Soak-up This Juicy Tad of Information

Author: Sue Chehrenegar

Did you ever hear of a Dupont Sponge? Did you ever drink some Snow Crop Orange Juice? Back in the 50s and 60s, when I was in elementary school and junior high,
we had lots of Dupont Sponges. Our sponges came in many different colors and sizes.

We even had one Dupont sponge that was almost a yard long and a foot wide. One weekend, when a deluge left my parents with a basement floor covered in water, they used that big Dupont Sponge to mop-up the mess.

I don't think many other American homes contained a Dupont Sponge. My father's employer, a manufacturers' representative, eventually dropped that account. Then my father supplied us with Simonize Sponges.

Our family also had to say "good-bye" to the frozen Snow Crop Orange Juice that we used to drink every morning. For a while we had orange juice made from frozen Minute Maid Orange Juice. Then, when manufacturers put whole juice in cartons, we began using that instead. I am sure that my mother appreciated the foresight of the man or woman who guessed that housewives would favor the boxed juice.

Still, the insight of manufacturers' in the 50s and 60s did not extend to thoughts about smaller boxes. Today's children love to drink juice from small juice boxes, each box with a tiny straw. My mother did not have such a convenience. She spent many hours pouring Hi-C out of large metal cans into miniature cups. Frequently she then had to wash those same cups.

Our breakfast table had something else that you won't find today. We had Chex Cereals made by Ralston Purina. By the end of the 20th Century, Chex Cereals were made by the people at General Mills. General Mills also introduced some new and interesting ways for offering "Chex Mix" a snack served at parties in the 50s and 60s.

As the 60s came to a close, a newer snack had appeared on the shelves. That snack, Screaming Yellow Zonkers, filled the small bags that we gave to guests at my graduation party. My adoption of the 70's foodstuffs coincided with my adoption of the food at my college dormitory.