My 5 Favorite Extinct Gum Flavors

What kid doesn't love to chew bubble gum? It's delicious, chewy and you can play with it. I loved chewing gum when I was a kid and I can remember a lot of crazy types of gum that came out in the 80s and 90s. At that time a bunch of gimmicks were thrown at us to try and sell the sugary, chewy gobs of flavor. Everything from gum shaped like CDs to gum that would change the color of your mouth. I miss those days. Here are my favorite flavors of gum from the good ole days that you can't find on the shelves anymore.

1. Dr. Pepper Gum

Yes, you can still find Dr. Pepper gum on the shelves today, but it is completely different than what we had back in the 80s. The version we got tasted like Dr. Pepper on the outside, but when you began the chewing process BAM!!! you were hit with a juicy explosion of flavor! I have seen a few other versions of this "Soda Gum" online that include 7Up and Cherry 7Up flavors, but for me the Dr. Pepper variety was the best of the bunch!

2. FLEER Gatorgum

I loved Gatorgum! In my research I was surprised to read that it was available up until the early 2000s! The two flavors I remember were Lemon/Lime & Orange. Now check out this crazy Gatorgum ad and try not to be amazed by the special effects!

FANTASTIC wasn't it? When you put a piece of Gatorgum in your mouth it was like eating a chewy stick of Gatorade. The flavor was actually pretty close to the sports drink, but I don't really think it quenched my thirst very much. The closest thing to Gatorgum today is Quench Gum. If you miss Gatorgum, I say you give it a try. 

3. The Real Ghostbusters: Slimer Bubble Gum

I remember buying this squeeze gum in a tube at the registers of KB Toys. They always had great things at the front check out and this gum is a fine example. Myself and my brother each got one and we treated it like gold, only squishing small amounts of the gum like substance out at a time to make it last! The consistency was very gooey & grainy and the taste was super sugary, but it had Slimer on it, so by kid logic it tasted AMAZING!

4. Bubblicious Lebron's Lightning Lemonade

In 2005 Bubblicious' Lightning Lemonade flavor was revived, this time with the endorsement of NBA superstar Lebron James.

I remember chewing this flavor before it was discontinued in 2000, but something tasted a bit different this time around. Ah ha! Now it included raspberry flavoring!!! I actually enjoyed this improvement on the original. It added a bit of sweetness to the sour of the lemonade flavoring. I used to buy packs of this stuff at the Dollar Tree all the time, but like most good things it was not destined to last forever. Who knows, maybe they'll re-re-introduce this flavor in a few more years?

5. Bubble Yum: Checker Mint

This gum had everything going for it when it debuted around 1986! It looked cool with it's red & white checker pattern, the flavor was a nice blend of sweet and mint, the packaging stood out on the check out line shelves and there was this kick-ass commercial that aired every Saturday morning during our cartoon binges!

I hope you enjoyed this look back at old gum? What was your favorite flavor to chew back in the day? Let us know in the comments below!

Round Robin Challenge: At the Corner Store

This week I have the privilege of selecting the Round Robin Social Media Challenge topic! There have been some great topics covered over the last few weeks and I wanted to choose something different, then I began to search for some of my favorite childhood memories. A lot of these memories came back to riding our bikes to the local corner store to grab snacks, drinks and other fun items so me and my friends could get energized before we hit the blacktop. So this weeks topic is...

When you were a kid, what would you use your hard earned allowance money to buy at the corner store? To get this thing started I'll let you know what my top picks were and why!

Trading Cards!

This was back in the day when every movie or character that was even remotely appealing to kids had it's own trading card set. I do remember grabbing packs of the above properties, but I also remember picking up Adams Family, Dinosaurs Attack and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cards.

Gatorade

In the early 90s we were all under the grip of the cultural icon known as Michael Jordan. He was the spokesperson for everything from Wheaties to Nike to his own SNES game! We all wanted to be "Like Mike". So for us streetball hoopers drinking Gatorade was a must! My favorite flavor was Citrus Cooler. Not only because it was labeled as "Mike's Favorite Flavor", but because it was delicious! The flavor has been in and out of the rotation over the years, so whenever I see it on shelves it's time to stock up! Why don't they produce Gatorade in glass bottles anymore?

Gatorgum

Sticking with the Gatorade family, we move on to Gatorgum. This product only came in 2 flavors that I remember being Lemon/Lime and Orange. I favored the orange as my gum of choice. According to my research Gatorgum was discontinued in the early 2000s. I'm surprised to hear that it was around that long! The closest thing available to Gator Gum today is Quench Gum.

Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream chips

I remember when these came out and thinking they would be nasty. After first bite, they became a staple in my corner store trips. These are so amazing! It's like a creamy cheddar taste wrapping all the goodness of a salty Ruffles chip. They are still available today in any grocery store. If you haven't tried these, I suggest picking some up today!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Comics

Every time I went into the corner store, I had to peruse the comic/magazine rack. They were always littered with any new X-Men comics that were out and the Archie produced Ninja Turtles Adventures comics. These were my introduction to the world of Turtles comics. Kind of a gateway to the more adult Mirage produced comics. I still love reading these today. For the most part the art was great and the stories were well written. IDW has been collecting these stories in TPB form over the last few years for those who missed them in the 90s.

Well, that's it for my early 90s trip to the corner store. What were your favorite items to pick up? Write your own blog entry on this topic and don't forget to leave a link to your page in my comments section! I hope we get a lot of entries. Have fun, I can't wait to see what other goodies are out there!

 

The Toy Box takes us on a trip to the corner stores of Allentown & Oregon!

The Toy Break drinkin quarter water. Gotta be the best!