# Are there other foods that glow in the dark like wintergreen Lifesavers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 15, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-foods-that-glow-in-the-dark-like-wintergreen-lifesavers/128508 "2002-09-15T03:45:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Helm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Helm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helm)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-foods-that-glow-in-the-dark-like-wintergreen-lifesavers/128508/1 "2002-09-15T03:45:14Z")
If you chew wintergreen lifesavers in the dark with a mirror, you will see “sparks” of light. Do other foods do this? ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-foods-that-glow-in-the-dark-like-wintergreen-lifesavers/128508/2 "2002-09-15T04:28:48Z")
I read the title, and originally thought that you meant foods that actually give off a constant glow. My answer for that is that I think there are some gummy worms that glow in the dark. Trolli makes them I believe. ---
**Author:** ![AmbushBug](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ambushbug/32/4600_2.png) [@AmbushBug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmbushBug)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-foods-that-glow-in-the-dark-like-wintergreen-lifesavers/128508/3 "2002-09-15T05:07:27Z")
That’s not glowing in the dark, that’s [triboluminescence](http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/9911/tribo.htm), and you can do it with any crystalline sugar, even sugar cubes. AmbushBug [sub]tastes just like chemistry[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Kai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/cc9497/32.png) [@Kai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kai)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-foods-that-glow-in-the-dark-like-wintergreen-lifesavers/128508/4 "2002-09-15T05:16:35Z")
Snapping a green Necco waffer in half in a dark room will produce the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-foods-that-glow-in-the-dark-like-wintergreen-lifesavers/128508/5 "2002-09-15T05:31:16Z")
from Cecil’s column on the subject [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_129.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_129.html) > [@](#): > > Wintergreen sparking, it’s believed, is actually a three-step process. Step One: When you shatter the sugar crystals with your teeth, electrons (which are negatively charged) break free. As a result, the atoms in which the electrons were formerly embedded become positively charged. In what amounts to a subatomic game of musical chairs, the free electrons dash around madly trying to find a new home. > > Step Two: Meanwhile, as the sugar crystals disintegrate, nitrogen molecules from the air attach themselves to the fractured surfaces. When the free electrons strike the nitrogen molecules, they cause the latter to emit invisible ultraviolet radiation, along with a faint visible glow. > > Step Three: The UV radiation is absorbed by the wintergreen flavoring, methyl salicylate. This then emits the fairly bright blue light you see. Pretty complicated, I admit. Clearly the planners in the Pentagon weren’t the first to be obsessed with high-tech gimcracks. > > I should point out that even without the wintergreen flavoring, virtually all crystal sugar candy, including peppermint Life Savers, will emit some visible light when crushed, although it’s usually pretty faint. The effect was first described in 17th-century Italy, and since then it’s been discussed in numerous papers and articles. So a partial answer to the OP is that you should see sparks similar to wintergreen Lifesavers in things that contain fluorescent components. ---
**Author:** ![Helm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Helm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-foods-that-glow-in-the-dark-like-wintergreen-lifesavers/128508/6 "2002-09-16T03:19:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe K \* > \*\*I read the title, and originally thought that you meant foods that actually give off a constant glow. My answer for that is that I think there are some gummy worms that glow in the dark. Trolli makes them I believe. \*\* Since the most common product I know that glows in the dark (after sufficient exposure to light) is laundry detergent, I hesitate to ask what these worms taste like 😃