ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 28, 1996 TAG: 9606280009
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: friday something
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER
A coupla decades ago, plop! plop! fizz! fizz! to adults meant relief from too much of a good thing. To kids, the sound meant the water in their glass was about to metamorphose (this was way before Power Rangers) into a bubbling neon red, purple or other color that water was never intended to be.
It was Fizzies! And to prove the saying that if you wait long enough, everything comes back again, Fizzies are! Back, that is.
For those of you who missed Fizzies' short cyclamate-filled life, here's a primer: Looks like an Alka Seltzer dipped in one of Dennis Rodman's hair dye bottles, bubbles like carbonated drinks should (but don't) and tastes like the flavor listed on the label and a dash from the salt shaker.
The original drink fizzled when the FDA banned cyclamates. Now, through the wonders of more artificial sweeteners and a lot of work by some guys who fondly remember them from their childhood, Fizzies have been updated for the '90s.
Of course, that means there's a skateboard on the label - they've done their market research - and the names, which used to be things like Imitation Cherry are now Chug'n Cherry, Buzz 'n Berry and Ooz'n Orange.
The tough kids used to take a whole one and let it dissolve on their tongues - sort of like today's Pop Rocks. Now, kids can disgust their parents with mini-Fizzies, a bite-sized version that fills the mouth with colored foam just waiting to ooze out - at the dinner table, no doubt.
Lots of 30- and 40-somethings can now resurrect their fuzzy fond Fizzies memories. I remember the time we tossed a handful into the fountain at school
Call (800) 947-7527 to find out where to get 'em.
LENGTH: Short : 43 linesby CNB