Midterm Project: Twinkies

Twinkies are ones of America’s most popularized tasty treats. Personally I do not like Twinkies, but I thought that it would be fun to research how these little cream cakes came to be.
In the 1920s and '30s, Continental Bakeries sold baked snacks under the Hostess brand name. Many of the snacks were seasonal, with fruit filling. Hostess Little Shortbread Fingers were made with strawberries, so for several months of the year the equipment used to make them sat idle because strawberries weren't available. The machines to produce these treats were very expensive and they were going to waste just sitting there for multiple months out of the year. www.delish.com


The company vice president, James Dewar, wanted to make a product that could use that equipment and improve efficiency. His idea was a simple sponge cake with a flavored cream filling. On the way to a marketing meeting, he saw a billboard advertising Twinkle-Toe Shoes. And so, the Twinkie was born in 1930. www.neatorama.com

The first Twinkies were quite different from the ones we know now. They were made with banana cream filling, not vanilla. But in World War II, there was a banana shortage, and vanilla became the standard flavor. www.abcnews.com The eggs, milk and butter in early Twinkies gave them a shelf life of only two days. Dewar had his salesman replenish store shelves every other day, but the practice was expensive. So, the need for a longer shelf life led to many changes in the Twinkie recipe.
Today's Twinkie has a much longer shelf life than the ones made in 1930, but not as long as some people think. A variety of myths have sprung up around the Twinkie's longevity, claiming that it stays fresh for decades, would survive a nuclear war and that the company is still selling off the original batch made in 1930, still fresh almost 80 years later. In fact, a Twinkie's shelf life is officially 25. "It's also a misconception that Twinkies are chemically preserved. In fact, the airtight plastic packaging does far more to keep the cakes fresh than any of the actual ingredients do." www.kitchenproject.com

Whether you hate them or love them, Hostess has managed to make a spot for Twinkies on nearly every shelf in every grocery store of America!

Midterm Project: Silly Putty

Silly Putty has been around for 50 years now, and in the past half-century, it's become an American toy classic. From its origins in a scientist's laboratory in 1943 and its introduction to the world in 1950, to its addition to the Smithsonian Institution, the fun and colorful history of Silly Putty is one of my favorites!
Silly Putty, one of the most popular toys of the 20th century, was invented accidentally. One of the most important resources needed for World War II war production was rubber. It was essential for tires and boots. It was also important for gas masks, life rafts, and even bombers. Beginning early in the war, the Japanese attacked many of the rubber-producing countries in Asia, drastically affecting the supply route. To conserve rubber, civilians in the United States were asked to donate old rubber tires, rubber raincoats, rubber boots, and anything else that consisted at least in part of rubber. Rations were placed even on gasoline to hinder people from driving their cars. “Propaganda posters instructed people in the importance of carpooling and showed them how to care for their household rubber products so they would last the duration of the war. “ www.history1900s.com

Even with this home front effort, the rubber shortage threatened war production. The government decided to ask U.S. companies to invent a synthetic rubber that had similar properties but that could be made with non-restricted ingredients. In 1943, engineer James Wright was attempting to discover a synthetic rubber while working in General Electric's laboratory in New Haven, Conn. when he discovered something unusual. In a test tube, Wright had combined boric acid and silicone oil, producing an interesting gob of goo. www.historyof1900s.com

Wright conducted a multitude of tests on the substance and discovered it could bounce when dropped, stretch farther than regular rubber, didn't collect mold, and had a very high melting temperature. Unfortunately, though it was a fascinating substance, it didn't contain the properties needed to replace rubber. Still, Wright assumed there had to be some practical use for the interesting putty. “Unable to come up with an idea himself, Wright sent samples of the putty to scientists around the world. However, none of them found a use for the substance either. “ www.ideafinders.com

Though perhaps not practical, the substance continued to be entertaining. The "nutty putty" began to be passed around to family and friends and even taken to parties to be dropped, stretched, and molded to the delight of many. In 1949, the ball of goo found its way to Ruth Fallgatter, an owner of a toy store who regularly produced a catalog of toys. Advertising consultant Peter Hodgson convinced Fallgatter to place globs of the goo in plastic cases and add it to her catalog. Selling for $2 each, the "bouncing putty" outsold everything else in the catalog except for a set of 50-cent Crayola crayons. After a year of strong sales, Fallgatter decided to drop the bouncing putty from her catalog. www.aboutinventors.com


Already $12,000 in debt, Hodgson borrowed another $147 and bought a large quantity of the putty in 1950. He then had Yale students separate the putty into one-ounce balls and place them inside red plastic eggs. Since "bouncing putty" didn't describe all of the putty's unusual and entertaining attributes, Hodgson thought hard about what to call the substance. After much contemplation and numerous options suggested, he decided to name the goo "Silly Putty" and to sell each egg for $1.
Silly Putty, marked as "The Real Solid Liquid," It was first marketed to adults but became more popular with children. However, by 1955 the market shifted and the toy became a huge success with children.
This company was able to market the product well throughout the years to keep it appealing to every generation of kids!

BOC Midterm: Slinky!

"A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing! Everyone knows its Slinky!"-Company Jingle www.poof-slinky.com The second product I chose for my midterm research is the slinky! Though its popularity can't be called into question, everyone may not know that the Slinky was an accident. This fun American toy was created by mechanical engineer Richard James in 1943. It was the unintended by-product of a new line of sensitive springs that would help keep fragile equipment steady on ships. After knocking one of his newly created springs from a shelf, James watched as it "walked" down from its spot instead of falling to the ground. He designed a machine to coil 80 ft. of wire into a 2-in. spiral. The name of the toy was chosen by his wife Betty.

Slinky got its big break during the Christmas shopping season of 1945, when the Gimbels department store in Philadelphia let James sell his new creation for the first time. James and Betty paid one of their close friends a dollar to make it look like to toy was really cool. This started the frenzy. Within minutes, they had run out of Slinkys to sell. Over all they sold 400 Slinkys that day. After James left his wife to join a religious cult, Betty, his wife took of the company. “Sixty-six years and 250 million Slinkys later, we're still just as delighted with James’s toy.” http://www.times.com/



Slinky biggest competition is all toys that kinds play with. Since slinky isn’t electronic you could place it in the category of popular old American toys. If I had to pick some of its main competitor I would say that it competes with other toys such as silly puddy, and Jacks. I think that slinkys were a very successful product, but I feel they have not been able to keep up with the times. Many kids now-a-days just want to play games on their Xbox’s or PlayStations. I feel there are many other toys that people would prefer to play with than the slinky. I remember when I was a little girl and I begged my mom for a slinky. After I finally got one for Christmas one year I was tired of it. I probably played with it for one and didn’t pick it up much after that. I think it is a toy that will always be sold, but I think to make more money the company will have to re-invent itself. www.inventors.com

Some other facts about: Slinkys were among the first toys to travel into space; a stamp commemorating the 1940s features the beloved toy; during the Vietnam War, U.S. soldiers would toss a Slinky into a tree for use as a makeshift radio antenna; and, if stretched end-to-end, the Slinky toys sold since 1945 (about 250 million) would wrap around the world 126 times. http://www.yahoo.com/

BOC Midterm: MAC PC

MAC: The first product I have chose for my midterm project is the Mac computer. I am and always will be a Mac lover, and I recently just purchased a macbook. When I was told I needed to pick a popular consumer product the first thing that popped in to my head was my computer! Everyone and their grandma has a MAC so I thought it would be the perfect product to conduct my research on. Apple is an amazing company that has been able to cultivate a brand for themselves around their amazing products. “Apple has established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry.”(http://www.crunchbase.com/) This includes a customer base that is devoted to the company and its brand, particularly in the United States. Their customers are very loyal and will stand in line for hours to get the new version of and already existing product. Many people prefer Mac to PC for its many advantages. Mac has created its own community for its target market. They are starting to create a lifestyle for their brand. “Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008.”(http://www.gizmdo.com/) Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. “The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system; the iTunes media browser; the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software; the iWork suite of productivity software; Aperture, a professional photography package; Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products; Logic Studio, a suite of music production tools; the Safari internet browser; and iOS, a mobile operating system.”(http://www.apple.com/) As of August 2010, the company operates “301 retail stores in ten countries, and an online store where hardware and software products are sold.”(http://www.apple.com/) As of May 2010, Apple is one of the largest companies in the world and the most valuable technology company in the world, having surpassed Microsoft. “The company was established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California. As of September 2010, Apple had 46,600 full time employees and 2,800 temporary full time employees worldwide and had worldwide annual sales of $65.23 billion.”(http://www.apple.com/)