Expedient Delivery of Snack Foods for Immediate Gratification

Several years ago there was a movie called The Insider where it was suggested that the tobacco industry was researching ways to deliver nicotine to the brain more quickly, providing for faster gratification of smokers. The movie was out around the time of the big tobacco industry settlements that were sweeping the nation. I remember thinking about how the food industry and the alcoholic beverage industry were guilty of more or less the same thing, but they were not being sued.

Take, for instance, soda pop. Some time in the late 90's the canning companies started marketing soda can and bottle designs that had wider openings. I believe it was Mountain Dew that first took on the new design. It wasn't long before every can or bottle of soda had the bigger mouth. The days of waiting for your soda to fill your mouth so you could take a big gulp and deliver it to your belly were over.

To be fair, it was probably fast food and microwaves that started the trend off. They reduced the time it took to get one's food out of its packaging and into one's mouth. The junk food industries took it a step further and not only made the time from shelf to belly shorter, but they did so by finding ways to deliver the greasy calories through the facial orifice more quickly.

For example, another trend is the boom in the "bites" technology of the candy companies. Where once there was a candy bar, there is now Heath Bites, Reese's Bites, Mr. Goodbar Bites, and so on. The round little bites of candy flow into the mouth faster and are easier to chew and swallow. In the same way that a bucket of ball bearings has properties that approach those of a liquid, so too do "bites" as they are dispensed into the mouth. If they could make liquid Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, I'm sure they would.

If you watch a Pringles commercial you'll see happy youths pouring the chips out of the canister directly into their mouths. Why get the hands involved when you can cut the middle man? If only they could find a way to eliminate the need to hold the canister to the mouth, the happy youths could enjoy their snack without physical exertion.

With booze, it's the Bacardi Mixers and Captain Morgan's Rum and Coke type of drinks. No more mixing the drinks yourself. No more waiting for a bartender to mix them. Just pop the cap and guzzle.

The obligatory conclusion is that this snack food craze is making our nation fat. Our teens are bursting at the seams because they are addicted to snacks. I'd like to point out another effect, however. This instant gratification has shortened the amount of time that we spend eating and socializing. Meals are a race to the finish. Sometimes it would be nice to sit for a meal with some friends and just enjoy their company while eating for a couple of hours.