#TBT: Silly questions add flavor to life
From 1999
Finally, the answer to one of life's burning questions. What is the correct collation order of the Life Savers Five Flavor roll?
When I first contacted John R. Barrows, senior manager of marketing communications at Nabisco, he didn't know the answer off the top of his head.
I was surprised. I'd figured he'd be able to spit it out like the days of the week.
But he couldn't. He said he would do some checking and get back to me "the very split second" he found out.
It took a couple of weeks, but he did get back to me. The correct collation order is: lemon, wild cherry, orange, pineapple, lime, wild cherry, lemon, pineapple, lime, wild cherry, orange, lemon, wild cherry and orange.
The order didn't surprise me. I have unwrapped hundreds of rolls over the years to retrieve particular flavors.
When you have two kids who both love lime, you learn quickly that you have to unwrap the roll down to the ninth Life Saver to get the only two limes in the roll. Life Savers five and nine are lime.
Having to unwrap the roll down to the ninth Life Saver suits me just fine because I love wild cherry and I know that I'll get two. Life Savers two and six are wild cherry.
On the downside, I know that I will also get the only two pineapples in the roll because they are in positions four and eight.
Pineapple is my least favorite and the kids aren't crazy about it either.
The pineapple Life Savers usually end up at the bottom of my purse where they collect dirt and dust.
If I'm really hungry, and the end to Pastor Danny's sermon seems as far away as the moon, I'll settle for those dirty pineapple Life Savers.
I'll dig them out, pick the dirt and dust off and pop them in my mouth. But I've got to be desperate.
If all this collation stuff sounds confusing, it probably is.
If you're asking why anyone would even care, you're probably not alone.
I mean, unless you want to get a particular flavor in a roll of Life Savers, why would you care what order they were in?
But sometimes it's fun finding answers to silly questions.
Why, just the other day as I walked through the grocery store I spotted a childhood favorite - Barnum's Animals Crackers. You know, the box designed like a circus wagon cage.
I love that string, but I've always been curious about it. Why put a string on a cookie box? Is it so little ones can tote it around?
I decided to do some checking. It turns out that the National Biscuit Co. (today's Nabisco) came up with the circus package in 1902. Company execs thought 5-cent cartons of crackers would make a nice Christmas treat. They designed the circus box and attached a string so it could be hung on the Christmas tree.
So you see, the obvious reason wasn't the correct one. The string was attached so the box could be hung on a tree, not so children could tote it around. It just so happened that the string fit a youngster's hand perfectly.
As I stood studying the animal crackers' display, a box leaped into my cart. I'm not one to battle boxes of animal crackers, so I took it home.
As I sorted the animals, I noticed that they were different from when I was young. Again, I did some checking.
It turns out that since 1902, 37 different animals have been represented by animal crackers. I don't think the lions and tigers and bears and elephants have ever disappeared. But the dog and jaguar have been replaced by the hyena and gorilla.
According to the company, the current lineup is: tiger, cougar, camel, rhinoceros, kangaroo, hippopotamus, bison, lion, hyena, zebra, elephant, sheep, bear, gorilla, monkey, seal and giraffe.
Interesting? I think so.
You may not care about Life Savers or animal crackers, but I bet you've wondered something silly sometime in your life.
Maybe you've wondered how long a giraffe's tongue is or what the life expectancy of an ant is. I have.
I don't know the answer to either one of those questions, but I'll probably find out.
Before anyone e-mails to tell me Nabisco is considering replacing the pineapple candy in its five-flavor roll, I already know.
I recently learned that pineapple is battling watermelon and strawberry for the coveted spot. The company has asked consumers to vote on the three flavors and expects to make a decision by early next year.
So, just when I thought I had this collation stuff all figured out, the company may change a flavor on me. Not that I mind. I like strawberry and watermelon better than pineapple. But it means contacting the company all over again.
If the flavor changes, will the new flavor be in the same position as the pineapple candy was? Maybe my kids will like the new flavor as much as they like lime and my whole method of distribution will have to change.
Sigh . . .I feel a headache coming on. And all because of 14 candies with holes in their middles wrapped in a roll.
*****
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