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Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts

Box of Pop-Tarts

A Pop-Tart is a flat rectangular toaster pastry approximately 3 in (75 mm) by 5.5  in (115 mm), made by the Kellogg Company. Pop-Tarts have a sugary filling sealed inside two layers of rectangular, thin pastry crust; each layer of this crust is about 0.1 in (2 mm) thick. Most varieties have frosting, but some do not. They can be eaten without being warmed, but are often warmed inside a toaster. (More recently, certain varieties have been marketed as tasting best when left to cool in the freezer.) They are usually sold in pairs inside foil packages, and do not require refrigeration.^[1]

Popular flavors include (but are not limited to) blueberry, frosted strawberry, frosted brown sugar cinnamon, cherry, Hot Fudge Sundae, and s'mores.

For a brief period in the 1990s, Kellogg's sold a strawberry and brown sugar cinnamon flavored Pop-Tarts cold cereal, shaped like miniature frosted toaster pastries.^{[citation needed]}

Pop-Tarts are Kellogg's most popular brand to date, with more than two billion Pop-Tarts sold each year.^{[citation needed]} They are distributed mainly in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom and Canada.^{[citation needed]} Pop-Tarts were discontinued in Australia in 2005.^{[citation needed]} To some extent, the brand name "Pop-Tart" has become a genericized trademark describing any toaster pastry.

History

Post Cereals first created the confection that would become Pop-Tarts in the early 1960s. They adapted their process of enclosing dog food in foil to keep it fresh without rotting for their new toaster-prepared breakfast food. Intended to compliment their cold cereals, Post announced their new product in 1963 to the press, giving them the name "Country Squares."^{[citation needed]}

Because Post had revealed Country Squares before it was ready, Post's biggest competitor, Kellogg, was able to develop their own version in six months.^[2] Internally at Kellogg, the pastry was known as a "dolliesscone."^{[citation needed]}

Post released their Country Squares in the same year, but sales lagged behind Pop-Tarts. It is widely believed that Country Squares failed because of their name. In the progressive culture of the time, with TV shows like "The Beverly Hillbillies", the name "Country Squares" was associated with being backward and boring. Country Squares failed to take off, while Pop-Tarts became a sensation.

At first, Pop-Tarts were not frosted because it was believed that the frosting would melt in the toaster. However, they later discovered that frosting could survive the toaster and released the first frosted Pop-Tarts in 1967. Today, there are a wide variety of Pop-Tart flavors, including Chocolate Chip, S'Mores, Raspberry, French Toast and Mint Chocolate Chip.

In 1971, a cartoon character named Milton the Toaster was introduced to promote Pop-Tarts. William Schallert from "The Patty Duke Show" voiced him.^{[citation needed]} The campaign ended when a commercial showed a child hugging the toaster, leading to complaints that children might imitate the commercial and burn themselves.^{[citation needed]}

In 1992, Pop-Tarts became the focus of more controversy, when Thomas Nangle sued Kellogg for damages after his Pop-Tart got stuck and caught fire in his toaster. The case gained notoriety when humor columnist Dave Barry wrote a column about starting a fire in his own toaster with Pop-Tarts.^[3] In 1994, Texas A&M University professor Patrick Michaud performed an experiment proving that, when left in the toaster too long, strawberry Pop-Tarts could produce flames over a foot high.^[4] The discovery triggered a flurry of lawsuits. Since then, Pop-Tarts carry the warning: "Do not leave toasting appliances unattended due to possible risk of fire."

Pop-Tarts were introduced with fairly substantial marketing to the United Kingdom in the early 1990s, although they have failed to replicate their U.S. success. The frosting initially had a tendency to melt off of the surface completely during heating and subsequently clog the toaster, a design error which suggests they may have been manufactured by a different company under license. This is still a topic of debate.

In 2001, the United States military dropped 2.4 million Pop-Tarts in Afghanistan during the United States War in Afghanistan.^[5]

In 2004, Pop-Tarts began a new ad campaign titled "Crazy Good". Characters that appeared often were a singing lizard and a group of kids, dubbed "crazy-good kids", who commonly frightened the pop-tarts and caused them to be eaten or chased away. The ads employ squiggly animation, surreal humor, and non sequitur, all of which bear a strong resemblance to the signature work of animator Don Hertzfeldt. One "crazy-good kid" in particular bears strong resemblance to Billy in Hertzfeldt's Billy's Balloon. However, Hertzfeldt was not involved in any way with the ads and is currently looking into possible litigation for stealing his work. ^[6]

In 2006, Pop-Tarts also introduced a new product known as Go-Tarts. These are similar to Pop-Tarts, but are long and narrow, and wrapped individually (instead of in packages of two). These are designed to be eaten as snacks and not for being toasted or otherwise heated.

Sources

1. ^ Side panel, Box of Apple Cinnamon Pop-Tarts, Battle Creek, MI: Kellogg Sales Co, 2006.
2. ^ Whole Pop Magazine, "True History of Pop-Tarts"
3. ^ Tarts Afire, June 1993
4. ^ Strawberry Pop-Tart Blow-Torches, August 1994.
5. ^ Colin, Chris & Pott, Carol. The Blue Pages. Sausalito, CA: PoliPointPress, 2006, p. 69. ISBN 0-9760621-1-9
6. ^ "Ain't It Cool News", Ain't It Cool News, August 7, 2006. 

• James Prichard, Detroit News (2003), "Kellogg's popular, pioneering Pop-Tarts turn 40 this year"
• Trisha Renaud, Law.com (2002), "Flaming Pop-Tarts Spark Georgia Suit"

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Pop-Tarts

• Official website
• Official Canadian website