Favorite Facts
Kent Harris
Written by Scot Meyer
SwitchYard Media, Inc. - contact | Web site
Designed and produced by Kent Harris
Tin Can Rocket, LLC. - contact | Web site
A production of SwitchYard Media, Inc.
Photo Credit: Ben & Jerry's
Wave goodbye
Wavy Gravy, the countercultural icon from the 1960s who emceed at Woodstock, was the inspiration for a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor that debuted in 1993 and was retired about 10 years later.
The flavor reportedly took three years and hundreds of recipe attempts to develop. The result was a cashew, caramel and Brazil-nut-flavored ice cream with a hazelnut fudge swirl and roasted almonds.
Wavy used his royalties from the ice cream sales to help homeless and low-income children attend a summer camp in California. His fans mustered enough online votes to bring the flavor back for a limited time in 2005.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: Wavy Gravy ice cream.
Manufacturer: Ben & Jerry's, a unit of Unilever.
How to cope: Go to the flavor graveyard at Ben & Jerry's Web site and fill out a form asking the company to bring back Wavy Gravy. (It worked - for a while at least - in 2005.)
Photo Credit: Honda
Falling off the wagon
According to its fans, the Honda Civic Wagon was the kind of vehicle that epitomized the original virtues of Japanese cars. Produced between 1984 and 1991, the station wagon was an affordable, dependable form of transportation (available with four-wheel drive) that was easy to maintain.
Beginning with the introduction of the Accord station wagon in 1991, though, Honda began offering more amenities and charging higher prices. The strategy worked, but in the process the company disappointed some customers who preferred the value represented by the earlier models.
Recognizing that, Honda last year introduced the Fit wagon, a model with fewer frills and a sticker price of under $14,000.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: Honda Civic Wagon.
Manufacturer: Honda.
How to cope: Buy one of these cars used, and visit the fan site www.hondacivicwagon.com for advice on how to keep it running.
Photo Credit: Kraft
Say 'cheez'
Forget Cheetos, Cheez-its or Cheez Doodles. For a certain group of disconsolate cheese snack enthusiasts, there is simply no substitute for Planters Cheez Balls. Nearly 4,000 have signed an online petition urging Kraft Foods to bring back the little orange spheres, which came packed in blue canisters with bright yellow lids.
Although officially discontinued, at least in the U.S. market, Planters Cheez Mania Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls, distributed by the company's Kraft Foods Global division, have been spotted on the snack food racks of Blockbuster video stores in the U.S. The bilingual packaging (English and French) makes the cheesy treats the perfect accompaniment for artsy foreign films.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: Planters Cheez Balls.
Manufacturer: Kraft Foods.
How to cope: Peruse the snack choices while you wait in line to rent your next Blockbuster video. Or sign an online petition asking the manufacturer to bring the product back to your local grocery store.
Photo Credit: Microsoft
Getting off track
The Microsoft Trackball Explorer was an ergonomic alternative to the computer mouse, beloved by people with carpel tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress injuries, as well as by those who wanted a little extra control over their cursors.
Introduced in 2000, the device used optical technology for more-precise movement and sported a scroll wheel and customizable buttons.
The mouse remains the mainstream tool for navigating on a computer, though, and Microsoft has decided to focus on them and drop its trackballs. That leaves die-hard trackball enthusiasts to pay $200 or more for the devices on eBay, instead of the $74.95 they originally sold for in stores.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: Microsoft Trackball Explorer.
Manufacturer: Microsoft.
How to cope: Prepare to overpay at online auctions, or consider a trackball from Kensington or Logitech.
Photo Credit: Jason Liebig
It didn't last long enough
In the 1970s, commercials for Marathon candy bars promised a leisurely snacking experience even for the villain Quick Carl, who bragged about doing everything fast.
The Marathon bar was an 8-inch braided confection of caramel covered in milk chocolate. It came in a bright red wrapper with rulerlike markings on the back, and it was promoted with ads that featured John Wayne's son Patrick as Marathon John.
But sales of the lengthy candy bar did not measure up, and Mars discontinued the product in October 1981.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: Marathon candy bars.
Manufacturer: Mars.
How to cope: If you travel, try Cadbury's Curley Wurley candy bar. Sold in the U.K., Canada, New Zealand and parts of Europe, the twisted treat is a dead ringer for the discontinued Marathon bar.
Photo Credit: Alvogen
Sponge-worthy?
Shortly after Wyeth Pharmaceuticals stopped making the Today Sponge, the contraceptive entered pop culture history. In a 1995 episode of Seinfeld, Elaine buys a case of the discontinued product and decides to ration her supply by having sex only with partners she considers truly "sponge-worthy."
The sponge was introduced in 1983 and was withdrawn from the market in 1994 after a routine Food and Drug Administration inspection turned up problems with the water purification equipment at the plant where it was made.
Allendale Pharmaceuticals took over the product from Wyeth and later sold it to Synova Healthcare Group, which began selling it to consumers in 2007. In June 2008, manufacturing rights to the sponge were acquired by Alvogen, which currently is marketing it.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: The Today Sponge.
Original manufacturer: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
How to cope: Watch some 'Seinfeld,' reruns and relax. The Today Sponge returned to the market last year.
Photo Credit: Hydrox
The way the cookie crumbles
Nabisco's Oreos were more popular, but Hydrox chocolate sandwich cookies developed a strong following of their own in nearly 100 years on the market. But after Sunshine was acquired by rival cookie-maker Keebler in 1996 and Keebler was bought by Kellogg in 2001, Kellogg decided to stop selling Hydrox cookies in 2003.
Loyal customers called, wrote and blogged to protest the decision, and Kellogg was impressed enough to bring the product back to celebrate Hydrox's 100th anniversary. If demand is high, they could re-establish their place in the cookie aisle.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: Hydrox cookies.
Manufacturer: Kellogg.
How to cope: Kellogg is bringing Hydrox cookies back on a test basis, and will let the product's sales determine whether the revival should be permanent. So if you want to buy Hydrox cookies in the future, you'd better buy them now.
Photo Credit: Daniel Greene
Taking the edge off
Edge Active Care shave cream promised more than a close shave. The four products in the product line (revitalizing, deep hydrating, deep cleansing and therapy) all contained ingredients designed to soothe and moisturize skin while preparing whiskers for quick and painless removal.
The line recorded big sales gains back in 2001 and seemed well-timed to benefit from the emergence of the "metrosexual" demographic. But the products didn't achieve the success of S.C. Johnson & Sons' other Edge products, and earlier this year the company discontinued it.
For now hard-core fans can still order the product by phone or via the Internet.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: Edge Active Care.
Manufacturer: S.C. Johnson & Son.
How to cope: Call the company and ask them to bring it back. And while you're on the phone you can order a tube or two, available via mail order while supplies last.
Photo Credit: Ben Carter
Posthumous regrets
Last fall Kraft Foods pulled the plug on Postum, a coffee substitute made from roasted wheat, bran and molasses.
Postum, introduced in 1883 as an alternative to caffeinated beverages such as coffee and tea, was the first product from Charles William (C.W.) Post, who later became famous for his cereals. Advertisements in the 1930s promoted drinking Postum as a way to avoid an unsavory character known as "Mr. Coffee-Nerves."
The product had a loyal following, particularly among many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose adherents are not allowed to drink caffeinated coffees or teas. But falling demand ultimately meant the beverage was history.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: Postum coffee substitute.
Manufacturer: Kraft Foods.
How to cope: Try Pero, a hot drink from Switzerland that is made from barley, chicory and rye.
Photo Credit: Polaroid
Gone in an instant
Instant photography, introduced by Polaroid in 1948, was a wonder of the pre-digital age. But the appeal of pictures that developed themselves in minutes was diminished when 35mm film and one-hour processing labs went mainstream in the 1990s, and the arrival of digital photography delivered the final blow.
Polaroid, which was incorporated in 1937, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001 and stopped making cameras for consumers in 2007. Earlier this year the company announced that it would stop producing its instant film as well.
Supplies of the film, which is still cherished by artists and photographers, are expected to run out after 2009.
Join the discussion: Do you have a favorite that's no longer available?
Product: Instant film.
Manufacturer: Polaroid.
How to cope: Stock up while you can. Or urge another company to make it; Polaroid has said it will license the technology to other manufacturers.