1. History
    Hostess bankruptcy  Return of Twinkies to U.S. market 

2. Cultural references
    Ghostbusters  Die Hard  Ghost Rider 2  Hollow Man  Zombieland  WALL-E  Castle  Mortal Engines  Twinkie defense  Song lyrics  Theological Twinkie  Shelf life  Twinkie diet 

3. See also

4. References

5. Further reading

6. External links

A Twinkie is an American snack cake, marketed as a "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc. ({{NASDAQ|TWNK}}), having been formerly owned by private equity firms Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company as the second incarnation of Hostess Brands. During bankruptcy proceedings, Twinkie production was suspended on November 21, 2012, and resumed after an absence of at least ten months from American store shelves, becoming available again nationwide on July 15, 2013.^[1][2]

History

Twinkies were invented in Schiller Park, Illinois^[9] on April 6, 1930, by James Alexander Dewar, a baker for the Continental Baking Company.^[10] Realizing that several machines used to make cream-filled strawberry shortcake sat idle when strawberries were out of season, Dewar conceived a snack cake filled with banana cream, which he dubbed the Twinkie.^[11] Ritchy Koph said he came up with the name when he saw a billboard in St. Louis for "Twinkle Toe Shoes."^[12] During World War II, bananas were rationed and the company was forced to switch to vanilla cream. This change proved popular, and banana-cream Twinkies were not widely re-introduced. The original flavor was occasionally found in limited-time promotions, but the company used vanilla cream for most Twinkies.^[13] In 1988, Fruit and Cream Twinkies were introduced with a strawberry filling swirled into the cream. The product was soon dropped.^[14] Vanilla's dominance over banana flavoring would be challenged in 2005, following a month-long promotion of the movie King Kong. Hostess saw its Twinkie sales rise 20 percent during the promotion, and in 2007 restored the banana-cream Twinkie to its snack lineup.^[15]

Hostess bankruptcy

On January 11, 2012,^[16] parent company Hostess filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.^[12] Twinkie sales for the year, {{as of|2011|December|25|lc=y|df=US}}, were 36 million packages, down almost 20% from a year earlier.^[12] Hostess said customers had migrated to healthier foods.^[12] On November 16, 2012, Hostess officially announced that it "will be winding down operations and has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking permission to close its business and sell its assets, including its iconic brands and facilities." Bakery operations were suspended at all plants.^[17]

On November 19, 2012, Hostess and the Bakers Union agreed to mediation, delaying the shutdown for two days. On November 21, 2012, U.S. bankruptcy judge Robert Drain approved Hostess' request to shut down, temporarily ending Twinkie production in the United States.^[18]

Return of Twinkies to U.S. market

On March 18, 2013, it was reported that Twinkies would return to store shelves in May of that year. Twinkies, along with other famed Hostess Brands, were purchased out of bankruptcy by Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co for $410 million.^[19][20]

Twinkies returned to U.S. shelves on July 15, 2013.^[21] Apollo subsequently sold Hostess for $2.3 billion.^[22]

Before Hostess Brands filed for bankruptcy, Twinkies were reduced in size. They now contain {{convert|135|kcal|kJ}} and have a mass of 38.5 grams, while the original Twinkies contained {{convert|150|kcal|kJ}} and had a mass of 42.5 grams. The new Twinkies also have a longer shelf life of 45 days, which was also a change made before bankruptcy, compared to the 26 days of the original Twinkies.^[23]

Cultural references

Ghostbusters

The Twinkie became known worldwide in countries that did not sell the confection in 1984, due to a reference in the hit film Ghostbusters.^[24] In the film, the character Egon Spengler describes a speculated level of psychokinetic energy and uses a regular Twinkie size to represent the normal level of such energy in New York City. He then says that based on a recent sample, the Twinkie representing New York would be over {{convert|35|ft|m}} long and weigh approximately {{convert|600|lb|kg}}, to which the character Winston Zeddemore replies, "That's a big Twinkie."^[24]

Die Hard

In the 1988 blockbuster "Die Hard", LAPD Sergeant Al Powell is seen buying Twinkies at a gas station, to which the attendant says "I thought you guys ate donuts?". Powell replies, claiming that they are for his pregnant wife. It is later revealed to be his favourite snack, to the point that he is able to list all the ingredients to John McClane, claiming they are "Just about everything a growing boy needs!". He is also seen eating them in Die Hard 2.

Ghost Rider 2

In the film "Ghost Rider 2", the antagonist of the movie(whose ability is to decay everything he touches) struggles to eat an apple because it rots until he grabs a Twinkie, which to his surprise, does not decay/expire.

Hollow Man

In the film Hollow Man, Dr. Sebastian Caine says the following, when asked by a colleague how he solved the problem of creating a stable invisibility cell, "Oh, you know, coffee and Twinkies!" Later in the film, the invisible Dr. Caine is seen leisurely eating one whilst in bed.

Zombieland

In the film Zombieland, one of the protagonists, Tallahassee, has a craving for Twinkies and stops to acquire some from a crashed van, even with the threat of zombies roaming the countryside.

WALL-E

In the movie WALL-E, WALL-E gives his pet cockroach Twinkies, evidently still edible after humans have left earth 700 years ago.

Castle

On the ABC show Castle, Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) mentions having deep-fried Twinkies while reminiscing with his ex-wife Meredith (Darby Stanchfield).

Mortal Engines

In the film Mortal Engines, Hester Shaw eats a Twinkie that is 1000 years old. She offers one to Tom Natsworthy, who questions it due to its extreme age. The Tw and s in the wrapper has been rubbed off and Hester refers to it as an "Inkie".

Twinkie defense

"Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for an improbable legal defense. It is not a recognized legal defense in jurisprudence, but a catchall term coined by reporters during their coverage of the trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. White's defense was that he suffered diminished capacity as a result of his depression. His change in diet from healthful food to Twinkies and other sugary foods was said to be a symptom of depression. Contrary to common belief, White's attorneys did not argue that the Twinkies were the cause of White's actions, but that their consumption was symptomatic of his underlying depression.^[11]

Song lyrics

Theological Twinkie

Shelf life

A common urban legend claims that Twinkies have an infinite shelf life, and can last unspoiled for a relatively long time of ten, fifty, or one hundred years due to the chemicals used in their production.^[28] A homage to the unlimited shelf life urban myth appears in the film WALL-E, where the title character's pet cockroach is shown eating its way into the cream filling at one end and emerging out the other, none the worse for wear.^[29]

The third episode of Family Guy{{'}}s second season entitled "Da Boom" follows the Griffin family after a nuclear holocaust occurs, due to Y2K on New Year's Eve. The family then travels in search of food, and eventually decide to establish a town around a Twinkie factory.

Another homage to the Twinkie's shelf life myth was shown in the 2016 animated film Sausage Party, where a Twinkie is amongst the "Non-Perishable" foods.

The 2012 Super Bowl Chevy Silverado Apocalypse commercial also gives a nod to Twinkie's reputed durability.^[30]

In reality, Twinkies are on the shelf for a short time; a company executive told The New York Times in 2000 that the "Twinkie is on the shelf no more than 7 to 10 days."^[31] The maximum shelf life was reported to have been 26 days, until the addition of stronger preservatives made beginning in 2012 increased it to 45 days.^[32] The 2009 apocalypse horror-comedy Zombieland, which features a search for the last remaining Twinkies in a running gag, acknowledges this by having the character Tallahassee (played by Woody Harrelson) explain that Twinkies do, in fact, have an expiration date.In the second episode of The Umbrella Academy (TV series), the character called number 5 (player by Aidan Gallagher) states that the infinite shelf life is a lie.

Twinkie diet

In 2010, Kansas State University professor Mark Haub went on a "convenience store" diet consisting mainly{{Citation needed|reason=Most sources suggest a small proportion|date=February 2017}} of Twinkies, Oreos, and Doritos in an attempt to demonstrate to his students "...that in weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most, not the nutritional value of the food." He lost {{convert|27|lb|kg}} over a two-month period, returning his body mass index (BMI) to within normal range.^[33][34] In addition to Twinkies, Haub ate Little Debbie snack cakes, cereals, cookies, brownies, Doritos, Oreos and other kinds of high calorie, low-nutrition foods that are usually found at convenience stores. However, despite calling it the "Twinkie diet", Haub also consumed a multivitamin, a protein shake and fresh vegetables along with the Twinkies, Oreos, and Doritos.^[35] Some protein shakes contain 80 grams protein per serving,^[36] almost equivalent to eating three 6-oz steaks per day.^[37] Besides the protein shake and multivitamin, Haub also ate nutritionally dense whole milk, carrots, and vitamin fortified cereal.^[38] This contradicts representations by other media outlets stating that Haub "only" ate junk food.^[39]

See also

• Chocodile Twinkie
• Deep-fried Mars Bar
• Ding Dong
• Ho Hos
• List of deep fried food
• Sno Balls
• Twinkie the Kid
• Zingers

References

Further reading

• {{cite book|last=Ettlinger|first=Steve|year=2007|title=Twinkie Deconstructed|ISBN=978-0452289284}}

External links

• Products Page on Hostess' website
• The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project
• Twinkies at 75: munch 'em, fry 'em, save 'em for years, The Christian Science Monitor
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-_FO9p8Xdg Weird Al Yankovic making a Twinkie wiener sandwich] at YouTube
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp2W0Lylzrs Zombieland
• https://web.archive.org/web/20060518130119/http://www.hostesscakes.com/twinkies.asp

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