The one sweet that parents were happy to buy their kids – because it did exactly what it claimed to do . . . stopped your gob from speaking/moaning/complaining.
Gobstoppers were massive and filled your entire mouth. They couldn’t be crunched or chewed because they were just too solid. Which is why Americans called them “Jawbreakers”.
You can still buy them, but they’re not as popular these days – mainly because they are unquestionably a choking hazard. Henry Heimlich introduced his famous manoeuvre in 1974 just as gobstoppers were at the height of their popularity. It doesn’t take a genius to make the connection there.
Related Posts
Minties 'Minties' is a brand of confectionery originating in Australia and manufactured in both Australia and New Zealand for their respective…
Space Dust Nobody ate Space Dust because it tasted nice. In fact, most people probably couldn't tell you what it tasted like. It wasn't…
Hostess Trolley The LG Hawkins company introduced its "heated sideboard" in 1931, but it was 22 years before one of its designers,…
PEZ In 1927 Austria, Eduard Haas III invented the brick candy, taking the Pez name from three letters in the German…
Café-Bar In the days before Starbucks and Café Latté on tap from every corner coffee shop, the height of sophistication and…
New Coke "New Coke" almost spelt the end for the Coca-Cola empire in 1985. They changed the flavour of Coke and the…
Sno-Cone Machines In 1967, Hasbro introduced its little icy treat factories to sweaty summer cities and suburbs everywhere. The Frosty Sno-Man Sno-Cone…
Chu-Bops Chu-Bops were packs of record-shaped pink bubblegum that came housed in a small 3" X 3" replica album cover. The…
