REMEMBERING...KOOL AID

It’s rare to find a pop culture phenomenon that spans generation through generation, but if there ever was one, Kool-Aid might just be it. Since its debut in 1927, Kool-Aid has become synonymous with childhood, a perfect refreshment after a day of playing. Always fascinated by chemistry, young Edwin Perkins fell in love with a new dessert mix called Jell-O. After convincing his father, who ran a general store, to start carrying it – it became a life-long passion for him to invent and manufacture a wide variety of things, including a concentrated drink mix called Fruit Smack. It came in little four-ounce bottles, and made enough for a family to enjoy it at an affordable price. The bottles regularly broke, however, and shipping costs were proving to be too much, so Perkins set out to find a way to remove the liquid from the Fruit Smack. The remaining powder would be put into envelopes printed by Perkins himself and the world now had Kool-Ade. (He later changed to spelling to Kool-Aid). It came in six flavors - strawberry, cherry, lemon-lime, grape, orange and raspberry - and cost only 10¢ a pack. During the Great Depression, the price was cut in half to help thirsty brothers who couldn’t spare the whole dime. Soon, young ‘entrepreneurs’ started springing up across the country with Kool-Aid stands. Its popularity soared and by 1951, Perkins’ factory was producing around a million packets a day. All the history aside, almost all of us can remember the frosty, smiling pitcher on the packaging for Kool-Aid. It wasn’t until 1975 that the Kool-Aid Man burst onto the scene. He would suddenly burst through walls when kids were either thirsty or already making Kool-Aid. The Kool-Aid Man even had seven comics made about him, as well as two video games tied in with the comic books. Though the Kool-Aid Man typically wore a rainbow-striped shirt, jeans and sneakers – kids could find him wearing all kinds of outfits, from swim trunks and flip flops (for the Island varieties of Kool-Aid) to khaki walking shorts and hiking boots (for the Mega Mountain Twist flavors). Packages sold on military bases featured the Kool-Aid Man in fatigues and combat boots! The best thing about Kool-Aid might have been the stains on the corners of lips, the red, orange or purple tongue you might have sported on a sticky summer afternoon. Or maybe the best thing was just that it was something even the youngest kid was allowed to make by herself… big Rubbermaid pitcher, long wooden spoon in hand. On the hottest days, kids could be found pouring it into ice cube trays, or pre-formed popsicle makers. In fact, Kool-Aid is so popular that over 563 million gallons of Kool-Aid is consumed in a year, which includes the 225 million gallons gulped down during the summer months. Lined end to end, the number of Kool-Aid packets sold a year would circle the equator twice! Eight decades, and billions of packets later… Oh heck with it! I’m thirsty, who wants some Kool Aid?