises, offers the following list: R-T Raspberry, as mentioned, plus Choo-Choo Cherry, Goofy Grape, Jolly Oily Orange, Loudmouth Punch, Freckle-Faced Strawberry, Lefty Lemonade, Rudy Tutti-Frutti, Pistol Pink Lemonade, Captain Black Cherry, and With-It Watermelon.
No doubt about it, nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. Proust was inspired by fine French cooking; we grow wistful over Fizzies. Probably no novels in that.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Proust and the flavor of Fizzies
Choo-Choo Cherry, Goofy Grape, Jolly Oily Orange, Loudmouth Punch, Freckle-Faced Strawberry, Lefty Lemonade, Rudy Tutti-Frutti, Pistol Pink Lemonade, Captain Black Cherry, and With-It Watermelon
Proust and the flavor of Fizzies
Choo-Choo Cherry, Goofy Grape, Jolly Oily Orange, Loudmouth Punch, Freckle-Faced Strawberry, Lefty Lemonade, Rudy Tutti-Frutti, Pistol Pink Lemonade, Captain Black Cherry, and With-It Watermelon
In the late ’60s came the big, bad FDA to say, “Cyclamates cause cancer in exotic lab animals!”
Dear M.A.: Whatever happened to Fizzies, those little lozenges that bubbled up into a glass of flavored drinks? I must have some again. Did they disappear as a health hazard? — Brian Schmidtberger, North Park
Dear Matthew Alice: Please settle a bet by giving us the names of all the flavors of Funny Face drink mixes that were so popular. Rootin'-Tootin' Raspberry, I think, was one of them. — Grantville Girls, Grantville
The glorified Alka-Seltzer you recall so fondly, Brian, was indeed removed from the market for health reasons. Ironic, since Fizzies were made by Warner-Lambert, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms. But that might explain Fizzies’ unique flavor. As I recall, they had a light and fruity chemical impertinence, with a complex petroleum-derivative aftertaste, the perfect accompaniment to almost anything made by Hostess.
Kids loved Fizzies because it was the irresistible parlay of refreshment and entertainment, watching the tablets bubble and dissolve into a beverage only a five-year-old could swallow. Moms loved Fizzies because they were sweetened with cyclamates, not sugar, so the drink was one less thing to cause those expensive cavities. For a while everybody was cheery. But then in the late ’60s came the big, bad FDA to say, “Cyclamates cause cancer in exotic lab animals!” Warner-Lambert promptly pulled Fizzies from the market, although there was no record of any exotic lab animal ever having bought the stuff. End of story.
For our wagerers in Grantville, the Funny Face manufacturer, Brady Enterprises, offers the following list: R-T Raspberry, as mentioned, plus Choo-Choo Cherry, Goofy Grape, Jolly Oily Orange, Loudmouth Punch, Freckle-Faced Strawberry, Lefty Lemonade, Rudy Tutti-Frutti, Pistol Pink Lemonade, Captain Black Cherry, and With-It Watermelon.
No doubt about it, nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. Proust was inspired by fine French cooking; we grow wistful over Fizzies. Probably no novels in that.
Comments