IJMC - The Mentos(tm) v.1.1 FAQ
I think this one just about wins the "best suited to be called Junk Mail"
award. What do the readers think? -dave
Straying further and further from things mournful and dark, I bring you
straight from the lowest level of hell, the Mentos FAQ.
Also, for you Web-heads, available via the ever-fresh Mentos WWW page:
http://www.oac.uci.edu/indiv/dkrause/fun/television/mentos/index.html
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The Mentos FAQ V1.1 (9/27/94 update)
(c) 1994 Heath Doerr doerrhb@expert.cc.purdue.edu
e-mail auto server: mentos-faq@fische.com
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/asuter/coolstuff/mentos.faq
Index:
[*=Updated sections; ^=New sections]
Section 1: Commercial Synopsis
1a: Commercial History, Origin, Explanation*
1b: Jingle Lyrics
Section 2: The Candies
2a: Packaging
2b: Ingredients
2c: Manufacturial Data
Section 3: Abbreviations^
Section 4: Miscellaneous*
Section 5: Credits*
Section 6: History*
Section 1: Commercial Synopsis
1. The Broken Shoe (or 'High Heel Treachery')
A sassy young lady sashays past an open air French style cafe,
gaining the attention of a business man, and at the same time
interrupting his newspaper enjoyment. As she glides past, a
footwear malfunction occurs, leaving her sans one heel. She
reaches for her secret freshness inducer, Mentos. After
administering a piece of the magic elixir of nuttiness, she
breaks off the remaining spike, proclaiming to the world her
resourcefulness, and endless freshness. The man in the cafe
is undoubtedly impressed.
2. The Fake Photographer (or 'Those Crazy Kids I')
A young lad and his pals file through a mob of fanatics and
paparazzi, in order to get a closer look at their favorite star.
However, their adventure takes them over the legal boundaries
of said activity, which is then pointed out to them by the
authorities. After a bit of contemplation, and a hearty dose
of freshness ala Mentos, our hero cunningly disguises himself
as a member of the media, and breaks through the defenses of the
establishment.
3. The Airport Tram Ride (or 'Baggage Claim Blues')
A young woman finds herself in a bit of a pinch, as she discovers
that she has packed too much, and her bags are a most bothersome
burden. But she has no fear, it is a burden which is not
insurmountable, especially with Mentos on her side. She unsheathes
her glimmering blue tube of freshness, and holds it out stretched,
like the mighty Excalibur, and although shortening it by 1/14,
this weapon has not lost its power. She consumes the pellet of
perkiness, and decrees that she and only she shall be the one to
ride the baggage cart, and all the other most unfresh patrons of
the airport shall bear the full weight of their baggage. Her
friends cheer, and dream of one day achieving a freshness such
as hers.
4. The Car Movers (or 'Overalls and Mentos')
Only an unfresh person would park his car in such a way as to make
his fellow motorist unable to go about her merry way, but that's
just what our heroine is faced with in this episode of the Mentos
saga. After an exchange of dirty looks, and communication of the
parkee's need for promptness, the young girl contemplates her
dilemma with the aid of a freshmaker. She has a revelation,
and summons what looks to be the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive
line from a construction site across the way. With surprisingly
little convincing, the barbarians lift her Fiat into the road, and
as she thanks them she glances in the way of her nemesis, only to
add an exclamation point to her freshness.
5. Evading Mom (or 'Psycho Mutant Killer Mom')
While enjoying a pleasant afternoon at the mall, a teen and his
companions suddenly spot one of their mothers. She raises her
umbrella, signifying that she has acquired her target, and means
to move in for the kill. Quickly searching his person, the teen
removes from his pocket the only thing to help him out of this
bind, Mentos. Thinking quickly, and now sporting fresh, clean
breath, he seizes a baseball cap from a nearby mannequin. The
perfect disguise! Placing it on his head in a diagonal pattern,
he strikes a pose and avoids his pursuer. She spots him again,
but this time only after entering the escalator. Knowing she has
been vanquished, mom shakes her weapon yet again, all the while
thinking, 'My son is sooo fresh!'
6. Through the Car (or 'The 3 Second Car Jacking')
There is little peace in the land of Mentos, as yet another teen
is faced with a distressing problem. While crossing the street, he
is separated from his friends, and nearly from his legs by an over
anxious motorist. Finding himself needing to traverse the street,
but without a normal means to do so, he again thanks his lucky
stars he remembered the freshmaker. His supply is reduced by one,
but his freshness is increased exponentially. Opening the rear
door, he climbs through the auto, while the driver looks over
his shoulder in astonishment. Upon exiting, the youth shrugs
at the motorist, Mentos in hand. Although a bit shaken, the
passenger acknowledges the care free youths with an approving
glance as he speeds away. "Wait till the wife hears of my brush
with freshness!"
7. The Backstage Crew (or 'Those Crazy Kids II')
In the final episode, once again the establishment has prevented
some teens from achieving their goal. At the backstage door to
a rock concert, our friends are star struck and must find a way
backstage to meet their idols, demonstrate their freshness, and
enjoy each others minty clean breath. Musical paraphernalia is
being unloaded, and with the aid of a bandanna, one teen slips
through the line undetected. At the last moment, a security guard
spots him, but instead of pouncing on him and beating him to a
bloody mess with his nightstick, he lets him go showing an
expression that could only mean one thing, "Those crazy kids!".
Bravo!
Commercial History, Origin, and Explanation:
Thanks to Jan Setje-Eilers (jse@expert.cc.purdue.edu), the
mystery of the Mentos commercials' origin has been solved. The
ads originated in Germany, and concrete proof of this has been
obtained. In 'The Three Second Car Jacking', the street the
incident takes place on is located in Munich, Germany. Also,
the characters of 'Psycho Mutant Killer Mom' are actors from a
sitcom taking place in Northern Germany. The mother, (incidentally,
whose last name is 'Teufel', which means Devil in German) is a
crazy character in the show, and one who would be avoided normally.
Anyone who has seen the sitcom, (i.e. Germans) would understand
this, but the American audience is understandably confused.
Note: The spots are run in English throughout the world.
Note 2: According to Chad Jones (cjones@gse.ucla.edu), 'High Heel
Treachery' was filmed on the Third Street Promenade, a
shopping district in Santa Monica, CA. Also, 'The 3
Second Car Jacking' was filmed in Downtown Los Angeles.
Joseph Hernandez (jthern@OCF.Berkeley.EDU) says one
of the buildings in the background is the First Interstate
Bank Building. Personally, I find it hard to believe that
German actors were flown to America to film commercials,
but you can draw your own conclusions.
Jingle lyrics:
'Doo doo doo, doo-doo, do-Wah!'
It doesn't matter what comes, fresh goes better with life,
and Mentos is fresh and full of life.
Nothing gets to you, staying fresh staying cool,
with Mentos, fresh and full of life.
Fresh goes better, Mentos freshness, fresh goes better
with Mentos, fresh and full of life!
Mentos, the freshmaker!
Section 2: The Candies
The candies themselves come in five varieties; 'Mint', 'Mixed
Fruit', 'Cinnamon', 'Strawberry', and 'Spearmint'. Taste and
color are drastically different between them, but in every other
way they are quite similar.
The shape of a Mentos candy is disklike, with an ellipsical
bulge in the middle. They measure 3/4" in diameter, and at their
largest point, 6/16" tall.
Net weight is reported as 1.3 OZ/37.5 g, but this was
impossible to confirm at the time of this writing.
Coloring of the Mint candies is a chalky light hue, that extends
throughout the entire candy. The fruit variety contains three
colors, purple (grape), yellow (lemon), and orange (orange).
Cinnamon and Strawberry have a reddish/pinkish hue, Cinnamon
being the darker of the two. Spearmint Mentos have a light
greenish coloration, and like all Mentos, possess a chalk-like
consistency.
The Mint flavor variety unsurprisingly taste like peppermint, and
could be considered to possess a breath freshening function as well
as a cool, menthol-like aftertaste. Mixed Fruit have none of these
properties, but are instead quite sweet. The differences between
the flavors contained in a mixed fruit package are small. Color
seems to be the only real distinguishable quality. Strawberry
are also sweet, but contain a light, and unmistakable strawberry
flavor. Cinnamon do indeed taste like cinnamon, possessing a
semi-cinnamon burn feeling often found in strong cinnamon gum.
Spearmint are closely related to Mint, and are lucky enough to
serve as a breath freshener as well.
Mentos' texture is not uniform. The candies have a thin crunchy
shell and when chewed, disintegrate into a gum like consistency.
If appropriate, they then release their breath freshening
characteristics.
Packaging:
Mentos candies come in cylinder shaped 'rolls', with 14 included
in each roll. The label consists of 'mentos' written in block
letters, covering approximately 2/3 of the roll lengthwise.
Next to this logo is the flavor identification, (i.e. 'mint' or
'mixed fruit') although flavor identification can be more readily
obtained from the background coloring of the label. Mint has a
misty bluish white photograph of many Mentos scattered about,
while mixed fruit has a more colorful representation of the same
shapes, including purple, orange, and yellow disks. Cinnamon
wrappers are similar, but are colored in a deep blood red.
Strawberry wrappers are a lighter, almost orangey red. Spearmint
follows Mint's lead with a clouded hue, this time more green than
blue.
It is important to note that the colors displayed on the package
are actually much more vibrant and deep than that of the actual
product. Do not be misled, all Mentos have a very light hue to
them, no matter what the flavor.
Ingredients:
Mint: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil,
gelatin, dextrin, natural flavor, corn starch,
gum arabic.
Mixed Fruit: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil,
gelatin, dextrin, natural and artificial flavor,
gum arabic, coloring.
Strawberry: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil,
citric acid, gelatin, dextrin, corn starch,
artificial flavor, gum arabic, coloring.
Cinnamon: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil,
gelatin, dextrin, corn starch, cinnamon, natural
and artificial flavors, salt, gum arabic,
artificial colors (yellow 5, red 3, blue 2).
Spearmint: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil,
gelatin, dextrin, natural flavors, corn starch,
gum arabic, artificial color (blue 2).
For nutritional information, you can write to:
Nutritional Data
P.O. Box 18190
Erlanger, KY 41018
Manufacturer:
Mentos are made by Van Melle, Inc. and manufactured for
Van Melle by:
Van Melle
Breda / Holland
in Australia they are imported by:
Stuart Alexander & Co. Pty. Ltd.
62 Rosebery Ave.
Rosebery, N.S.W. 2018 Australia
Van Melle's corporate headquarters:
Van Melle, Inc.
Erlanger, KY 41018
Section 3: Abbreviations
FAFOL = Fresh and full of life
Section 4: Miscellaneous
Item: According to Paulo A. Pereira (oluap@MIT.EDU), there is a sale
on Mentos at the CVS in Porter Sq., Cambridge, MA as this is
being written. Be fresh, and save a bundle!
Item: Mentos are $0.54 at the Purdue Student Union.
Item: I am currently negotiating with the Psychology department
here at Purdue, in an attempt to obtain a research grant for
the purposes of studying what I have termed 'the freshness
effect' caused by consuming Mentos brand candies. Although there
seems to be no mind altering substances contained in Mentos,
individuals suddenly become aroused, inventive, and lose all
regard for the norms of society a short time after using
them. I've asked for $23,729.
Item: According to Jeffrey F. Brent (lorax@acpub.duke.edu), Mentos
also come in Licorice or 'Lakrits' flavor. Some Danish friends
apparently possessed these beauties, and (as far as I know)
the states have not been graced with them yet. They had a
white shell, and a black center. A black wrapper shielded
them from the elements, and they [you guessed it] tasted
like Licorice. Jeff also claims to be working on a Macintosh
arcade style game called "Mentos(R) in the Hands of Torgo(TM)"
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Item: Tim Verry (verryta@taft.law.uc.edu) has confessed interest in
hammering out the details of 'the freshness defense' for criminal
acts commited while under the influence of Mentos. Good Luck,
Tim. [Say, isn't that a roll of Spearmint in that white bronco
over there?]
Section 5: Credits
Originator, and maintainer of the Mentos FAQ:
Heath Doerr (doerrhb@expert.cc.purdue.edu)
Submission credits:
Ron Bauerle (bauerle@crypt.erie.ge.com)
Jeffrey F. Brent (lorax@acpub.duke.edu)
David S. Cowen (esch@fische.com)
Emily Cox (zebra@gorn.iuma.com)
Figlet, the ASCII font creator.
Todd A. Gibson (tgibson@lookout.ecte.uswc.uswest.com)
Joseph Hernandez (jtchern@OCF.Berkeley.EDU)
Alan Jaffray (ajaffray@midway.uchicago.edu)
Chad Jones (cjones@gse.ucia.edu)
Richard N. Kitchen (da825@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
James J. Lippard (lippard@news.primenet.om)
Paulo A. Pereira (oluap@MIT.EDU)
Jan Setje-Eilers (jse@expert.cc.purdue.edu)
Andrew R. Shulman (andys@world.std.com)
spatula@titan.ucs.umass.edu
Genna Totten (dedisti@rhf.bradley.edu)
Eric L. Tullis (TULLISE@indy.navy.mil)
Lupus Yonderboy (asuter@netcom.com)
Well wishers:
Andrea (apf62@cas.org)
hsapiens@clark.net
Jennifer (jenster@netexas.com)
John Kilburd (john@cephas.ISRI.UNLV.EDU)
Allan McKillop (Allan.McKillop@Eng.Sun.COM)
Synth Oberheim (synth@yuri.abq.nm.us)
Nelson Tang (tang@sd.inri.com)
Dan A. Thompson (dant@austin.ibm.com)
Anthony M. Vervoor (falstaff@netcom.com)
Kelly G. Willis (fpp@mace.cc.purdue.edu)
Tyler K. Wong (neoncap@netcom.com)
Section 6: History
9/2/94: V.01 (beta)
9/6/94: V.5
9/7/94: V.9
9/14/94: V1.0 (final)
9/27/94: V1.1 (update)
MENTOS: THE FRESHMAKER
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