# Stuff you loved that was discontinued. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 2, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157 "2011-08-02T06:11:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/141 "2011-08-04T12:17:40Z")
Hershey had a soft caramel that tasted good and didn’t chew like a latex balloon and I really liked their apple flavored caramels the best. Sour cream and onion Doritos. They’ve been dead since ranch was introduced. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/142 "2011-08-04T12:30:13Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Before you despair, check [here](http://www.hometownfavorites.com/) first. You might just find that they still make what you’re looking for. They just have the small version of gobstoppers. I can get those anywhere. Phbbbt. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/143 "2011-08-04T12:39:32Z")
Like some of these things, [caffeine free Dr. Pepper](http://www.drpepper.com/text/products/caffeinefreedrpepper/) wasn’t discontinued according to this page but I haven’t seen it in a store for at least 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/144 "2011-08-04T12:55:24Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > There was also something else that was very 60’s space-age food: you mixed it up, then it would separate into three distinct layers: a kind of true gelatin on the bottom, a fluffier gelatin in the middle, and then almost pure gel-foam on the top. Anyone remember the name of that? Yep, that was [Jell-O 1-2-3](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=jello+123&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1432&bih=739&tbm=isch&prmd=ivnse&tbnid=rAgWoXbkStKHnM:&imgrefurl=http://www.cmonfwank.com/article008.html&docid=oZCrE6xStGITsM&w=312&h=366&ei=RpY6TsLbOIqugQeMq_jPBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=209&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=120&start=0&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0&tx=87&ty=69). ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/145 "2011-08-04T13:05:21Z")
The one I still miss, and often have a craving for, was Bigelow’s “Early Riser” tea. The only way I can describe it, is that it was a very strong black tea, that tasted like muddy burnt cork and smelled pretty horrible. I actually used to love that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/146 "2011-08-04T13:13:21Z")
Karen Carpenter. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/147 "2011-08-04T13:55:43Z")
Circa early 60’s: Beverages: [Fizzies](http://www.theonlinecandyshop.com/images/products/detail/fizziescombo.jpg) and [Coco-Marsh](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5217/5440375234_070c6fc603.jpg) Toys: [Vac-U-Form](http://www.spookshows.com/toys/vacuform/vacuform-front-of-box.jpg), [Charlie the Bartender](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/3165469193_d3807c25c6.jpg) and 50’s era, metal [O-gauge Lionel Model Trains](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oqQSrgpo2n8/S79bltABJHI/AAAAAAAAAIU/Hkg9r79rhqQ/s1600/MVC-016S.JPG) (had this engine; weighed a ton). My dad had the older [Standard Gauge](http://www.lionel.com/ForTheHobbyist/AboutGauge/) Lionel [trains](http://www.tcawestern.org/images/lionel5.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/148 "2011-08-04T14:00:16Z")
I am happy to report that I finally found baked ramen noodles! They’re pricey, come in a package of five for about $5, but they do exist. Campbell’s discontinued them years ago, but I found a Korean import in my local Asian grocery. Contains noodles and three separate packets: soup base, dehydrated vegetables, and a paste-type flavoring. A little on the spicy side but of course you can use less of the paste. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/149 "2011-08-04T14:24:39Z")
I had a Thingmaker toy, which consisted of the VacUForm and the Thingmaker. A company put out a newer version of the Thingmaker, but it was safer. SAFER! Ha! In MY day, a toy wasn’t considered to be really cool unless you had to run a risk of injury if you played with it! The original Thingmaker could cause some pretty serious burns if you weren’t careful, and we considered the risk to be worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/150 "2011-08-04T16:50:24Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I had a Thingmaker toy, which consisted of the VacUForm and the Thingmaker. A company put out a newer version of the Thingmaker, but it was safer. SAFER! Ha! In MY day, a toy wasn’t considered to be really cool unless you had to run a risk of injury if you played with it! The original Thingmaker could cause some pretty serious burns if you weren’t careful, and we considered the risk to be worth it. OHMYGOD!!! I had started to think I was the only kid who ever heard of either of those things! I would mention them to my friends and they would give me the you crazy look! VACUFORM! That was weird and cool and stuck in my head forever! Strange plastic sheet with SUCH a distinct smell… fold over the iron thing or something? Lay it on top of the mold and fold something over it and poof, melt into the new shape! Then I remember the Thingmaker - and my memory is that you could buy the new Thingmaker complete, or you could, if you were a kid like me who had the Vacuform, re-purpose the heating element to work with the Thingmaker molds..I loved that toy! I had bug molds and flower molds and aws it monsters? The smell of the Thing Liquid (my name for it, I can’t remember if it had a proper name) permeates my memories of life as a 6, 7, 8 and 9 year old! Okay, now it’s time for my other **Weird Toy From My 1960’s Childhood Involving Likely Toxic Substances:** do you, Lynn, since we seem to share a fascinationg with goop that can be shaped into stuff, recall some toy that involved wet colored sand in squeeze bottles being squeezed onto a special disk that in my memory looked like a roll of gigantic brown tape? You would squeeze the very wet colored sand out and make a mound of it and the moisture would sort of be absorbed by the platform… ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/151 "2011-08-04T16:52:09Z")
> [@Tibbytoes](#): > > Toys: [Vac-U-Form](http://www.spookshows.com/toys/vacuform/vacuform-front-of-box.jpg), OH MY GOD!! I hadn’t seen one in 40 years! Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/152 "2011-08-04T17:25:12Z")
[Thingmaker](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDfSoAG8cWA)! It’s called “Plastigoop” ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/153 "2011-08-04T19:11:38Z")
A good half of the PC brand foods. We are apparently one of their test market areas, and they will bring in a new product for just long enough for us to decide we really like it, then Poof! it’s gone from the shelves. If we’re lucky, one or two of them may reappear as a regular product after a year or two. Toppits frozen garlic cubes. A really convenient to add crushed garlic to a recipe when you’re in a hurry. They still make them, but none of the local grocers seem to carry them any more. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/154 "2011-08-04T19:23:46Z")
Just thought of three more, found while going through some of my old posts: 1. Cinnabon Triple Chocolate Bites. These things were crack. I’m serious. They were the yummiest thing _ever_. They were a cakey/brownie shell filled with warm chocolate filling and topped with chocolate icing. And they don’t exist anymore, and haven’t since the early 2000s. And I am sad. 2. New York Style Cinnamon Raisin Mini Bagel Chips. These were really good too. Haven’t seen them since around 2004. 3. Lifesavers CremeSavers Chocolate/Caramel soft candies. I miss these so much. They were soft and chewy and they weren’t horrible calorie-wise (you could eat like 10 of them and not feel like you’d blown your calorie budget for the day on sweets). ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/155 "2011-08-04T20:46:54Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I had a Thingmaker toy, which consisted of the VacUForm and the Thingmaker. A company put out a newer version of the Thingmaker, but it was safer. SAFER! Ha! In MY day, a toy wasn’t considered to be really cool unless you had to run a risk of injury if you played with it! The original Thingmaker could cause some pretty serious burns if you weren’t careful, and we considered the risk to be worth it. I had the[Super Thingmaker](http://www.ioffer.com/i/106311241). Something from all the sets. I wish I had had the full dragon set too. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/156 "2011-08-04T21:21:15Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > **Weird Toy From My 1960’s Childhood Involving Likely Toxic Substances:** do you, Lynn, since we seem to share a fascinationg with goop that can be shaped into stuff, recall some toy that involved wet colored sand in squeeze bottles being squeezed onto a special disk that in my memory looked like a roll of gigantic brown tape? You would squeeze the very wet colored sand out and make a mound of it and the moisture would sort of be absorbed by the platform… [AHA](http://www.timewarptoys.com/sillysand1.JPG)! And my memory is [solid](http://www.timewarptoys.com/sillysand2.JPG)! Now, the last thing I need to experience to complete my lingering nostalgia for my childhood is the sound of Sterling Holloway reading Rudyard Kipling’s “The Cat Who Walked By Hmself” or “The Elephant’s Child”… it’s available on vinyl a lot of places, but no cds or MP3s, so even if I bought it, I’d still be stuck. I sure would love to hear that. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/157 "2011-08-04T21:23:49Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I had the[Super Thingmaker](http://www.ioffer.com/i/106311241). Something from all the sets. I wish I had had the full dragon set too. CREEPLE PEEPLE! Yer killin’ me!!! I had the creeple peeple, the bugs, the flowers, and the Fright Factory stuff. I can smell it as I type… ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/158 "2011-08-04T21:38:13Z")
[![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_F0GAP6-48VY/SLU-UyxPT_I/AAAAAAAAAik/Fqy9baGZVxY/s400/Tretorn-Nylite-White.jpg) ](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_F0GAP6-48VY/SLU-UyxPT_I/AAAAAAAAAik/Fqy9baGZVxY/s400/Tretorn-Nylite-White.jpg) Tretorn canvas sneakers. The original. Every once in blue moon they roll out a production and I snap them up. But never in the fun colors that they used to have. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/159 "2011-08-04T23:01:12Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > There was also something else that was very 60’s space-age food: you mixed it up, then it would separate into three distinct layers: a kind of true gelatin on the bottom, a fluffier gelatin in the middle, and then almost pure gel-foam on the top. Anyone remember the name of that? Yeah, the dude up in [Post # 77](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14093948&postcount=77) does. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157/160 "2011-08-04T23:25:54Z")
This was always fun. Link is youtube. [Mattel’s Strange Change Machine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vVRyo3ZGcY&feature=related) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-loved-that-was-discontinued/591157.md?page=9)