# I believe I have discovered the worst “food” item in existence **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 23, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741 "2021-05-23T14:11:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/21 "2021-05-23T21:35:28Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Anyone remember Runts?) Hey hey now! Runts were da shit back in the day, as candy…can’t imagine them as cereal though. Grape-nuts, edible if you poured enough (cups of) sugar on them and then ate them quickly before they degenerated into a sticky, paste like mass ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/22 "2021-05-23T21:56:21Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > Hey hey now! Runts were da shit back in the day, as candy…can’t imagine them as cereal though. Runts cereal did exist. I think the box had two sections for different flavors. I had a much higher sugar tolerance when I was younger, so I didn’t hate it. But now I’m old, and I have to eat boring cereal that’s not fruit-flavored and full of sugar. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/23 "2021-05-23T21:57:52Z")
so no cracklin oat bran for you then cause it is or was chock o’block full of fat and sugar(probably not anymore, what with the transfat ban) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/24 "2021-05-23T21:59:27Z")
Behold katsu ika odori-don – dancing squid rice bowl. The squid is _not_ alive but sure looks it. [Wiki article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katsu_ika_odori-don) (safe) [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i-yShKkdlw) (you have been warned) ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/25 "2021-05-23T22:04:45Z")
> [@MagicEyes](#): > > But now I’m old, and I have to eat boring cereal that’s not fruit-flavored and full of sugar wait wait wait! this slipped by me, when does old start and I have to give up the kid cereal? I really need to know cause i’m in my 50s now and I don’t want to miss an important deadline, bein all responsible and grown up and everything😉 ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/26 "2021-05-23T22:31:20Z")
I thought Grain Berry was particularly awful. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/27 "2021-05-23T22:31:21Z")
I’m 51 and still love the Monster Cereals. I consider maturity optional. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/28 "2021-05-23T22:35:26Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > Grape-nuts, edible if you poured enough (cups of) sugar on them and then ate them quickly before they degenerated into a sticky, paste like mass I have always loved Grape-nuts, then and now, without sugar. My favorite cereal was Product 19. Worst food I’ve ever had was when I tried to make “bacon pie”; pecan pie with crumbled bacon substituted for the pecans. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/29 "2021-05-23T22:37:37Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I have always loved Grape-nuts, then and now, without sugar. What is the deal with Grape Nuts? It contains neither grapes nor nuts. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/30 "2021-05-23T23:37:49Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Or Surströmming flavor swedish fish. Or Durian Toast Crunch. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/31 "2021-05-23T23:46:03Z")
I have always liked bland foods just fine. Oatmeal, Kashi heart-to-heart, plain bran flakes, and shredded wheat are all fine with me. But Cheerios? They always taste like rancid oil. I can’t get the bite even into my mouth. I really don’t know how so many people eat that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/32 "2021-05-24T00:06:13Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > What is the deal with Grape Nuts? It contains neither grapes nor nuts. The ‘grape’ is originally it contained grape sugar – not sure if it still does. The ‘nut’ is from the ‘nutlike’ texture of the zweiback granules. It’s the only cold cereal I put sugar on. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/33 "2021-05-24T00:12:51Z")
I knew where the name came from. I was trying to inject some comedy into the thread. Thanks, I’ll be here all week. And be sure to try the Fruity Pebbles Crisps. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/34 "2021-05-24T00:17:23Z")
Okay. Ya got me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/35 "2021-05-24T00:43:05Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I thought I had the ultimate refutation lined up, but it turns out there’s been an update to the story. Regardless, eating live octopus was certainly considered to be a plausible cause of death, so I still think it’s a pretty lousy food stuff. A thread from 2004 on the virtues of 99 cent store canned octopus as a foodstuff along with my commentary on octopus I enjoy: > [@octopus and bagals for lunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-and-bagals-for-lunch/280568): > > Mrs. Roadwalker is working at Curves this morning so I took the kids to the 99 cent store so they can buy her Christmas Gifts. (The are 11, 7, 6, 3 and 1). A box of nerds, and ice cream dish, a pretty candle, all bought with money they earned. And I see a small box with the other canned goods that says: Octopuses in Garlic Oil. We joke about it for lunch and the 11 year old says lets do it. The 7 year old starts freaking out. But we buy it anyway. The kids (except the freaked out 7 year … And a post from 2007 about a much better to eat octopus. Or at least to watch octopus being eaten. > [@The salability of "authentic" ethnic food.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-salability-of-authentic-ethnic-food/399067/25): > > Many years ago I was touring Japan. This was long enough ago that Caucasians were rare in Tokyo & all but unheard of out in the prefectures. I was in a city park on Shikoku watching a guy pushing a vending cart. A 20-ish total babe came up & bought one of whatever it was. I watched with interest as I hadn’t been able to figure out what he was selling from his signage. Depending on what it was, I thought it might give me an opener with the babe too. He pokes around in the cart with a skewer… ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/36 "2021-05-24T01:04:04Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > It’s the only cold cereal I put sugar on. Sacrilege​ ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/37 "2021-05-24T01:28:15Z")
I didn’t even like Fruity Pebbles as a kid. And that’s saying something bc I never turned my nose at a kids cereal. Even Honeycomb, knowing full well it was going to destroy the roof of my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/38 "2021-05-24T01:38:21Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Even Honeycomb, knowing full well it was going to destroy the roof of my mouth. - Honeycomb was _nothing_ compared to Cap’n Crunch. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/39 "2021-05-24T01:45:36Z")
I thought this thread would be about vegemite. I so wanted to like it… 😱 ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/40 "2021-05-24T01:54:46Z")
I have to assume that either the OP received a bad or spoiled product, or the company did a horrible job of replicating the taste of the cereal to the new snack. Because Fruity Pebbles were a true delight before my lactose intolerance kicked in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741.md?page=3)