Twinkie the Kid

Submitted by Douglas Wood October 20th, 2010
Certifikitsch Winner

The word “twinkie” doesn’t exactly conjure up images of macho cowboys, but that’s the iconic character the folks at Hostess created for its mascot, Twinkie the Kid, pictured below (in the form of a plastic snack carrier).

Just lift off the Stetson and plunk your Twinkie inside, to keep it nice and fresh (in the unlikely event the many chemical preservatives don’t do the trick.)

There are 39 ingredients in all– five come from rocks; sorbic acid is derived from natural gas and cellulose gum; Polysorbate 60 and calcium sulfate are also used in sheet rock, shampoo and rocket fuel. The vitamins, artificial colors and flavorings come from petroleum. And the cream center has no cream at all– it’s made of shortening. Apparently, no one really cares what they’re made of as long as they continue to taste great!

3 Responses to “Twinkie the Kid”

  1. Allee Willis

    OMG, this is so great! I never saw this before. But as someone who always has at least two boxes of Twinkies in their house at any one time Mr. Twinkie would have lots of friends over here.

    Do you have any idea when this was made? And do you know where he was sold? In the supermarket next to Twinkies? A a toy store?

  2. Douglas Wood

    I had never seen this before either, but after I found it at a garage sale, I looked it up on eBay and they’re very plentiful. I think they were sold in supermarkets. This one is dated 2006. I’m not into Twinkies at the moment, as I’m on a ridiculously healthy eating regiment these days, so I’d like to donate mine to Willis Wonderland where it will be happy protecting your Twinkie friends. Just send a mailing address to my e-mail.