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| Deadly combination of Pop Rocks and soda, yeah right! |
Back in the late 1970s, I loved Pop Rocks. What kid didn't? On my way home from school, I'd stop at our local candy store and pick up a packet of the sweet, sizzling treat. I enjoyed the sugary tartness as my mouth fizzled in a cool snap, crackle and pop way. Pop Rocks was one of my favorite non-chocolate candy treat, next to the over-sized burger shaped gum packaged in a yellow plastic case resembling a McDonald's Big Mac.
At some point, rumors began circulating that the famous Life Cereal commercial star "Mikey, he likes it" died from an unfortunate accident downing a can of soda along with a package of Pop Rocks. It was unbelievable, how did it happen? Kids said that the level of carbonation from the soda combined with the candy could make your stomach explode. What an awful thought? It's crazy how rumors can create such issues, remember the spider eggs in Bubble Yum urban legend?
I'm sure you already know Mikey (John Gilchrist) is alive and well and was working in advertising. Here are some cool facts about Mikey, Pop Rocks and more...
- Mikey (John Gilchrist) starred in the Life Cereal commercials with his real-life brothers Michael and Tom.
- The Mikey Life Cereal ads ran were named one of the 50 Greatest Commercials of all Time by TV Guide.
- General Mills, the company behind Pop Rocks, took out full-page ads in over 45 publications to squash rumors that Pop Rocks were deadly.
- 50,000 letters were sent to school principals clarifying the playground tales of killer Pop Rocks!
- In 2000, Quaker poked fun at themselves and revived the classic Mikey ads with a grown-up version of the finicky eater. View the commercial below the original. It isn't John Gilchrist - the actor's name is Jimmy Starace.
- Mentos was the next victim of a similar rumor started in 2006 about a kid in Brazil who died who washed down some Mentos with a can of Coke.
Reviving Mikey - All Grown-up in 2000
