Tales From The 70's - Candy That Could KILL You!!

[Wee67]

I came across a reference of something that had completely left my memory - red M&M's cause cancer.



Do you remember this urban myth? I remember recounting tales in the back of the station wagon about of how red dye #2 caused cancer. That's why there were no red M&M's. Apparently, Mars did pull red M&M's but not because they caused cancer, but because this myth had gained so much traction with the public. M&M's didn't even use red dye #2. They used #40.

Of course, there was also the Pop Rocks killed Mikey legend that was passed around. Do you remember any popular myths of the 70's?

[Earth 2 Chris]

I remember that. It got around as the reason there was no red M&M for years. There was also the rumor that green M&Ms would make you horny. Then they made the green M&M a flirty girl in the commercials, which made me wonder if Mars was skidding into the myth just a bit.

I remember hearing of the Pop Rock Myth early, but not the Mikey part until years later.

The biggest myth that hit home to me was that George Reeves killed himself in a Superman delusion and leaped from a window. Of course that probably started in the 50s, but was still around.

Chris

[Mikey]

Spider eggs in Hubba-Bubba or Bubble-Yum gum … I forgot which

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Good one.

Along with that, earthworms in Wendy's hamburgers.

Chris

[Mikey]

Thought of a local NYC area one --- and it's WIERD !!!

Back in the day A-Treat was a very popular soda in the Pa, NJ area … Had millions of flavors, tasted GREAT and were sold in glass bottles.

They tried to expand into New York City

The bad soda people in New York started a rumour A-Treat secretly puts in a chemical that sterilizes only black people.

I'm not sure what happened in the end but the rumour remains one of the nastiest things a rival company ever did to another company. (think it was in the 80's)

[Mikey]

wiki...In 1991, the company was the subject of regional news coverage when a smear campaign was launched against A-Treat as it tried to sell its sodas in New York City. The campaign, which targeted African Americans, claimed certain brands of carbonated beverages — including those produced by A-Treat — were actually manufactured by the Ku Klux Klan and contained stimulants that would "sterilize the black man".[6] Investigations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and New York City's Department of Health found the claims to be unsubstantiated and untrue.

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[Wee67]

Spider eggs in Hubba-Bubba or Bubble-Yum gum … I forgot which

Ah, yeah. That was a classic. I think Bubble Yum even placed an ad refuting those claims.

The bad soda people in New York started a rumour A-Treat secretly puts in a chemical that sterilizes only black people.

Wasn't that the plot of the movie 'Black Dynamite'? (but with malt liquor)

[Wee67]

My mom was always spreading tales of terror from the 70's in an attempt to scare me from certain life-threatening activities. She always claimed, "Just last week, I read in the paper about a boy who..." Coincidentaly, some of friends' moms were telling them the same stories.

One of her classics was the boy who failed to lift his feet at the end of the escalator. Despite his gory fate, it only encouraged me to keep my feet down to see if it was really possible to get stuck. Another equally gory news item she had read "just last week" left me with a horrifying mental image of a headless body slumping back into a car after the boy refused to stop sticking his head out the car window.

[Valor]

Mom would never let us have cereal that had BHA or BHT in it. Also, no licorice because it was "carcinogenic."

[Earth 2 Chris]

My mom heard Ataris would burn a pattern into your TV screen, so I was never allowed to plug up our 2600 to our color tv. We had to play it on the black and white one in my sister's room. I guess it COULD burn a pattern in it, if you left it on FOREVER.

Chris

[starsky]

i've heard of razor blades in salt water taffy.

[Mikey]

Speaking of sitting too close to the TV,

My mom was a wisecracker on occasions.

I remember telling her "we should get a big screen TV"

She said, "sit closer and the screen will get bigger"

Of course she wasn't serious but it did give us a chuckle

[cjefferys]

I remember hearing about McDonalds hamburgers using kangaroo meat. Which when you think about it is ridiculous, I'm sure that type of meat would cost much more than beef.

My mom heard Ataris would burn a pattern into your TV screen, so I was never allowed to plug up our 2600 to our color tv. We had to play it on the black and white one in my sister's room. I guess it COULD burn a pattern in it, if you left it on FOREVER.

Chris

That is indeed true. A static pattern on your TV over a long period of time could cause screen burn-in (on CRT screens back in the day and in early plasma TVs). That's why when you finished your Atari game and left it sitting for awhile, the colors would periodically change to prevent burn-in.

[msenger76]

My mom heard Ataris would burn a pattern into your TV screen, so I was never allowed to plug up our 2600 to our color tv. We had to play it on the black and white one in my sister's room. I guess it COULD burn a pattern in it, if you left it on FOREVER.

Chris

Actually knew a couple who told me that his parents had a tv like this. big old tv, and sure enough - DR Mario and that pill bottle never left the screen

[Werewolf]

I remember the razor blades in Halloween candy scare. It all turned out to be nonsense of course. But it was a huge deal at the time and all over the news.