Transcript

Pop Tarts: No Fruit Necessary | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

From Stuff You Should Know · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 50 min · 9,428 words · 232 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Pop Tarts: No Fruit Necessary | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW", an episode of Stuff You Should Know published November 14, 2025 (50 min, about 9,428 words). It mentions 34 people, works and ideas, including Chuck Bryant, Josh Malcolm Clark, Kellogg Company, Battle Creek, convenience food.

What this episode is about

The discussion explores the cultural evolution of convenience foods like Pop-Tarts, highlighting how the rise of second-wave feminism in the 1960s shifted women's roles and led to increased demand for quick meal options as they entered the workforce. Personal anecdotes about grandmothers provide a contrast between traditional home cooking and modern supermarket snacks, illustrating societal changes in food preferences.

Key takeaways

  • Pop-Tarts: the modern culinary symbol of 60s feminism, championing convenience over tradition in the kitchen.
  • Granny Bryant's grease jar: proof that sometimes, the past tastes better than convenience's best-selling snacks.
  • From health spas to sugary cereals: Kellogg brothers invented breakfast's delight, but CW Post turned it into a competition.
  • In the 60s, convenience foods exploded as housewives traded aprons for careers—Pop-Tarts, the delicious byproduct of revolution.
  • Pop-Tarts weren't just breakfast; they were a cultural shift—snacking became a meal, and convenience became king.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Battle Creek, Charles William Post, John Harvey Kellogg, William Keith Kellogg
  2. – 10:00: Battle Creek, food science, sugar cereals, Josh Malcolm Clark
  3. – 15:00: William Post, Josh Malcolm Clark, food science, Dan Post
  4. – 20:00: Fruit Scone, Unfrosted, Chuck Bryant, Smuckers
  5. – 25:00: Kellogg Company, Cleveland, Dan Post, Unfrosted
  6. – 30:00: sugar cereals
  7. – 35:00: Pop-Tarts Bowl, Chuck Bryant, Kellogg Company, Pop-Tart fires
  8. – 40:00: Pop-Tart fires, Artificial Intelligence, weight loss, high fructose corn syrup
  9. – 45:00: Unfrosted, high fructose corn syrup, Homer Simpson, weight loss
  10. – 49:47: convenience food

Notable quotes from "Pop Tarts: No Fruit Necessary | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW"

  • Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck. Jerry's here too, talking about her grandmother and what she did with Pop-Tarts. And it actually sounds kind of good.
    about Chuck Bryant · at
  • Basically domestic servitude and I'm not down for it anymore. I'm going to work in the workplace. And so convenience food grew up almost immediately to kind of fill that void…
    about second-wave feminism · at
  • So that they were We need to come up with convenience foods that are even more convenient than cereal.
    about convenience food · at
  • Shaped them into a toaster sized thing wrapped it in foil, and in October 1963 the Battle Creek Inquirer newspaper reported that these Country Squares which is what they're…
    about Battle Creek · at
  • But, it, gave, them, the, ability, to, catch up, scramble, and create their own versions. And I believe Pop-Tarts ended up beating Country Squares to market.
    about Post Company · at
  • Testing out versions, giving them to their kids to try, of course, which is sort of the usual story when food science is involved. And Dan, I think the son of William Post…
    about food science · at
  • Was taking bite after bite and saying These are disgusting. But within four months of Kellogg's approaching Henkles, they had like a ready for market pop-tart developed.
    about Kellogg Company · at
  • Don't I didn't find where it had ever burnt a house down, but over the decades, there have been a lot of reports about Pop-Tart fires. in 1993, it came a little more to the forefront of pop culture when syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry.
    about Pop-Tart fires · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Chuck Bryant — Person · Co-host · 3 mentions · first at
    Co-host who adds commentary, personal anecdotes, and reactions; helps cover marketing, flavors, and cultural references.
  • Josh Malcolm Clark — Person · Host · 3 mentions · first at
    Co-host who narrates the origin story, timelines, and product/marketing history while bantering with co-hosts.
    Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck. Jerry's here too, talking about her grandmother and what she did with Pop-Tarts. And it actually sounds kind of good.
  • Charles William Post — Person · Referenced historical figure · 2 mentions · first at
    Presented as a Battle Creek Sanitarium patient who founded Post after being inspired by Kellogg corn flakes, shaping the cereal rivalry backdrop.
    That's, right., he, loved, those, corn flakes and spent a little time there and said, You know what? I'm going to start making my own cereal.
  • William Post — Person · Referenced contributor · 2 mentions · first at
    A Hecman employee (explicitly 'no relation' to Post cereal) who took on the Pop-Tarts development work with Kellogg.
    William Post, no relation to the Post serial company who, was, in, this, in, did, work, for Hecman at their Grand Rapids factory and he's I'll do this. I'll take this project on.
  • William Keith Kellogg — Person · Referenced historical figure · 2 mentions · first at
    Named as one of the Kellogg brothers whose sanitarium and cereal inventions form the prehistory of Pop-Tarts' corporate lineage.
    Yeah., So,, the, Kellogg, brothers,, William Keith or Will Keith and John Harvey Kellogg, they ran the Battle Creek Sanitarium, which essentially was a health spa, health resort dedicated.
  • John Harvey Kellogg — Person · Referenced historical figure · 2 mentions · first at
    Named as the other Kellogg brother; his sanitarium work contextualizes the cereal industry that later enabled Pop-Tarts.
    Yeah., So,, the, Kellogg, brothers,, William Keith or Will Keith and John Harvey Kellogg, they ran the Battle Creek Sanitarium, which essentially was a health spa, health resort dedicated to, getting you to poop with precise.
  • Dan Post — Person · Referenced tester (child) · 2 mentions · first at
    Cited as the child taste-tester who complained prototypes tasted like cardboard and 'exploded,' prompting design changes (holes/scoring).
    And they said, All right, let's go back to the drawing board. and he said Well, these explode when you put them in the toaster, Dad.
  • Dr. Ken Barry — Person · Referenced journalist/humorist · 2 mentions · first at
    His 1993 column popularized the Pop-Tart fire phenomenon and is used as evidence of real-world safety incidents.
    And supposedly Dave Barry recreated this outdoors as part of his humor column.
  • Diana Stampler — Person · Referenced researcher/source · 1 mention · first at
    Credited for detailed Pop-Tarts origin research on the Promote Michigan website used by the hosts.
    About and we're going to, we need to thank Livia, but we definitely want to thank Diana Stampler for, the, website, Promote, Michigan because as Livia found, as I found, when it comes to Pop-Tart origin stories, Diana Stampler's is the.
  • William Lamoth — Person · Referenced executive · 1 mention · first at
    Identified as a Kellogg vice president who initiated the internal push to create a competing toaster pastry.
    Squares and someone said it's a rural land owner in England right no the there was a vice president though named William Lamoth and he had a guy working there in the kitchen…
  • Doc Joe Thompson — Person · Referenced developer · 1 mention · first at
    Described as a Kellogg kitchen staffer tasked with developing the pastry prototype under executive direction.
    Land owner in England right no the there was a vice president though named William Lamoth and he had a guy working there in the kitchen named Doc Joe Thompson and he said get…
  • Jessica Simpson — Person · Referenced celebrity · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as the source of the 'butter your Pop-Tarts' tip that the hosts discuss and recommend.
    Okay., If, you, mentioned, that, before,, then there's a 100% chance that I followed up with this that I have I heard of that from Jessica Simpson.

Companies & orgs

  • Kellogg Company — Company · Primary company in origin story · 3 mentions · first at
    Kellogg is portrayed as the company that rushed to market with Pop-Tarts after learning of Post's prototype, then expanded flavors and marketing.
  • Post Company — Company · Competitor / origin precursor · 2 mentions · first at
    Post is credited with developing the early toaster pastry concept ('Country Squares') but losing the race to market against Kellogg.
  • Hecman Biscuit Company — Company · Manufacturing partner · 1 mention · first at
    Kellogg partnered with Hecman for industrial baking capacity to develop and produce early Pop-Tarts prototypes.
    Well, plus, everybody, likes, to, have, a partner Yeah, exactly. so they went to the Hecman Biscuit Company which was conveniently also in Michigan. they had been around selling Dutch cookies since the beginning of the late 19th.
  • Smuckers — Company · Ingredient partner · 2 mentions · first at
    Cited as the supplier/partner for fruit filling in early Pop-Tarts flavors, supporting product development.
    Of the gate. Strawberry, blueberry, and apple currant that, were, partnered, with, Smuckers.
  • Keebler — Company · Referenced successor brand · 1 mention · first at
    Referenced as what the biscuit-company lineage 'would eventually become,' situating Hecman in broader cookie industry history.
    When this is happening, their division of the United Bis biscuit company of America would which would eventually become, Keebler, in, ' 66 right, there, in, Grand, Rapids.…
  • United Biscuits — Company · Referenced corporate lineage · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as part of the corporate structure around Hecman Biscuit Company leading toward Keebler.
    When this is happening, their division of the United Bis biscuit company of America would which would eventually become, Keebler, in, ' 66 right, there, in, Grand, Rapids.…

Products & tech

  • Fruit Scone — Product · Prototype name · 2 mentions · first at
    Described as the early prototype/working name for Pop-Tarts before branding and frosting changes.
    Yeah., Yeah., Okay,, we, left, off, at, Fruit Scone and Smuckers and the launching of the original four and we'll come back and pick it up right after this.
  • Gainesburgers — Product · Referenced precursor product · 1 mention · first at
    Used to illustrate Post-era experimentation with foil-wrapped, shelf-stable foods that foreshadowed Pop-Tarts packaging.
    Things in foil dehydrating or partially dehydrating stuff. And they said, All right, we're making these Gainsburg burgers. this dog crumbly, looks like a meat burger for your dog that's wrapped in foil that you break apart.

Concepts & topics

  • convenience food — Concept · Core explanatory concept · 3 mentions · first at
    Frames Pop-Tarts as a product designed for speed and ease, tied to social change and later survey data on why people buy them.
  • food science — Concept · Technical enabler · 3 mentions · first at
    Explains how shelf-stability, dehydration, and packaging innovations enabled toaster pastries and mass-market distribution.
  • second-wave feminism — Concept · Historical explanation · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as a theory for why convenience foods like Pop-Tarts expanded in the 1960s as more women entered the workforce.
  • high fructose corn syrup — Concept · Safety/health explanation · 2 mentions · first at
    Cited as a reason Pop-Tarts can ignite in malfunctioning toasters and as part of broader health criticism.
    There's like flames going out of your toaster. And apparently the reason why is because of all of the high fructose corn syrup inside the filling. If it heats up too much, kaboom, and it catches fire.
  • sugar cereals — Concept · Market context · 3 mentions · first at
    Used to explain how cereal shifted from 'healthy' to sugary, motivating companies to seek new convenience products like Pop-Tarts.
    Later, breakfast cereal was a thing. It had been healthy, healthy, healthy. And then I think starting in 1948, Sugar Crisp was the first Sugar cereal that came out.
  • Artificial Intelligence — Concept · Modern media critique · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed as the cause of low-quality clickbait articles and fake Amazon books, tied to 'dead internet theory' concerns.
    Couple months, Chuck, of just a slew of longtail which means like really specific articles clearly written by AI.
  • weight loss — Concept · Clickbait example · 3 mentions · first at
    Used to mock AI-generated health content via the absurd headline 'Can Pop-Tarts really help with weight loss?'
    About the health or the health impact or how unhealthy Pop-Tarts are that I found an article titled, Can Pop-Tarts really help with weight loss?

Places & events

  • Battle Creek — Place · Key origin location · 6 mentions · first at
    Battle Creek is the setting for the Kellogg brothers' sanitarium and the early cereal industry rivalry that set the stage for Pop-Tarts.
  • Pop-Tart fires — Event · Safety topic · 3 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a recurring safety issue tied to toaster malfunctions and ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, including reports and a settlement.
  • Pop-Tarts Bowl — Event · Marketing tie-in · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a modern sponsorship/branding move (renaming the Citrus Bowl) featuring mascots and a comedic 'eat the mascot' gimmick.
    Interesting., well,, they, took, over, the Citrus Bowl, the college football game played in Orlando a couple years ago. It's now the Pop-Tarts Bowl and I think it'll be in its third year on the.
  • Cleveland — Place · Test market · 1 mention · first at
    Identified as the initial test market where Pop-Tarts sales surged, demonstrating early demand.
    They started shipping out the first cases on September 14th, and they chose Cleveland as their test market. And Cleveland went bonkers for these things.
  • Tennessee — Place · Personal anecdote location · 1 mention · first at
    Referenced as the rural setting of a grandmother who avoided modern convenience foods like Pop-Tarts.
    Dad's mother, was very old school sort of rural Tennessee and like she didn't have a television. She didn't have anything like a Pop-Tart right?, She's, like,, If, I, didn't, can, it, you're not going to eat it.

Media & podcasts

  • Unfrosted — Media · Referenced media · 6 mentions · first at
    A recent Pop-Tarts-related Netflix film discussed as a cultural touchstone and criticized as low quality.
    Making that part making, a, blueberry,, I, believe,, blueberry pop-tarts that were unfrosted and buttering them.
  • Homer Simpson — Character · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at
    Used as an example of Pop-Tarts in pop culture via The Simpsons episode about gaining weight.
    Tells him how to gain weight and one of the things he says is instead of using bread, make a sandwich with two Pop-Tarts.

Full transcript with timestamps

Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck. Jerry's here too, talking about her grandmother and what she did with Pop-Tarts. And it actually sounds kind of good.

Oh,, man., My, grandmother, wouldn't, have there wouldn't have been a Pop-Tart anywhere near her house.

Oh,, no., She, was, like, that,, huh? Well,, one, of, them., My, my, one, more, uh, I mean one was sort of the modern grandmother, my mom's mom.

They, had, like, TV, and, stuff, like, that, and uh a VCR. Uh but but Granny Bryant, my dad's mother, was very old school sort of rural Tennessee and like she didn't have a television. She didn't have anything like a Pop-Tart

right?, She's, like,, "If, I, didn't, can, it, you're not going to eat it." Yeah., She, just, kind, of, had, the, big, uh big jar of grease on the stove that like she never bought oil in her life. She just kept reusing the same stuff.

Man,, I'll, bet, that, tasted, good,, though. Yeah,, Granny, Bryant, the, best.

Well,, that's, funny., You, said, that, one, of your your other grandmother um your mom's mom was modern.

Yeah, because, that's, actually, some, theories say that that is what Pop-Tarts grew out of. That there was this huge shift in the 60s. Mhm.

Uh, usually, pointed, to, a, secondwave feminism where women began to essentially say like this this whole traditional housewife thing is uh basically domestic servitude and I'm not down for it anymore. I'm going to work in the workplace. And so convenience food grew up almost immediately to kind of fill that that void or whatever the vacuum that was left as moms started to move out of the house into the workplace and people still needed to eat.

That's, right., Uh, and, I, feel, like, this, is one where we assume everyone knows what a Pop-Tart is.

Oh, yeah. And, we, get, punished, for, that, uh, in emails. So, a Pop-Tart is a um maybe a breakfast item, but as we'll see in the old ads, it was it could be for lunch or a snack or whatever. Uh but is it is a a toaster pastry. It's a little sort of fruit filled um faux pastry that you stick in your toaster or not. Uh and toast it up or not. Uh, and it came about and we're going to, you know, we need to thank Livia, but we definitely want to thank um Diana Stampler

uh, for, the, website, Promote, Michigan because as Livia found, as I found, um when it comes to Pop-Tart origin stories, uh, Diana Stampler's is the bomb diggity.

She, did, her, homework. Yeah,, she, had, a, lot, of, great, detail, that other places didn't have. So, big thanks to that website. Um, but Pop-Tarts came out in the 1960s and we're going to have to retell a little bit of our live episode about the Kellogg um serial corporation and the Kellogg brothers because that's where this story starts. So, we'll give you kind of a a quick little overview, right?

Yeah,, that, was, our, live, episode, from Sydney. It was good. Yeah., So,, the, Kellogg, brothers,, William Keith or Will Keith and John Harvey Kellogg, they ran the Battle Creek Sanitarium, uh, which essentially was a a health spa, health resort dedicated to, um, getting you to poop with precise perfectness right?

Yeah., And, other, things. And, this, was, in, the, 19th, century., And so, as a result of this, one of the things that came out of it was the Kellogg brothers inventing new types of food. And one of the foods that they invented were corn flakes. And almost as importantly as them inventing corn flakes was the um one of their guests one of their patients coming along. And his name was CW Post.

That's, right., Uh, he, loved, those, corn flakes and uh spent a little time there and said, "You know what? I'm going to start making my own cereal."

Um, I, remember, a, lot, of, that., I, guess when you do the live show several times. I remember a lot of details from that one by the way.

Right. But, uh, like, individual, jokes, even. Lay, it, on, me,, buddy. Oh,, just, made, me, think, of, uh, the, the Elton John album title was that uh but I can't remember the name of the machine. The electric bath something.

That's, true. It, sounded, like, an, Elton, John electric, light, bath. Electric, light, bath., Was, that?

Yes,, I, remember, that., It, was, like, one, of those oneperson um steam rooms where your head stuck out but it was lights.

Exactly. Yeah. So, that's, what, was, going, on, at, Battle Creek. But CW Post tries that Kellogg cornflake says, "I love this stuff. I'm going to form a company to make it." And the Post Company was formed in 1895. And it was about 10 or 11 years after that that Kellogg got into the cereal business uh like legitwise and established their Battle Creek Toasted Cornflake Company. Yeah. So, they're like, "We're going to sell these things outside of the sanitarium." And now Post and Kelloggs were direct competitors. Yeah. In this new emerging cereal market that that those two companies created out of thin air. Um, by the time the 60s rolled around, a good half a century later, breakfast cereal was a thing. It had been healthy, healthy, healthy. And then I think starting in 1948, Sugar Crisp was the first Sugar cereal that came out.

And, it, was, like,, wow,, they, went, full boore right out of the gate. Yeah. I, mean,, with, Sugar, Crisp,, I, think, they call it Golden Crisp now because you like a mob with um torches and pitchforks would come after you if you called your cereal Sugar Crisp.

Yeah. But, it's, the, same, thing., And, that, came out in the 40s. So by the time the 60s were around, you had a lot of different sugary cereals. and Kelloggs and Post were making a lot of them. But the upshot of the cereal market being established is there's not a lot of new things you can do. You can come up with a new cereal and it'll be kind of a hit or not. And that's about all you can do. So, they started looking for entirely new products to kind of fill, like I said, this vacuum that was being left uh by second-wave feminism, getting women out of the house and into the workplace.

So that they were like, "We need to come up with convenience foods that are even more convenient than cereal."

Yeah., Than, pouring, something, out, of, a box and adding milk. Mhm., And, then, reading, the, back, of, the box

or, water, in, the, case, of, uh, was, that Fridays? You, better, put, some, water, in, that, damn. I love that one.

So, classic., Uh,, so, this, was, also, a, time a post-war sort of food science boom was happening where they were making all this sort of dehydrated space age astronaut food and stuff like that. And so that had a lot to do with it as well. And Post was experimenting with that stuff and experimenting with wrapping things in foil uh dehydrating or or partially dehydrating stuff. And they said, "All right, we're making these Gainsburg burgers. this this dog crumbly, you know, looks like a a meat burger for your dog that's wrapped in foil that you break apart.

Do, you, remember, those? Oh,, yeah. Yeah, they're, still, around,, right?, Or, did, they go away?

They, went, away, in, the, '9s,, I, read. Oh,, interesting. Yeah, I, definitely, remember, Gainesburgers., Um cuz I always remember thinking like those are the luckiest dogs in the world.

Do, you?, Yeah,, it, was, it, like like my, family, would, never, buy, that, stuff.

No., Same, here., That, was, like, luxury, dog food at the time, but now it'd be like I wouldn't even feed this to

Oh,, no. a, rat. Yeah., So,, they, were, experimenting, with like foil wrapped things, and as you'll see, that's what Pop-Tarts were wrapped in. So, that's why that's kind of key. Uh, and they said, "All right, we've invented a pastry filled with fruit, uh like a fruit mixture, and we figured out how to make it shelf stable so it doesn't need to go in the fridge, and how to have it not collect bacteria over time." Yeah.

And, toasters, on, the, on, the, counter, were a thing now instead of just having to use the oven for everything. And so they shaped them into a toaster sized thing wrapped it in foil, and in October 1963 the Battle Creek Inquirer newspaper reported that these Country Squares which is what they're calling them, is the latest and greatest uh food that you're going to want on your breakfast table.

Yeah., Yeah., And, it, took, me, a, little while, but I wondered if Country Squares was a play on Country Squire.

What's, Country, Squire? Uh,, it, was, a, land, owner,, a, rural, land owner in medieval England.

H, I, doubt, it,, but, you, never, know. Okay., They, call, them, country, squares. Let's just leave it at that. Okay, Josh. Fine.

But, this, was, Post., This, wasn't, Kelloggs who ended up making the Pop-Tart. This was Post who was breaking new ground with these little handheld toaster heated pastries. Right.

That's, right. Problem, was, the, I, don't, know, if, the Battle Creek Enquirer got in there and had a spy or else if there was a really dumb vice president that was getting exposure in the Battle Creek Enquirer.

But, Post, was, not, ready, to, go, to, market with these things. They had a recipe but they didn't know how they were going to package it, market it, get it out to stores. So they had many months of development left ahead of them when news broke. Well, it just so happens that the higherups at companies like Kellogg read the Battle Creek Inquirer because they're in the same town and this gave them the ability to catch up because they were caught totally offguard by this. Yeah.

But, it, gave, them, the, ability, to, catch up, scramble, and create their own versions. And I believe Pop-Tarts ended up beating Country Squares to market.

Yeah., the, I, think, the, vice, president, of Kellogg says what is this country squares and someone said it's a rural land owner in England right uh no the the there was a vice president though named William Lamoth uh and he had a guy working there in the kitchen named Doc Joe Thompson and he said get to work we need our own pastry

and, it, would, be, their, first, foray, into any kind of little bakery product like that

and, they, wanted, a, partner, um, because they you know again they were just serial people so

well, plus, everybody, likes, to, have, a partner Yeah, exactly. Uh so they went to the Hecman Biscuit Company um which was conveniently also in Michigan. Uh they had been around selling Dutch cookies since the beginning of the late 19th century uh doortodoor. And by the 1960s when this is happening, their division of the United Bis uh biscuit company of America would which would eventually become, Keebler, in, ' 66

right, there, in, Grand, Rapids., They, had, a a great modern uh uh industrial bakery and it was a really sort of a great partnership out of the gate.

Grand, Rapids,, by, the, way,, just, a, little personal aside, is where I learned that I actually love frog legs.

Oh,, really? Yeah., There, was, this, dinner, theater, in Grand Rapids that my family used to go to when I was growing up in Toledo. And um the frog leg

on, their, buffet, they, had, frog, legs, and, I would I tried them once and I was like "Oh my god, these are amazing." I don't think I would eat one now, but when I was like 8, nine, 10, I would eat some frog legs.

I, don't, know, where, it, was,, buddy,, but, I tried frog legs on a buffet in the 1970s or early 80s as well.

Yeah., And, I, thought,, hey,, this, tastes like chicken kind, of., It's, the, weird, skin, that, really throws it off, though.

Uh,, these, were, fried,, so, I, don't remember the skin. And this is a very distant memory, so but I'm I'm with you. I I couldn't eat a frog. Now

these, were, not, fried., These, were, like braised. No,, mine, were, fried. So,, back, to, um, Thanks, for, indulging, me in.

Sure. So,, back, to, the, Hecman, Bis, Biscuit Company. Um at the time, they were making stuff like macaroons, butter cookies, vanilla wafers, windmills ginger snaps, all your favorite like oldtimey cookies this company was making. And to make all this stuff, they had just a really knockout dynamite production facility. So, it was a good idea to to go to them. Apparently, the Hecman company uh wasn't fully on board with this, but there was a guy named William Post, no relation to the Post serial company

who, um, was, in, this, in, did, work, for Hecman at their Grand Rapids um factory and he's like, I'll do this. I'll take this project on.

Yeah., And, it, wasn't, an, official, thing., I think it was a handshake agreement at first. uh they started, you know testing out versions, uh giving them to their kids to try, of course, which is sort of the usual story when food science is involved. And uh Dan, I think the son of William Post, again supposedly no relation. Uh quite a coincidence though, don't you think?

It, is, quite, a, Yeah,, almost, suspicious. Yeah,, I, agree., Uh, but, little, Dan, said, "They taste like cardboard." And they said, "All right, uh let's go back to the drawing board." and he said "Well, these explode when you put them in the toaster, Dad."

And, they, said, "All, right,, well,, let's uh poke some holes in it, like you know how you score a pie um for the same reason that you bake in an oven." They started scoring uh the the dough for the you know, and and kind of solved that problem out of the gate.

Well,, yeah,, that's, why, there's, little holes in Pop-Tarts still today. That's, right., Because, they, will, explode.

It's, true. Fruit, expands,, I, guess,, or, fruit, like stuff. Uh, and they initially set on uh, as Daniel D. Lewis would say, fruit scon. Uh, the rest of us would say fruit scones.

And, I, think, there, were, four, flavors, out of the gate. Strawberry, blueberry, and apple currant

that, were, partnered, with, Smuckers. Another great idea, uh, to provide their fruit filling. And then

oh,, baby,, the, fourth, one,, the, all-time great, brown sugar cinnamon. Yep., That's, the, best, one., hands, down.

Oh,, you, too,, huh? Oh,, yes. Okay,, great., What, a, relief. Yeah,, some, uh, Liptin, blackberry, tea, and um brown sugar cinnamon pop-tarts in the evening was just a great way to wind down after a long day in third grade.

So,, what, is, that, garbage, Jerry, said before we recorded? She, talked, about, her, grandmother, um making that part

making, a, blueberry,, I, believe,, blueberry pop-tarts that were unfrosted and buttering them.

Okay., Well,, that, I, was, going, to, hang, on to that for my final tip, but I might as well launch into it now. That is the secret to Pop-Tarts.

Put, it, in, the, toaster. Mhm. Toast, it, up, for, me., Brown, sugar cinnamon. Then you get a stick of butter. I think I've said this on another episode and maybe our breakfast uh episode.

Okay. And, then, you, just, take, that, stick, of butter. Don't even like cut off a piece. Just unwrap it a little bit. Flip it over to the to the nonfrosted side and just sort of rub it on there. And then don't forget about that frosted side, my friend. Flip it back over.

Butter, up, that, frosted, side, a, little, and the edges and get those corners. And because the problem with Pop-Tarts to me is they're always a little too dry where there's no filling. And this solves a problem. It's buttery. It's delicious. I highly recommend it.

Okay., If, you, mentioned, that, before,, then there's a 100% chance that I followed up with this that I have um I heard of that from Jessica Simpson.

Oh., who, mentioned, it,, I, guess,, when, she was pregnant, she was craving buttered pop-tarts, and I hadn't heard of it until then.

It's, the, finishing, touch., It's, the cherry on top. It It really uh It really finishes it off nicely.

So,, you, do, that, with, the, brown, sugar cinnamon version dude., Every, version,, but, that's, the, only version I'll eat. And I got to say, I don't I don't eat Pop-Tarts anymore. Like, I can't remember the last Pop-Tart I had. Mhm.

But, I, can't, walk, down, that, aisle, without looking at them and going, "Oh man, if you fall into my basket, maybe you'll make it out of the store."

Right., I, So, I, love, brown, sugar, cinnamon since we're talking about personal preferences. But for the fruit ones

um, I, used, to, be, all, strawberry, as, a, kid and, it, was, just, cuz, I, never, ventured out. Um and once I grew up a little more and my tastes really started to develop

I, found, that, cherry, is, actually, the, top fruit. Oh., did, not, know, that, until, I, don't know, maybe 10 years ago.

Okay,, I'll, have, to, I, mean,, this, is, I'm going to buy some Pop-Tarts just to try some of these again.

Try, cherry. All, right,, I'll, try, cherry., Oh,, they're frosted. I take it. Yes., I, mean,, I, don't, even, know, why, they make them unfrosted. That's crazy.

Those, are, the, kind, I, had, to, eat, growing up here and there. They weren't even called Pop-Tarts. I think they were called toaster pastries and there was no frosting in sight.

Yeah., And, your, grandma, canned, them. Uh,, but, did, that, does, the, cherry, have sprinkles? cuz I don't love the sprinkles,

but, it's, just, sort, of, part, of, the frosting, so it doesn't stand out too much.

Cherry, has, everything, you, want., Not, only does it have sprinkles, Chuck it, has, like, sugar, crystals.

Oh, yes,, dude., You're, going, to, love, cherry. Believe me, I expect a text later on with you thanking me for recommending cherry pop-tarts.

Yeah,, Ruby's, never, had, a, Pop-Tart,, so we're gonna we're gonna Good, one, to, start, on.

All right,, so, uh, Well,, I, guess, we, should probably take a break. Yeah, we just we kind of got off course here.

Yeah., Yeah., Okay,, we, left, off, at, Fruit Scone and Smuckers and the launching of the original four and we'll come back and pick it up right after this. learn.

Okay,, Chuck., So,, those, original, fruit scones, the the prototype, the Pop-Tart I guess you'd call it if you're a weirdo,

um,, they, were, not, exactly, what, you'd recognize as Pop-Tarts today. I think if you put them next to a Pop-Tart, you you it wouldn't be like, you know, night and day, but one of the big differences was the fruit scones had a diagonal score going across them. Not quite from corner to corner, but a little more in the middle. And you could kind of break them in half.

Yeah., Like, you, would, have, like, a, grilled cheese sandwich kind of cut like that.

Yeah., And, there, none, of, these, first, ones were frosted either, we should point out.

No,, it, took, years,, a, couple, of, years because all of the frostings that they came up with initially essentially either melted or caught fire in the toaster. So they did not have the frosting out of the gate yet. But one thing that Pop-Tarts still are um that was part of the initial roll out was um they're packaged together, two per package.

Mhm., Um,, and, the, reason, why, was, just simply cost cutting. Like if they had individually packaged each Pop-Tart

um,, it, would, have, cost, him, a, lot, more. But it also makes me wonder how many people over the last like 60some years would have only eaten one Pop-Tart if they were individually wrapped. Because you open that, you open the package, you got one, what are you going to do? Like roll up the other one? You can't. The foil is designed, I'm sure, to tear open in ways that you can't reseal it. So you have to eat both of them essentially.

Yeah., I, was, a, little, disappointed, to know it was a cost cutting measure cuz I was just like

I, thought, someone,, you, know,, Mr., Post decreed from on high they shall be eaten two at a time. Well, that's the actually the serving size if you read the back of the box, which is nuts because you could if it were just individually wrapped you could say one Pop-Tart is a serving and people would be used to that.

Yeah,, true., Uh, those, first, Pop-Tarts, too. Um they were a little more rounded on the uh corners

not, quite, as, squared, off, unrecognizable. And, honestly,, they, look, delicious., Even unfrosted, it looks more like, and I know this is an ad I sent you and Jerry like an old ad from the 60s, but

and, ads, are, are, made, to, make, the, food look beautiful, but it looks way more like a pie than what they have out today, you know?

Yeah., Like, the, edges, are, way, more, like, a pie crust. Yeah., It, looks, kind, of, crimped, or whatever.

Yeah. So,, um, I, think, after, this, this, all happened, like you said, poor Dan Post was taking bite after bite and saying like, "These are disgusting." But within four months of Kellogg's approaching um Henkles, they had like a a ready for market pop-tart developed.

Yeah., Or, brute, scone., They, changed, the name, I think, um pretty quickly uh, to, Pop-Tarts,, which, I, never, knew this. This was a play on

uh, Pop, Art,, which, was, a, big, thing, at, the time with, you know, Andy Warhol and his factory.

And, I, I, had, I, had, no, idea, that, it, was just sort of a little clever nod to that.

I, didn't, either., I, didn't, realize Pop-Tarts were quite so cool. Agreed., Um,, so, the, trademark, for, the brand was filed on June 20th, 1964. They started shipping out the first cases on September 14th, and they chose Cleveland as their test market. And Cleveland went bonkers for these things. Um, I saw in the first two weeks they sold 10 million boxes of Pop-Tarts.

Oh, my, god. By, December, 30th,, so, just, a, couple months. Wait,, 10, million, boxes?

Yes., 10, million, boxes, of, Pop-Tarts., So they started shipping them in September. By the end of the year, they had to run an ad saying, "Hey, sorry we ran out. We didn't think you guys were going to be this into it. We're working literally around the clock to get more Pop-Tarts out to you." And by the end of the year they were making they had made a billion Pop-Tarts and were selling them like like hot cakes, but more like hotcake flavored Pop-Tarts.

Yeah., And, so, if, you're, wondering, like what about Post who sort of invented this? Uh they weren't first to market. They they finally released their country squares and they quickly were like well that name stinks. So they rebrand everyone's getting us confused with rural land owners right?

So, they, rebranded, them, to, Toastm, Fruit Filups. Sold that off in 1971 to Schultz and Birch Biscuit Company. Uh they still make those. I think they're still the same name even.

To Yeah., Yeah., And, there, there, have, been different, you know, sort of, like I said, I grew up with this the sort of cheap version. I think they were called toaster pastries. Uh, Nabiscoco had one called Toastets, uh, that they finally stopped selling in 2002. Uh, Pillsbury I will say the toaster strudel when it came out in 1985 was a pretty big hot item, I remember.

Yeah., Because, it, was, a, unfrosted Pop-Tart. much more pastry, like flaky pastry than than a Pop-Tart is. But the key was the gimmick was that came with frosting separated. So, you put frosting on it

and, I, was, also, squeeze, it, into, your mouth at the end. Exactly., Yes., And, I, was, crazy, for, these things and I guess I got a bad batch or something once and I got sick off of it and now just seeing those two words together makes my stomach turn.

No, way. Yes., I, would, I, couldn't, eat, I, couldn't be in the same room as a toaster strudel again.

That, was, like, me, with, a, beef, jerky, for, a solid 10 years. You, poor, bastard.

I, know., Uh, all right., So, they, keep developing these things. Um the very first ones was just the pastry and the filling. They added that frosting in 1967. Uh like you said, once they came up with one that wouldn't slide off and and kill your house basically

right?, Uh, the, first, frosted, ones, were Dutch apple, Concord grape. Boy, that sounds good.

Uh, raspberry,, that, sounds, good., And, of course, brown sugar, cinnamon. Then, they, added, the, sprinkles, the, year after that.

And, since, then,, they've, just, been, coming up with kind of new crazy flavors sometimes obviously special editions co-branding, uh and just trying new things.

Yeah., So,, just, to, kind, of, put, this, into perspective, um they out of the gate remember Post was supposed to be the first to do this. Pop-Tarts just destroyed Post and everybody else so much that um I think that they have something like 80% of the market share for that kind of product.

In, 2014,, the, Wall, Street, Journal reported they had growth in sales. So every year they sold more than they had the year before for 32 straight years.

Wow. And, that, in, 2022, they, sold, 3, billion Pop-Tarts boxes, or, individual, tarts.

It's, I, don't, know., If, you, put, it, like that then it's probably individual Pop-Tarts. So I'm going to go back and revise my thing about that first year to 1 billion Pop-Tarts, which is still impressive.

Yeah., I, mean,, once, you, get, into, those kind of numbers, you're kind of splitting hairs, you know.

Yeah,, it's, true,, man., Thanks, for, saying that cuz I was feeling pretty down about myself for a second.

No,, no,, no,, no., You're, great., So,, uh,, in 1968, one of the little side products they made was called, uh, and this is Kellogg's called the Danish Goround they were trying to make it look more like a Danish, like a real Danish, uh because at like little ladies, um garden parties and stuff, uh, it's like why make a Danish when you can just buy these, right? They didn't do so great. They crumbled up a lot. So they replaced them with the Danish rings in 77 and then just got out of the Danish market in the 80s.

Yeah., Which, is, kind, of, sad, cuz, Danishes are great. Yeah., The, cheese, Danish.

Yes., I, think, that's, probably, my favorite too. Yeah. Um, in, 1971, they're, like,, "Okay,, we've got this whole Pop-Tart thing down. Let's see what else we can do with this thing." And they came up with Presto Pizza,

which, is, a, bad, idea. It, was, a, pizza, version, of, Pop-Tarts., And they put in the same box and everything. Um, the problem was that there was not enough sauce and too much dough. Not anything else was the problem with it. It was just that it was too doughy and so it went away pretty quick. But it was a good attempt, I guess.

Yeah., When, I, said, it, was, a, bad, idea,, I think it's actually a great idea. But you just you can't get enough sauce and cheese and and whatever in that form to make it like like, you know, we make these when we go camping with pie irons. You ever heard of pie irons?

Sure. Oh,, you, have?, Yeah. Like, a, hand, pie, iron,, right? Yeah., You, like,, you, know,, you, take, uh two pieces of bread, you butter up the little iron, and then it's hinged, and you put

like, we, put, pizza, sauce, and, pepperoni and cheese, and you squeeze them together, and then you bake it over a campfire. And that's thick enough to where you can actually have enough stuff, but a Pop-Tart's just not thick enough.

Well,, plus, also, now, today,, if, you, came out with that, everybody' say, "This isn't like a hot pocket, so

what's, the, point?" Yeah., Yeah., Good, point., You, know,, but I'll bet it burns your tongue like a hot pocket if you ate it too soon. Or a a Gino's pizza roll. Is there anything that can burn a tongue worse than a Gino's pizza roll? Cuz you just you eat them too soon. You can't wait around for them to cool off in a

Yeah,, that's, a, garbage, food, that, I wasn't allowed to have much and we don't have at our house, but at uh at Ruby's uh pool party this year

I, just, needed, something, easy, to, put, in the oven to make for a bunch of kids and I got freaking pizza rolls.

What', you, think? They're, not, great,, but, the, kids, loved them. Oh,, I, haven't, had, one, in, a, while., I, have to go back and revisit it or else maybe I'll just not. you have a more sophisticated pallet now. I would I would uh just lean on nostalgia and what a great memory you have.

Okay,, thank, you, for, that. Uh, I, don't, think, we, need, to, go, all through all these other things. I mean they made Pop-Tart bites, little crisps uh and all sorts of little side products that kind of came and went. Uh like all products do. They try to spin things off and it usually doesn't work out.

No., And, don't, forget, Pop-Tart, cereal. That kind of made a splash for a minute.

I, didn't, try, that., I, hadn't, heard, of that. What? Did you have that? What's weird is I remember eating it as a younger person. Um, but apparently it came out in 2018. So either I made up the idea that I ate it or I was way older than I remember when I ate it.

Right., It, was, just, like, seven, years, ago. Yeah., Exactly. When, you, were, a, child.

Right. So, what, essentially, what, Pop, Stars finally did was it's like what we did like we tried a TV show, we tried Sirius XM, we tried going on other people's shows and everyone was like we just want to hear you podcast. That's essentially what Pop-Tarts did. They finally just put it all in to mostly just making Pop-Tarts in new interesting flavors.

Yeah., Well,, it, helped, that, no, one, called us after a while right? Well,, the, opportunities, dried, up., You know,

I, took, it, as,, you, know,, we, just, want, to hear you podcast. No,, I'm, with, you., uh, marketing, wise,, you know, we did a episode recently on uh Saturday morning cartoons and a lot of it uh to some listeners disappointment as it turns out

was, about, uh, uh, marketing, to, children like sugar cereals and things like that during Saturday morning cartoons. And Pop-Tarts was

uh, I, mean, definitely, one, of, the, I, was about to say worst offenders or but maybe I should just say one of the best at it. Um because they ran tons and tons of commercials saying like put them in the lunchbox, eat them for breakfast have them as a snack. Like really, you can serve them warm, you can have them in between meals, you can eat them right out of the foil.

Yeah,, we'll, get, to, that, in, a, second. What?, Right., Right, out, of, the, foil.

Yeah., Do, you, have, Do, you, do, that? I, have, only, done, that, in, a, pinch., I, I used to throw these in the backpack for camping trips when I was young before they had a ton of like uh granola bars and stuff. Sure.

Like, now, there's, so, much, of, that,, but back then I just threw some Pop-Tarts in the backpack and I would eat them out of the package. But it it's not great.

It, can, be, done,, but, no,, it's, not, great. Which, what, I, do, then, is, is, I, I, I, tear off the edges so I just have the frosted center.

Oh,, yeah., And, you, leave, the, the, edges, to nature. That's, right. To, the, wolves, tracking, you.

Exactly., Uh, they, did, come, up, with, a, a mascot for a very short time, which is weird because this is exactly the kind of brand that would have a mascot right?

Yeah. Um, but, they, ditched, Milton, the, Toaster pretty quickly when they debuted them in 1971. But they continued on like you said, advertising like anytime you watch Saturday morning cartoons, they were on. After school cartoons, they were on. Like if you were a kid watching TV, you probably saw a Pop-Tart commercial.

Yeah., I, looked, up, Milton, the, Toaster, and I remember Milton the Toaster. So, I don't know if it was reruns or what, but I remember seeing Milton firmly in my brain. Uh I think these days they're they adopted a slogan called Crazy Good.

Yeah. And, they've, been, running, since, sort, of like 2004 all kinds of ads um, with, under, the, crazy, good, banner., Uh, and I think they ran one from 2004 to 2008 that uh supposedly increased Pop-Tart, eating, in, 10, to, 12, year olds, by 28% in 2005. Uh, which is a pretty big uptick for kids in Pop-Tarts

for, sure. Um, speaking of their ads though, I don't uh remember Milton at all, but I do remember this one that I cannot find on the internet, but it goes pop, my feet, can't, stop., Pop, pop pop, Kellogg's Poptarts.

I, don't, remember, that, one. There, was, also, um, well,, I, made, made, that up too when I was eating Pop-Tart cereal in 2018. There was also a campaign called Soh Hot They're Cool and another one called Snacula. So, if you're a millennial or Gen Xer, like that pretty much covers you. And then it seems like Gen Z was getting the crazy good uh campaign which is still around, but it's like these crudely drawn Pop-Tarts and

they, like, kill, each, other, to, eat, one another kind of thing. It's just weird and bizarre and off-the-wall.

Interesting., Uh, well,, they, took, over, the Citrus Bowl, uh the college football game played in Orlando a couple years ago. It's now the Pop-Tarts Bowl and I think it'll be in its third year on the next one.

Uh,, and, they, have,, you, know,, these interesting tie-ins where they have uh three different mascots and the MVP of the game uh picks the mascot. Uh, so you know, they're tying in stuff like that. They say it's kind of fun. I think they um they like to to tout their uh just sort of out of the box thinking as far as marketing goes. Um, and we should also say they spun that um, Pop-Tarts off from Kellogg into its own company. A lot of times food brands will do that. So, Pop-Tarts along with a few other things was spun out into a company that sounds straight out of the movie Gatka.

It's called Kelanova. It, is, kind, of, unsettling, for, some reason, but, that, that, Pop-Tarts, bowl,, the, MVP doesn't just pick the mascot. He picks the mascot to kill and eat. And they have like a giant Pop-Tart that's I think 73 times the size of a regular Pop-Tart.

And, for, a, little, while, they, sold, it, uh for $60. They called it the party pastry. Just a giant.

That's, a, really, good, price. I, thought, so,, too., It, seems, like, a, real value.

I, mean,, I, saw, this, a, picture, of, this thing on a kitchen table and it that's cheaper than a a a decent birthday cake.

Yeah., I, mean,, let's, say, you, have, uh eight eight pack of Pop-Tarts. Well, they're sold in sixes though right?

I, think, they're, sold, six,, eight,, 14,, a million. There's like a bunch of different ones. 24, I'm pretty sure. But I can tell you, 73 times the size of a regular Pop-Tart does not translate to $60. No more. So, it is a really great value. You can't find it anymore though unfortunately.

Sorry., If, you're, a, thrifty, type, and, you buy one big party pastry and cut them into individual Pop-Tart size shapes and then pack them away in the freezer, you can't do that anymore. Oh, I bet that centerpiece is so good.

Uh,, yeah,, I'll, bet, it, is,, too. Have, we, taken, a, second, break? I, don't, think, so,, man., I, think, we, should now.

All, right,, we'll, take, a, second, break, and talk about uh everybody's favorite topic, health and safety, right after this. Learning stuff with Joshua and Charles you should No.

All, right., So,, uh,, we, kind, of, made, a joke earlier about the frosting sliding off and burning your kitchen down. Uh, I don't I didn't find where it had ever burnt a house down, but over the decades, there have been a lot of reports about Pop-Tart fires. Uh in 1993, it came a little more to the forefront of pop culture uh when uh syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry uh wrote about a report from Dover, Ohio where there was a pop-tart fire in the toaster and you know it was legit. I think they found the the fire department did tests and they found that if you just leave that thing in there, your toaster can shoot flames 3 feet high.

And supposedly Dave Barry recreated this outdoors uh as part of his humor column. I saw a website called flamingtoasters.com. They did this experiment, too. They put two in a toaster. And you need a malfunctioning toaster that never pops up,

right? So, that, they, continue, to, heat, up, because they're designed to make it through like a good long toaster cycle without catching fire. But if the toaster cycle never ends, the Pop-Tarts in big trouble. They got 18inch high flames in 4 minutes 42 seconds of toasting. But roundly around the internet, I've seen these flames. These aren't your like campfire flames. I've seen them described as like blowtorrch like. So there's like flames going out of your toaster. And apparently the reason why is because of all of the high fructose corn syrup inside the filling. If it heats up too much, kaboom, and it catches fire.

Yeah., And, I, think, those, um, I, mean, it's unique. It's not like toast will do that because that filling a with the high fructose corn syrup

but, b, that, that, filling, packed, in, that pastry just retains a lot of heat

right? And, it, just, Yeah,, it's, a, pretty, volatile can be a pretty volatile situation. I think uh the Philly Inquirer in 2001 uh reported that the US customer product safety commission had 17 reports of Pop-Tart fires and eventually of course there would be a lawsuit. Uh, in 1995 um, Pop-Tart settled, uh, the plaintiff's attorney apparently threatened, I don't know if it was inest or not, to call in Dave Barry to go to trial.

And, Pop-Tart, said,, "We'll, give, you, two grand." And they said, "2500." And, Pop-Tart, said,, "2400.", And, they said "Deal

deal. 24,400, bucks, right?", I, guess., And, then, the, attorney took like 2,000 of that.

Yeah,, probably., So,, um,, one, of, the things that Pop-Tarts also gets, um, I guess bounced around for is because they're just not healthy in any way shape, or form.

Yeah. So, unhealthy, that, there, was,, um, another, uh, it wasn't a lawsuit, but they got pressure from this um children's advertising review unit to remove the phrase made with real fruit from its packaging.

Yeah., because, the, amount, of, fruit, in, it is so poulry that they don't even have the right to say that on their box anymore. Um, and the reason why is because so serving size is two of say frosted strawberry pop-tarts, 370 calories, 31 gram of sugar, 8 gram of fat. But here's the healthy part. One gram of fiber, and four grams of protein, which can only be explained as accidental.

Yeah., a, byproduct., I, wonder, if, on, the nutritional thing, it also accounts for added butter

right?, With, butter,, a, million, calories. Uh, yeah,, you, mentioned, um, the, the, fruit content. I think in 2021 there were four plaintiffs that filed a $5 million class action suit that said, "Hey, this is false advertising. You got pictures of strawberries on this thing

on, the, box, and, uh, you, mentioned, there wasn't much actual fruit in there. So there is a a a quantification of that. The whole grain frosted strawberry Pop-Tart contains less than 2% each of dried pear, apple and strawberry. And the strawberry pop-tart is the strawberry is the third of those fruits, which you know, they're listed in order of how much they have. So there's more pear and apple in a strawberry pop-tart than strawberry.

Right., So, they're, not, healthy. No., which, um, so, you, can, imagine, my surprise when I was looking for articles about the health or the health impact or how unhealthy Pop-Tarts are that I found an article titled, "Can Pop-Tarts really help with weight loss?"

I, was, like,, "Are, you, kidding, me?", And, if you read the article, six paragraphs in they're like "No, absolutely not. It can't help with weight loss at all." But it it it um kind of underscores this trend that I've noticed just in the last couple months, Chuck, of just a slew of longtail um which means like really really specific articles clearly written by AI.

Oh, and, they're, all, the, same., There'll, be like a short introduction, then there'll be the table of contents, and then they'll go section, section, section and all the sections are like basically one paragraph. They're totally convoluted. the sections will repeat themselves. They're often giving contradictory information. It's just crap. And it's essentially the dead internet theory finally come to pass where it's just AI writing articles for other AI to be trained on. And we humans have just been pushed to the side and given articles with the click-baity titles. Can Pop-Tarts really help with weight loss?

Emily, bought, a, AI, book, by, accident, off Amazon. It was a pottery book and she got it and she was like, "Wait a minute." He's like "This isn't a a real person." And she tried to look up the author. It didn't exist.

Wow. Yeah., Obviously, returned, it, and, was,, you know, not too happy. But, um

the, AI, was, like,, "Man,, I, thought, that was a sale." Uh,, I, do, want, to, circle, back, though, to that lawsuit, uh, the class action lawsuit. Um the judge eventually a federal judge dismissed it and said no reasonable consumer would see the entire product label reading the words frosted strawberry pop-tarts next to a picture of a toaster pastry coated in frosting and reasonably expect that fresh strawberries would be the sole ingredient in the product.

Right. In, other, words,, everyone, knows, what, a Pop-Tart is. Dummy, go home.

Exactly. You, don't, eat, it, because, it's, healthy. I, had, forgotten, that, you, hadn't, wrapped that story up.

Oh,, that's, right. Quite, a, boondoggle, in, the, middle, there. So, uh, because of the, you know, food dyes and things like that, you're not going to get like a regular American Pop-Tart in other countries. A lot of countries in Europe don't even, uh, have Pop-Tarts at all, but they do have different versions that are a little better, probably. Uh, and I know the UK doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in their frosted strawberry sensation Pop-Tart,

uh,, or, red, 40,, yellow,, six,, and, blue, one dyes. Uh they instead use paprika beetroot, and extract from the anado tree to color their Pop-Tarts.

Yeah., Which, is, a, orange, readyy, color, I've read. Yeah., I, wonder, how, that, affects, the flavor of paprika.

But, it's, also, I, mean, like, when, you, hear about this like the EU or the UK having these standards that are just that makes American standards substandard as far as health goes. It's just so frustrating that nobody's looking out for American consumers like they do in the EU and UK you know. Yeah,

like, use, beetroot, jerk. Agree., Uh, should, we, go, through, a, couple of these cultural uh touchstones?

Yeah. Uh, I'll, mention, the, the, movie, um, the Netflix movie last year, Unfrosted which was at least directed and starred. I, don't, know if, Jerry, Seinfeld, helped helped write it.

Yes,, he, did., And, conceive, of, it,, too. Yeah,, it, was, it, was, a, bad so, bad.

It, was, a, bad, movie. It, was, so, boring. I didn't watch it. I watched a little bit of it and realized that it was uh flaming garbage.

Exactly, the, same, for, me., I, think, I, made it 10 minutes in. Yeah,, it's, really, bad., It, got, a, couple of razies. Um Amy Schumer was in it. Like really quality people. It was just It was just a bad movie. Sometimes it happens.

Yeah., And, it, did, happen, with, that, one. What, else? Uh, you, can, make, your, own, Pop-Tarts, at home. I've actually done this. I made an apple cinnamon giant Pop-Tart.

Uh, it, turned, out, okay., I, think, the, trick is the crust always seems too high fallutin so you're not really recreating the pop-tart very well.

No., Yeah., But, that's, kind, of the, like, I had one in a fancy restaurant one once they had it on the dessert. They called it their pop-tart and it was it was astounding but it wasn't a pop-tart.

Exactly., It, has, to, have, a, certain Yeah. Um trashy, quality. Exactly., It, does., And, it's, missing, that when you make it at home. uh in 2021 when we were bombing Afghanistan, we started dropping food including Pop-Tarts that uh the military, the US military said was supposed to be an icebreaker for those people,

right, for, the, Afghan, people., Um, and, then, they also got criticized because they were like, "Hey, we're dropping food for these people to subsist on. Let's not drop garbage food as an icebreaker

right?", They're, like,, "Can't, Pop-Tarts really help with weight loss?" Um they've also made several appearances on the Simpsons, most famously when um Homer's trying to gain weight so he can get on disability and not have to work.

I, remember, that he, has, he, consults, with, Dr., Nick, who tells him how to gain weight and one of the things he says is instead of using bread, make a sandwich with two Pop-Tarts.

I, bet, that's, so, good., Like, a, PB&J between two Pop-Tarts. Oh, yeah,, I, can, see, that., Well,, there's PB&J Pop-Tarts, or there used to be, and those were pretty good.

Yeah., I, mean,, they've, had, lots, of, wacky flavors. I know you looked up a bunch of those. Any of them stand out?

Oh,, god., I, don't, have, it, in, front, of, me. Um, no. There were there were a few that um the ones that stand out to me, I I wouldn't like they have a whole ice cream shop like subbrand where it's like chocolate vanilla milkshake or something like that. It doesn't sound very good.

No., Um,, there's, like, a, a, co-branded Orange Crush one, A&W Root Beer. There are a couple that I've tried that sounded good that I didn't really like like Sugar Cookie, which is a seasonal one in the winter.

It, wasn't, as, good, as, you'd, think. What, was, the, filling? It, was, like, a a chemically sugar cookie pasty dough.

Oh,, okay. It, just, should, have, been, better, than, it was. But there's a gingerbread one I haven't tried and and I would like to try that one. But I think ultimately for me, you just go back to like some of the originals. They're they're just time-t tested and they're so so good. Like cherry or blueberry or strawberry or of course brown sugar cinnamon.

Agreed., Uh, it, just, hit, me., They, should partner up with uh Biskoff because they make that Biscoff butter.

I, bet, that, would, be, pretty, good. I'm, really, surprised, they, haven't. Uh, and, a, couple, of, these, we, have, some stats at the end and a couple of these stood out to me. Um, I think there was a 2024 household panel survey.

Yeah. Uh,, the, ones, that, stand, out, to, me, are the reasons for people buying Pop-Tarts here these days.

Uh,, 56%, said, convenience. And, 30%, said, it, brings, back, childhood memories,

ostensibly, good, memories. Yeah,, of, course., And, then, the, other, one that stood out was um 72% of Pop-Tart buyers said they ate them themselves. And uh these were adults and 54% said other adults in the house would eat them and only 25% said they were for their kids. So it seems like Gen X is buying and eating these Pop-Tarts.

Yeah., Themselves., They're, keeping, them for themselves. Yeah. One, that, stood, out, to, me, is, 44%, of Americans surveyed said they eat them at least once a week

and, 9%, eat, them, every, day. That's, a, lot. That, is, a, lot., Uh,, the, other, thing, that was really surprising is 12% of people put them in the refrigerator or freezer and then eat them cold.

Yeah. I've, never, even, heard, of, that., That sounds like madness. And then, uh, one of the other things, Chuck, did you see the thing about the mystery Pop-Tart?

No. So,, they, came, up, with Mr., T. Close., Replace, the, T, with, an, E., Get, rid of all the gold in the mohawk. Replace it with a Pop-Tart that has a mustache and and sunglasses and a hat like a mystery person. And you've got the mystery Pop-Tarts. It was a campaign they ran in 2021 and it was like the full shebang. Like there's a QR code and you can go online and guess what the mystery flavor was.

It, was, roundly, hated., It, like, found disgusting. Someone guessed it was Cheezits. Someone guessed it was a Swiss cheese Pop-Tart. Someone guessed garlic and onion. It turned out it was an everything bagel Pop-Tart. And everyone said, "We hate that. Get it off of our shelves." Ah, I do love everything bagel. Almost everything, but I I could see where that might not because I even like that uh Jenny's everything bagel ice cream I thought was so good.

Oh,, I, didn't, try, that. A, lot, of, people, hated, it., I, loved, it. To, me,, I'd, be, like,, "No,, I'm, I'm, not going to waste my time with anything but gooey butter cake or the almond crisp one."

Oh,, as, far, as, the, jenny's, goes. Yeah., So, good. Yeah,, agreed. Uh,, you, got, anything, else?, No,, I, think, I gained a few pounds just doing this episode.

Yeah,, I, I, can't, decide, if, I'm, going, to run out and buy some more or just, you know, leave it be.

I'm, going, to, buy, some. Well,, let, me, know., I'll, live, vicariously through you. Okay.

You, know what, I'll, do,, bud?, I'll, get, uh I'll have to get the cinnamon brown sugar just cuz I can't not.

Right. And, uh, I'll, only, get, one, other, box, and I'll get that frosted cherry.

Great. I'll, let, you, know. Okay., Uh, well,, while, you're, doing, that, Chuck, how about some listener mail action? Yeah, this is about uh another MTV follow-up about the show, their game show remote control. Hey guys, when I was a sophomore in high school in 1990 we had to do a project in world history about Mesopotamia. So, my friends and I made our own remote control game show with quiz questions about the subject. Uh we had a little brother be um our videographer and had bowls of cereal fall on our head as if we missed the question. Um we had so much fun creating it. We're so proud of it. All the kids knew what it was, but I think Mr. Hall was a bit confused as to what was happening, but we got an A. Woohoo.

Thanks for the great episode and for the amazingness that you put out into the world. I adore the show and your friendship. That is a big fan from Oh, h I O. Go Buckeyes, Michelle.

Nice,, Michelle., Thank, you, for, that, one. Um, that was a soio story if I've ever heard one.

Agreed., Uh,, if, you, want, to, be, like Michelle and tell us about something sweet from your childhood that we made you think of again, we love that kind of thing. You can wrap it up, spank it on the bottom with a pop-tart, and send it off to stuffodcast@ iheartradio.com. Stuff you should know is a production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts, iMheart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Pop Tarts: No Fruit Necessary | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW"?

Josh Clark (Host), Chuck Bryant (Host), Jerry (Guest).

What is "Pop Tarts: No Fruit Necessary | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW" about?

The discussion explores the cultural evolution of convenience foods like Pop-Tarts, highlighting how the rise of second-wave feminism in the 1960s shifted women's roles and led to increased demand for quick meal options as they entered the workforce. Personal anecdotes about grandmothers provide a contrast between traditional home cooking and modern supermarket snacks, illustrating societal…

What is mentioned in this Stuff You Should Know episode?

34 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Chuck Bryant, Josh Malcolm Clark, Kellogg Company, Battle Creek, convenience food, Pop-Tart fires. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Pop Tarts: No Fruit Necessary | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW"?

The episode runs 50 min; the transcript is about 9,428 words in 232 timestamped sections.

More from Stuff You Should Know

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.