It turns 40 this year - from Oddity Central:
World’s Oldest Twinkie Turns 40, Still Refuses to Decompose
In 1976, Roger Bennatti, a chemistry teacher at George Stevens Academy, in Maine, unwrapped a fresh Twinkie and placed it atop a classroom chalkboard so he and his students could see how long it took for it to decompose. 40 years later, that question remains unanswered, because mould simply refuses to grow on the world’s oldest Twinkie.
The official shelf-life of a Twinkie – as stated by the company making them nowadays – is only 25 days, but as the famous Twinkie of George Stevens Academy clearly shows, it’s really a lot longer than that. It has been sitting in a glass case for four decades now, and even though it might not be safe to eat, it is looking fantastic for its age. Its shape hasn’t change a bit, and if mould hasn’t grown on it so far, chances are it never will.
Libby Rosemeier, George Stevens Academy’s dean of students, was a student in Roger Bennatti’s class on the day this decades old experiment began. “We were studying the chemistry of food. We went next door to the store, bought Twinkies and we gave them to Mr. Bennatti and [asked him], ‘How many chemicals do you think are in something like this?’” Rosemeier recalls. “He said, ‘Let’s find out and see how long it lasts.’ He opened the Twinkie package, ate one, and put the other one on top of the [chalkboard].” The popular treat remained in his classroom for the next 28 years, until the chemistry teacher retired. From then on, the world’s oldest Twinkie became Rosemeier’s responsibility, and she had her father make a glass case to store it in.
Heh - great story! There is a reason why I do not eat Twinkies or other snack 'food' like this.
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