# Are These Things Banned Today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959 "2011-10-27T13:17:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/1 "2011-10-27T13:17:29Z")
Recently, I went back to a little variety store near where I lived as a child. On the concrete pavement outside, I noticed those black stains-from dicarded lumps of parrafin wax. This came from things that were soild to kids years ago-stuff like: -wax lips-you used them for Halloween, then you chewed the wax (then spit it out)-hence the stains on the concrete -little wax bottles that contained vile , synthetic flavored “fruit” juice (orange, lime,lemon). Yo bit the top off, drank the (disgsting) contents, then chewed the wax I imagine that the mess created by all this wax was really irksome-did the EPA ban this stuff? Not nostalgic for this bit of the past! ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/2 "2011-10-27T13:21:31Z")
You can absolutely still buy the wax bottles of fruit drink. My kids don’t chew the wax though. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/3 "2011-10-27T13:55:23Z")
> **[Amazon.com : Wax Lips Candy, Cherry flavor 24 pk.(12oz) : Grocery & Gourmet...](https://www.amazon.com/Lips-Candy-Cherry-flavor-12oz/dp/B000OZT6VA)** > > Wack O Wax Wax Lips Cherry FLavored Novelty Candy 24 Count Box. First hit looking for “wax lips” ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/4 "2011-10-27T13:57:47Z")
Wax lips, wax teeth - the local grocery has these right by the checkout, for Halloween, you know. Why would the EPA waste its time trying to ban a bio-degradeable, non-toxic, edible substance? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/5 "2011-10-27T14:03:30Z")
Are you sure those are what those black stains are from. I was under the impression that they are spit out wads of gum. I see them far too often for them to be wax. Based on my experience running a store, I’ll bet if you get down and scrape at one it’ll be gummy and reveal the original color. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/6 "2011-10-27T14:04:30Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Why would the EPA waste its time trying to ban a bio-degradeable, non-toxic, edible substance? Without doing any research, I believe I’ve heard that paraffin is carcinogenic. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/7 "2011-10-27T14:10:54Z")
The answer is in the subtext of your post. It was during the Children’s Riot of 1983. Chaos and destruction in major population centers (Disneyland, Six Flags), the National Guard being called out, millions in property damage, and finally presidential intervention to broker a truce. The vile, horrible excuse for ‘candy’ was pulled from circulation, never again to look so good and inviting in packaged form–only to trick unsuspecting children into culinary horror. In turn, negotiators for the children agreed that Circus Peanuts, needed in case of invasion, could remain on the shelf. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/8 "2011-10-27T18:24:10Z")
When I was a young’n, there were Halloween versions of the Nik-L-Nip bottles. I remember witches’ heads, skeletons, and bats among others. They cost one cent each and were sold loose out of bins. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/9 "2011-10-27T18:58:40Z")
[Nik-l-nip](http://www.hometownfavorites.com/nostalgic-candy/1960s-candy/nik-l-nip-original-wax-bottles-5pk) at Hometown Favorites. This site has all kinds of good stuff like bubblegum cigars, Bonomo Turkish Taffy, Clarks Gum, etc. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/10 "2011-10-28T00:01:11Z")
Right, it’s not wax, it’s [chewing gum](http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/those-little-black-gum-dots-busted/). Ugh. Filthy habit. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/11 "2011-10-28T02:15:06Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Why would the EPA waste its time trying to ban a bio-degradeable, non-toxic, edible substance? Sounds like something that gets circulated in right wing inboxes. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/12 "2011-10-28T02:45:09Z")
Once when I was a kid, I asked my mom what all those little black spots on the sidewalk were. She said, “blackbird doody.” ---
**Author:** ![kjbrasda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/74df32/32.png) [@kjbrasda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjbrasda)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-things-banned-today/600959/13 "2011-10-28T04:56:43Z")
Food grade paraffin wax is edible but indigestable. It’s going to come out the same as it went in. The ‘carcinogenic’ part comes in when you burn unpure paraffin.