Did astronauts actually drink Tang?

Sources:

“About Tang Drink.” Tang, https://tang-drink.com/.

Barber, Casey. “Tang recipe ideas: Get inspired by the space-age orange drink powder.” CNN, 1 May 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/01/world/tang-space-age-scn-wellness/index.html.

Blitz, Matt. “How NASA Made Tang Cool.” Food & Wine, 18 May 2017, https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/how-nasa-made-tang-cool.

Furdyk, Brent. “The Untold Truth Of Tang.” Mashed, 26 January 2022, https://www.mashed.com/203338/the-untold-truth-of-tang/.

Do astronauts really get to eat ice cream in outer space?

Sources:

“THE 50 YEAR HISTORY OF ASTRONAUT ICE CREAM.” Astronaut Foods, 24 June 2024, https://astronautfoods.com/blogs/news/the-50-year-history-of-astronaut-ice-cream.

“Astronaut Foods Celebrates 50 Years of Out-Of-This-World Treats.” Astronaut Foods, 27 June 2024, https://astronautfoods.com/blogs/news/astronaut-foods-celebrates-50-years-of-out-of-this-world-treats?srsltid=AfmBOoqXN82D1CPadzXWbDDY9wHAOUbBttBUpxu2y-OBeUlQWH6ajCEY.

“Astronaut ice cream still popular at 50, even if it never flew in space.” Collect SPACE, 2 July 2024, http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-070224a-astronaut-ice-cream-50-years.html.

“FAQs – Astronaut Foods.” Astronaut Foods, https://astronautfoods.com/pages/faqs.

Mack, Doug. “The snack they *don't* eat in space.” Snack Stack, 16 August 2021, https://snackstack.net/2021/08/16/the-snack-they-dont-eat-in-space/. 

“Outer Space Food Survival Meal Kit.” Astronaut Foods, https://astronautfoods.com/collections/freeze-dried-ice-cream/products/space-food-sample-pack. 

Pearlman, Robert Z. “Astronaut ice cream turns 50 years old.” Space, 3 July 2024, https://www.space.com/astronaut-ice-cream-50-years.

We have cows to thank for the ice cream of the future.

Sources:

“Company History.” Dippin' Dots, https://www.dippindots.com/about/company-history/.

Danley, Sam. “Dippin Dots’ technology expanding beyond ice cream | 2020-08-06.” Food Business News, 6 August 2020, https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/16578-dippin-dots-technology-expanding-beyond-ice-cream. 

“Do you know the accidental origin of Dippin' Dots?” Great Big Story, 21 May 2024, https://greatbigstory.com/dippin-dots-read/. 

Grossbart, Sarah. “11 Cool Facts About Dippin' Dots.” Mental Floss, 7 April 2016, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/67650/11-cool-facts-about-dippin-dots.

Hardy, James. “The Origin Story: Who Invented Dippin Dots & Their Creation Process.” History Cooperative, 1 November 2024, https://historycooperative.org/who-invented-dippin-dots/.

Find out which food was legally required to be pink.

Sources:

“A Brief History of Food Colors + How to Dye Easter Eggs with Natural Ingredients.” A Dollop of History, 18 April 2019, https://historydollop.com/2019/04/18/a-brief-history-of-food-colors-and-how-to-dye-easter-eggs-with-natural-ingredients/.

“Color Additives in Foods.” FDA, 6 July 2023, https://www.fda.gov/food/color-additives-information-consumers/color-additives-foods.

Ewbank, Anne. “When Food Dye Was Made From Coal Tar.” Atlas Obscura, 23 January 2018, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/coal-tar-food-coloring-perkin.

Galbiati, Scott. “A Colorful Journey: The History of Artificial Food Coloring from Lab to Table.” Culinary Solvent, https://culinarysolvent.com/blogs/alcohol-for-chefs/a-colorful-journey-the-history-of-artificial-food-coloring-from-lab-to-table?srsltid=AfmBOopdXjPFm-PV8vin8LCVojUSiFY_hgn_PPhQchypA0wKEgtHteqH.

Rupp, Rebecca. “The Butter Wars: When Margarine Was Pink.” National Geographic, 13 August 2014, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/the-butter-wars-when-margarine-was-pink.

Williams, Matt. “A Short History of Food Dyes and the Law.” HeroX, https://www.herox.com/blog/602-a-short-history-of-food-dyes-and-the-law. 

America’s first federally-funded theatre, but was it spreading un-American ideas?

Sources:

Shapiro, James. “The theater project that sparked a congressional probe — and culture war.” The Washington Post, 26 May 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/05/26/federal-theatre-project-dies-committee/.

Tyson, Charlie. “Stealing the Show: Why conservatives killed America's federally funded theater."” The Yale Review, 10 June 2024, https://yalereview.org/article/charlie-tyson-james-shapiro-the-playbook.

“The WPA Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939 | Articles and Essays | Federal Theatre Project, 1935 to 1939 | Digital Collections.” Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/collections/federal-theatre-project-1935-to-1939/articles-and-essays/wpa-federal-theatre-project/. 

“WPA Federal Theatre Project | Theater Arts, Cultural Programs, New Deal.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/WPA-Federal-Theatre-Project.

Creative ways people avoided sun damage throughout history and why you won’t find sunblock in the U.S. today

Sources:

Drissi, Madeeha et al. “Sunscreen: a brief walk through history.” Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) vol. 35,1 121-123. 1 Sep. 2021, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8682817/.

Finklea, Gillian. “10 Pre-Sunscreen Methods for Dealing with the Sun.” Mental Floss, 14 June 2021, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64312/10-pre-sunscreen-methods-dealing-sun.

Moore, Chloe. “Tracing the Roots of Sun Protection: The Complete History of Sunscreen.” Black Girl Sunscreen, 5 August 2024, https://www.blackgirlsunscreen.com/history-of-sunscreen/?srsltid=AfmBOooCf2bQZrRrzi6bS5Zcm0Nn7cHTWbaoQRLdjBFKabnJ1GdzRAnQ.

“Sunblock vs. Sunscreen: Key Differences.” Health Cleveland Clinic, 21 March 2025, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/sunblock-vs-sunscreen.

“Sunscreen in the Environment | Smithsonian Ocean.” Smithsonian Ocean, https://ocean.si.edu/ecosystems/coral-reefs/sunscreen-environment. 

The “True or False” part of this episode may make you avoid swimming pools forever.

Sources:

“10 Interesting Facts About Swimming Pools.” Sanchez Pools, https://www.sanchezpoolsinc.com/10-interesting-facts-about-swimming-pools/.

“15 Weird Facts about Swimming ... #12 is Pretty Gross.” Natare Pools, https://natare.com/15-weird-facts-swimming-12-pretty-gross/.

Everton, Alise. “20 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Swimming Pools.” Pool Magazine, 15 August 2023, https://www.poolmagazine.com/lifestyle/20-fun-facts-you-didnt-know-about-swimming-pools/.

“History of Swimming and Swimming Pools.” Swimmingpool.com, https://www.swimmingpool.com/blog/history-of-swimming-pools/.

“The History of Swimming Pools in the United States.” Gohlke Pools, 10 May 2017, https://gohlkepools.com/history-swimming-pools-united-states/

“Racial History of American Swimming Pools.” NPR, 6 May 2008, https://www.npr.org/2008/05/06/90213675/racial-history-of-american-swimming-pools. 

Railton, Ben. “Considering History: The Very American History of Public Swimming Pools.” The Saturday Evening Post, 1 August 2023, https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/08/considering-history-the-very-american-history-of-public-swimming-pools/. 

Welch, Ashley. “6 gross facts about swimming pools.” CBS News, 17 May 2019, https://www.cbsnews.com/media/6-gross-facts-about-swimming-pools/.

Because putting through old tires and gutter pipes is more ladylike than playing actual golf.

Sources:

“10 Things You Didn’t Know About Mini Golf.” Main Event, https://www.mainevent.com/stories/10-mini-golf-facts/.

Bush, Hamilton. “The History of Mini Golf in the Scenic City.” Choose Chattanooga, 14 January 2021, https://choosechatt.com/blog/mini-golf-in-the-scenic-city/.

“Business: Tom Thumb from Tennessee.” Time, 14 July 1930, https://time.com/archive/6745353/business-tom-thumb-from-tennessee/.

Eschner, Kat. “The Brief 1930s Craze for 'Tom Thumb Golf.'” Smithsonian Magazine, 9 February 2017, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/american-inventor-mini-golf-called-it-tom-thumb-golf-180962026/.

“The History of Miniature Golf.” Lumberjack Pass Miniature Golf, https://www.lumberjackminigolf.com/history-of-mini-golf.

“History of Tom Thumb Mini Golf.” Fort Edmonton Foundation, 2 August 2023, https://supportfortedmonton.com/history-of-tom-thumb-mini-golf/.

Phipps, Sean. “The 'Fun Version' of Mini-Golf was Invented in Chattanooga, T.N.” Nooga Today, 11 June 2019, https://noogatoday.6amcity.com/mini-golf-chattanooga-history.

“The Zany History of Mini Golf.” Mental Floss, 12 July 2023, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/19567/zany-history-mini-golf.

Substitution for or gateway to chewing tobacco?

Sources:

Greco, Julie. “Rob Nelson, 71, the Inspiration Behind Big League Chew, 'the Unofficial Gum of Cornell Baseball."” Cornell University, https://ezramagazine.cornell.edu/Update/Dec10/EU.Big.League.Chew.html.

Johnson, Dave. “Inventor of Big League Chew Talks About Getting in the Bubble Gum Zone.” WTOP News, 19 May 2020, https://wtop.com/mlb/2020/05/tracking-the-rise-of-big-league-chew/.

Malooley, Jake. “How a Minor League Pitcher Turned a Dugout Conversation Into Big League Chew.” Esquire, 10 July 2019, https://www.esquire.com/sports/a28325969/big-league-chew-history/.

“Our Story.” Big League Chew, https://www.bigleaguechew.com/about.

Rossen, Jake. “Spit Take: The Story of Big League Chew.” Mental Floss, 2 May 2019, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/579449/big-league-chew-gum-history.

The drink with balls.

Sources:

Foley, Maddy. “Whatever Happened to Orbitz, aka Lava Lamp Juice.” Bustle, 2 July 2015, https://www.bustle.com/articles/93475-whatever-happened-to-orbitz-soft-drink-a-brief-history-of-the-lava-lamp-beverage.

Gouda, Hebba. “What Happened to Orbitz (the Drink)?” Sporked, 16 August 2024, https://sporked.com/article/what-happened-to-orbitz-drink/.

Nato. “Orbitz Drink - Delicious & Entertaining Discontinued Beverage.” Snack History, 5 March 2023, https://www.snackhistory.com/orbitz-drink/.

“Orbitz - Gastro Obscura.” Atlas Obscura, https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/orbitz-drink.

Parker, Dante. “What Really Happened to Orbitz? Here's How the 'Drinkable Lava Lamp' Beverage Defied Our Tasebuds.” Parade, 13 May 2024, https://parade.com/food/what-happened-to-orbitz.

“Top 10 Bad Beverage Ideas.” Time, https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1913612_1913610_1913561,00.html.