# Realistically, what would have happened to the Stay Puft Corporation after the events of Ghostbusters 1? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 24, 2021, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844 "2021-11-24T03:53:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/21 "2021-11-24T16:18:59Z")
I never got the impression that the events were forgotten, rather just that the Ghostbusters did a really good job of ridding the world of paranormal activity and that people had just moved on once they no longer had to worry about spirits running wild through the streets. Also, at the beginning of the second movie, they mention that the Ghostbusters themselves were sued by a number of local, state and federal agencies. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/22 "2021-11-24T17:47:46Z")
Ever since the Tylenol poisonings, loads of products come Safety Sealed. Even cat litter. It’s the Corporate way of saying, “We are listening to your concerns”. Stay-Puft will now add a line in their packaging that includes an 800 number to report any unusual activity by individual marshmallows. They will be ready to answer your questions - for instance, if your marshmallow begins to expand during toasting, this is normal. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/23 "2021-11-24T17:51:13Z")
The smart move would be to get the Ghostbusters to appear in ads for them, and everyone makes bank…but as noted, collective amnesia seems to happen in GB 2, so I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/24 "2021-11-24T18:02:34Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The Michelin Tire man would get very jealous. and that is a fight I would pay to see! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/25 "2021-11-24T18:03:28Z")
The first two Ghostbusters movies really seem to show that ghostbusting doesn’t have a viable business model. It seems like most of the time, there’s not enough business for ghostbusting to be profitable - but there are periods of a few weeks every few years when there’s a ramp-up in activity enough to make the business profitable, until the moment the activity becomes so high that the world is about to end (so the GBs have to work pro-bono just to keep the world around). The 2018 GB movie seemed to suggest government funding for Ghostbusters, so they can refine their equipment and theories in-between world-threatening crises - a more workable business model. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/26 "2021-11-24T18:12:41Z")
Ghostbusters 2 definitely did not have the “amnesia” effect. People absolutely remembered the Ghostbusters and what happened in New York. Ray and Winston are doing children’s birthday parties in full ghostbuster gear at the beginning. It’s not that people forgot, it’s that they mostly decided that what happened was the Ghostbuster’s fault. It’s not amnesia driving the setup in GB2, it’s ingratitude. Like **Andy\_L** just pointed out, Ghostbusting is only a viable business model when there’s some supernatural threat driving up the ghost activity. At the beginning of the first movie, Peter, Ray, and Egon have been working as paranormal researchers for years, and the most dramatic thing any of them have seen was when Ray witnessed a mass sponge migration. They go from that to capturing multiple spooks every week when Gozer shows up. Once he’s gone, that level of supernatural activity goes back to regular twinkie size, and the business dries up, until Vigo arrives at an art museum. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/27 "2021-11-24T18:14:52Z")
My WAG; short-term retire the mascot, long-term bring the mascot back in an ad campaign humorously referencing the events of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/28 "2021-11-24T20:03:45Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I was thinking they’d be suing Zuul. > > Not sure how you would serve the subpoena though. Subpoenaturally? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/29 "2021-11-24T20:10:12Z")
Was the ghostly librarian part of the Gozer surge, or everyday twinkie level? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/30 "2021-11-24T20:26:56Z")
I think she was a pre-existing spirit that had been haunting the library for years, but wasn’t normally able to manifest that clearly until Gozer showed up. Before that, she could only do stuff like you hear about in “real” ghost stories - create cold spots, give people spooky “I’m being watched vibes,” maybe occasionally move a very small object when no one is looking. The sort of stuff that’s hard to prove and has non-supernatural explanations. When Gozer starts breaking into the world, it empowers ghosts like her so that they can manifest visibly, and stack books and throw card catalogues around. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/31 "2021-11-24T20:47:00Z")
Likewise, at the hotel, the manager said there had been stories about a haunting for years - but probably not to the extent that the Ghostbusters encountered until Gozer opened the door. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/32 "2021-11-24T23:12:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Considering that sales of Corona beer are up significantly the past year and a half, I’d guess that the Say-Puft Marshmallow Company would be doing just fine. And Delta, the airline, seems to be doing no worse than other airlines. Feels like a difference in kind, rather than degree. If, like, a town had been mysteriously inundated with actual Corona beer instead of there just being a similarity in name, we would have a better parallel. I tend to agree they’d do fine, though. No such thing as bad attention! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/33 "2021-11-25T01:30:03Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > And Delta, the airline, seems to be doing no worse than other airlines. On the other hand, [Ayds Diet Mints](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayds) are hard to come by these days. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/34 "2021-11-25T01:43:33Z")
Wasn’t it literally an act of god? Their insurance wouldn’t pay out. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/35 "2021-11-25T02:03:14Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > On the other hand, [Ayds Diet Mints](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayds) are hard to come by these days. Or maybe just changed their name? Like Kool-Aid had to do. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/36 "2021-11-25T03:26:06Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Or maybe just changed their name? Like Kool-Aid had to do. Come again? Kool-Aid has had the same name since it was first sold in 1927. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/37 "2021-11-25T03:30:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Come again? Kool-Aid has had the same name since it was first sold in 1927. I was under the impression that they had to change the name of their product after it got (erroneously) associated with the Jonestown Massacre in 1978, to such an entrenched extent in the public mind that “drank the Kool-Aid” gained an entirely new meaning. ETA: It was actually Flavor Aid. Did they have to change that product name? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/38 "2021-11-25T03:33:05Z")
Flavor Aid still goes by that name, but it’s been decades since I’ve seen it on a store sheld. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/39 "2021-11-25T03:34:57Z")
I could be all wrong. I thought Kool-Aid (by that name) had vanished. But, I rarely actually go to that aisle in the supermarket, so I may be imagining it all. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844/40 "2021-11-25T03:38:01Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I could be all wrong. I thought Kool-Aid (by that name) had vanished. Anything but. Restocking the Kool-Aid is the bane of my existence at the grocery store I work at, because people make such a mess of it picking through the flavors that it takes longer just to put everything back in the right spot than it actually takes to fill it. If the Destructor had taken the form of the Kool-Aid Man, there would have been no survivors. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistically-what-would-have-happened-to-the-stay-puft-corporation-after-the-events-of-ghostbusters-1/954844.md?page=3)