# Why did this product get the boot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314 "2003-09-18T05:16:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/1 "2003-09-18T05:16:18Z")
We all have items that we loved to buy. Alas they are no longer availible. Is there any protocol or Database that lists why certain Food fads got canned? In particular, I would like to know about “Big Stuf” Oreo Cookies. and Keebler “Sweet Spots” Cookies. In the same vein, is their a database with TV shows that got canned, and why? ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/2 "2003-09-18T07:48:00Z")
Sorry, **Google** has no useful info on Oreo Big Stuff or Keebler “Sweet Spots”. ☹ ---
**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:** [September 18, 2003, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/3 "2003-09-18T09:23:31Z")
Suddenly S’mores ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/4 "2003-09-18T12:44:24Z")
99% of the time, the answer is the same: sales weren’t good enough. (“Good enough” being a relative term.) For TV shows, it’s the same sort of thing: ratings weren’t good enough. There’s no point in a database when everything has the same answer. ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/5 "2003-09-18T12:51:23Z")
I would pay a ridiculous amount of money for some Fudgetown cookies. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/6 "2003-09-18T13:56:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by muttrox \* > \*\*I would pay a ridiculous amount of money for some Fudgetown cookies. \*\* [How fresh do they have to be?](http://theimaginaryworld.com/newta002.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/7 "2003-09-18T15:44:03Z")
The [Internet Movie Database](http://www.imdb.com/) lists all T.V. shows, canned and not canned, although it won’t always explain the reason why a T.V. show was canned (99% of the time, the answer is “not enough people were watching”). If there’s a particular show that you miss, you can Google it, and usually find a like-minded group of fans who will be eager to explain/complain about its cancellation. Apparently you’re not the only one who misses [Big Stuff Oreos](http://www.dailyping.com/archive/2000/03/11/). One of the people in that discussion called Nabisco and found that they were discontinued in 1991, although no reason was given. [Keebler’s FAQ](http://www.keebler.com/about/faq_prod.jsp?menuOpen=3#) lists Sweet Spots under discontinued products (click on Other Keebler Cookies) and says, “at times we discontinue products or flavors due to a lack of consumer demand.” ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/8 "2003-09-18T16:39:12Z")
Not all products are discontinued because of low demand/low sales. Ayds candies, for example, were discontinued after the AIDS epidemic became widely known in the early 1980s. Some products may be discontinued because they contain an ingredient which has been found to cause cancer or some other health problem (can’t think of any examples, though). Other products, such as candy cigarettes, are not made anymore because they were feared to glorify and encourage smoking real cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/9 "2003-09-18T16:52:00Z")
Well, in all those cases it could be considered to be ‘in anticipation of lack of consumer demand’. Rhymes with AIDS? No sales. Causes cancer? No sales. Addictive products excepted. Encourages kids to smoke? Parents flinch…no sales. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/10 "2003-09-18T16:56:33Z")
There are a couple of scholars who collect discontinued items. I remember several news stories about someone in Ithaca (a professor or ex-professor there) who had a museum of dud products. It wasn’t open to the public, but serious scholars could do research there. This may be enough to find him on a Google search. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/11 "2003-09-18T17:03:03Z")
Aha. I search on discontinued items and found nothing. Dud products was the clue. Here’s an article on [Robert McGrath](http://www.cbc.ca/national/alderman/ald2000120.html). And here’s his book, [What Were They Thinking?](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/081293203X/qid=1063904961/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-8936646-3244943?v=glance&s=books). ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/12 "2003-09-18T19:28:41Z")
Pepsi clear. ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/13 "2003-09-18T21:01:19Z")
Pepsi blue ---
**Author:** ![Jake4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jake4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake4)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/14 "2003-09-18T21:06:33Z")
Crystal Pepsi, as long as we’re on a kick. (is that what you mean, **Carmen**?) ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/15 "2003-09-18T21:35:21Z")
I remember one blissful summer in my youth that involved a 7-up Gold addiction. What happened to that stuff? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/16 "2003-09-18T21:42:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dwc1970 \* > \*\*Other products, such as candy cigarettes, are not made anymore because they were feared to glorify and encourage smoking real cigarettes. \*\* Bah! I see them all the time in the candy store, and you can buy them online too. [Candy cigarettes, and gum cigars.](http://www.groovycandies.com/candyword.asp?SearchParam=cigarette&CompType=AND&Submit=FIND). ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/17 "2003-09-18T21:59:28Z")
I was just gonna say…ya…I’ve seen candy cigarettes/cigars still for sale, too. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/18 "2003-09-18T22:13:09Z")
The reasoning behind discontinuing a product or TV show is this: If word gets back to the manufacturer/network that Mr. S or I like it, out it goes . . . ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/19 "2003-09-19T02:08:10Z")
I didnt get why Live Wire was for this summer only. (The Orange Flavored Mountain Dew) I mean, yeah, its Code Red (Cherry flavored MD) with all the cherry out, and all the Orange in… but still, from the get go, they said “This Summer Only” Im sure some advertising ploy is in there somewhere. Perhaps some bonus to a Drink company that has most sales in a month or period? Well, not a bonus, as there isnt a govering board of Soda drinkers, but still Bragging rights? ---
**Author:** ![Fire\_Fox\_40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fire\_Fox\_40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fire_Fox_40)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314/20 "2003-09-19T02:38:27Z")
Is there much of a difference between “Big stuf” oreos and the “double stuf” variety? Because the double is still available. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-this-product-get-the-boot/202314.md?page=2)