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06/24/2003: Slimer's Ecto Cooler is sorta kinda BACK!

It's baaack. Well, sort of. We've seen Slimer's Hi-C Ecto Cooler on the site before, and through some feedback on his most recent appearance, I learned the deepest, darkest secret of the fruit juice aisle. For those who need a refresher course, 'Ecto Cooler' took an already established Hi-C flavor — some kind of mutated orange that wasn't doing too well — and added everyone's favorite Ghostbusters luminary to the box. That's all it took to make the juice standard lunchbox fare in its heyday, and there wasn't a kid in America who hadn't tried the stuff at least once.

I was more of a Ssips iced tea man myself, but that damn box was just too engaging to resist. I don't care what kind of awful luncheon meat littered your brown bad — if it had Ecto Cooler inside, you were on top of the world. The beverage lasted far longer than The Real Ghostbusters' appeal, enabling Slimer to extend his wave of popularity much longer than the toon versions of Bill Murray and that guy from Congo. As with all good things, Ecto Cooler eventually ceased to exist. Or did it?

Apparently, Hi-C's current 'Orange Lavaburst' flavor bears a striking resemblance in taste to Slimer's fabled citrus punch. I was skeptical, since Ecto Cooler has been the target of many awful rumors over the years. Do a web search on it — you'll find everything from desperately makeshift home recipes to false diatribes about how it's still sold in some Poughkeepsie general store that's fronted by an old man who always - ALWAYS carries a pitchfork. I've been disappointed too many times, and wasn't sure I could handle another Ecto letdown. Still, a ten-pack of Orange Lavaburst only costs around three bucks. If I was going to be disappointed, at least I'd still be able to afford a comforting box of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios. With my fingers crossed and my hopes high, I forked the cash over to the lovely cashier and prepared myself for the grand experiment.

Unbelievably, it IS Ecto Cooler. This isn't wishful thinking, and I'm not crazy. Anyone who'd been lucky enough to experience the original knows that it had an unmistakable taste, and while you might not remember that taste outright, it'll certainly come back to you as soon as this shit hits your tongue. It's really Ecto Cooler — we're saved! It's a tough flavor to describe, but you know, it's actually not that bad. I've got one of those tongues that's ultrasensitive to drinks meant for second graders, and yet here I am, sipping away with reckless abandon. I'm on the fourth box already. Soon it'll be five, then six, then ten and another trip to the damn grocery store. Fortunately, I heard that the guy who owns Hi-C really enjoyed Richard Pryor's work in Superman III, and that's definitely the type of person I don't mind funneling money towards.

The one thing that's not entirely perfect is the beverage's color. Sort of a cross between lemonade and beer piss. Easily fixed with a few droplets of green food coloring, as evidenced in the second picture up above. Doesn't change the mighty taste one bit, and if you're willing to forgive a slightly green tinge on your lips and teeth, you're practically drinking Slimer's sweat. And really, isn't that the whole point of Ecto Cooler? Eating a little part of Slimer in an effort to be a little more like him? As far as I know, Orange Lavaburst is one of Hi-C's more popular flavors, and doesn't seem anywhere near a curtain call. We've got at least a few years left of surrogate Ecto Cooler to enjoy, so what are you waiting for? Go, go and buy it. Drink the drink Slimer made famous. Even if you weren't into Ghostbusters, 'Lavaburst' is a pretty cool name on its own. Just rolls right off the tongue, like a Hallmark greeting or a handful of marbles. Personally, this discovery has provided the most uplifting moment of the century thus far, and while it sucks that ol' Slimey couldn't show his mug on the Lavaburst box, at least we know he's somewhere inside it. Somewhere deep inside it, swimming around, happy, ready to be drunk. Yeah.

Dude, Ecto Cooler kicked ass! I drank that stuff well into my teen years. Then they stopped making it and I sat in the bathtub for several hours, weeping and naked.

Good God Damn, I do love my Ecto Cooler. Thank you Matt, for giving us this information. Now, I can go to Food Lion and get me some green food coloring, and some Orange Lavaburst. Then work my way out from there. Thanks Matt. Hey, who would win in a fight, Slimer or Photog? Or Unicron and the Death Star? I know I'm not allowed to ask that question, but I want your opinion. My money goes to Unicron. How about you?

Wow. I don't even think you can get Hi-C around here anymore. Lousy Canada, I'd be so there if not for that fact.

I'm so thankful that Ecto Cooler's still around. I did not even drink Hi-C until they stuck Slimer on the box. Now if I could only find that Slimer gum I used to chew.

Food Lyin'? Did you say you were getting Ecto Cooler or a box of bleach with a straw?

I tend to down Hi-C drinks regardless of supposed flavor…must be the ridiculous amounts of sugar in them.

I went to college in Poughkeepsie from 1999 to 2002 and know that general store quite well. The old man's name is McFee, or as we called him, Old Man McFee. McFee's General Store was more of a time machine into a culinary past. Classes from The Culinary Institute of America (also in Poughkeepsie) actually go on field trips there as part of Food History 286. Many days we spent walking through the aisles, gazing upon such items as Freakies, Giggles cookies, Pac-Man Spaghetti-O's, Crystal Pepsi and Jumpin' Jack Cheese Doritos, as McFee's half-witted son followed us down the aisles to make sure we didn't steal or clean the dust off of anything.

You know…I'm 15 now, and even I can remember the stares I got in Elementary school just from pulling that little box from my lunch bag. Unfortunately, the flavor is lost on me. I know I'll remember it once I taste this new stuff, though. The juice aisle will be my first destination during my next trip to Walmart.

mmmmm… ecto cooler. i always thought the flavor was a little more tangerine. but i guess tangerine lavaburst sounds kinda gay. now i have to go buy some.

Oh, and yes…at least I'm not the only one who thinks Poughkeepsie is a screwed up place.

Ecto Cooler is the ultimate drink. I drank it from its debut til its demise, but now that it shows up as lavaburst i may have to grab some to relive the experience that is Ecto Cooler.

Crystal pepsi owned, ME that is…i drank a 2 liter of it in one day and was in the bathroom for weeks. That stuff was sugar water on steroids, but damn it was good.

Hey, that McFee's sounds like a lot of small Saskatchewan towns. My friend was in one little place called Eastend, and the grocery store had Jurassic Park Zoodles! One problem, he bought them (Oh God, I hope not to eat) in 1999. Jurassic Park, and it's massive marketing machine, ended in 1993. Even the expiry date was faded into oblivion. Too bad this is no longer the days of lead solder on cans–one spoon of that stuff could drive you good and crazy! Crazy enough to drink the Crystal Pepsi they were still selling!

I had some of that last month. At many of the Burger Kings and McDonald's I frequent, if you walk in, order a drink, and walk over to the drink dispensers to fill up the cup, Hi-C Orange Lavaburst is right there alongside the Coke, Sprite, and so on.

You can still find it at store, still the same color, just a sadly diffrent name with out the little ghost on it..
It aint the same with out slimer.

Matt *gets down on her hands and knees* PLEASE PLEASE destroy those stupid ads that wont DIIIIIIIE! Okay anyways *gets back up* lol I remember these a lil….ya know if u luv these u gotta try those drinks called *Belly washers* You havent lived until you drink out of Hello Kittys head or spidermans neck :p.

Hmmm. I got to confess guys. It sounds like I am the only dude here who didn't have a wet dream about ecto cooler as a kid. I'll admit, I drank my fair share back in the day. But, I think it's because my mom was always looking for some sugary pseudo-beverages to keep me happy and off her back. Although to this day, I'll be the first to admit that I could STILL remember exactly what that stuff tastes like. And anyway, I wasn't trying to come down on you guys who were into the ecto-c — I just don't recall being much of a fan myself. At least not to the point where I'd run out and buy the imposter orange flava…

I have to agree with Chris, I wasn't much of a fan of it. Then again, here in Canada I didn't see too much of it. Guess you guys get all the good stuff. Speaking of good stuff, I love that HULK add that just burst out of your web browser. Thank goodness I was at work or else I would have missed it!! Thanks Matt!

I'm sure he'd be happy to take them down once we started paying to read articles. Barring that, I consider the ads just an inevitable annoyance, much like a Tommy Davidson movie or Carrot Top or The Pope.

Isn't Brown Bad some kind of slang term? It sounds like something I heard Jar Jar say.

Speaking of liquid orange goodness, does anyone know if they still make Donald Duck Orange Juice? That stuff is hands down the best o.j. ever, narrowly beating out O.J. Simpson. I used to drink a six pack a day of Donald's brew. I think it was the metal can that made it so good. The tang of the cool metal on your lips made the perfect flavor when you washed down the juice.

mmmmm… drinking Slimer…. that must be sort of what it's like to drink Fat Daddy.

You know, I actually gave up drinking in my first year of college (looong story), but I almost took it back up when my friend told me abut his favorite mixed drink, Ecto Monkey, which was basically a Brass monkey (rum, vodka, orange juice) but with Ecto Cooler instead of OJ.

Mmm… drinking slimer… ain�t that some kind of porn slang? Ector-c rlz, silverhawks suck

The orange lava burst available at McDONALDS is diffrent from the one in the the drinkbox. The one on fountain at Grimace's crib tastes the same as it ever was. How do I know this? Upon reading the article I conducted my own experiment. Yep, I have nothing better to do in New York on an 85 degree day…..

Arg..I just went out and bought a gallon jug of the stuff. Are you sure this is the same stuff, Matt? It seems like it, but not quite. Maybe drinking it out of a juice box makes all the difference. Oh well.

That's usually the case — the jugs and larger cans always seem slightly, well, off. Good example: Pepsi Twist is actually pretty great in the small cans, but I can't drink it from a 2-liter without mutating into Satan.

At Krogers, you can get 2 ten packs for $4! What a steal. And yes, it is ecto cooler.

i swear to god i remember not more than a year ago, walking down the store aisle and seeing ecto cooler.. and thinking "wow they still make that?" and it wasnt a dirty store that still sells old crap, it was ecto cooler.. so maybe they still make it?

The taste of Orange Lavaburst is a bit off…I'd say Ecto Cooler tasted more like Screamin Tangerine..or whatever the name is…although I was like 8 when I tasted it, I just remember not liking it that much, it made my throat hurt.

Maybe I just don't want to believe that my precious Ecto Cooler is now packaged as something else. Le sigh. And Matt…You are honestly God. You noticed that thing with Pepsi Blue too? Dang. Well, the gallon jug was all they had. And while it's not as fun as ten little packs, at least I can binge drink this one easily.

WHOA, this IS Ecto Cooler! Thanks for the info! I don't know if it can cure gas, but there's no mistake that it's the same stuff. Does feel kind of odd without Slimer, though.

Hey, I'm Canadian and I was raised with Hi-C…maybe it just depends on where you live.

Anybody here remember Slimer toothpaste?? i actually got a tube of it still, which i found after reading the other article about slimer stuff.

Ecto Cooler?!!! ^_^
Well, the box doesn't have slimer… But if it tastes the same, I'm buyin' it!

Rats I was hoping they were going to sell it as a Hulk drink so we could read something about drinking The Hulks sweet piss or something like that.

Oh, whoa. I forgot to mention. My friends and I walked through the local market and tried to spot the things with Hulk in them. We got to 50 and stopped, though. We didn't even go past the chocolate syrup, either. It was too much for me…I think I saw him on a pencil sharpener…

Donald Duck orange juice DOES SO still exist! I have a carton of it in my refrigerator right now, and bought it less than a month ago.

Donald Duck oj is the best. And all I can remember of ecto-cooler is how it tasted kind of warm after sitting in my lunch box for half the day. I still drank it though. :/ I wonder what it tastes like cold?

my friend bought some hulk chocolate syrup a few days ago..we still havent opened it..heh

Holy crap man, I had no idea that other people actually remembered Ecto Cooler… I was thinking about it recently too. It was kind of strange because over the years I've found that I completely forgot about the substance. I remember that I used to drink so much of it , and bug my mom so frequently, that she eventually submitted and bought the big jugs of it PLUS the juice boxes. Our garage frige was literally filled with the green glow. Looking back I don't know how I wasn't ill from drinking so much of it. (maybe it has super powers that protect illness ?_?) But to be quite honest I had drank so much of It I WAS sick of it (but not to my stomach- do to the powers) and decided to be more of a carbonated consumer(coke, pepsi, etc… since then i've quit caffeine though). I still go to the store w/ ma (regardless of my 16 years of age) and I have noticed the aisle once filled with slimer is now filled with "crappy" flavors (only b/c they don't have cartoon camios). Its sad that the Coca-Cola company has to re-release the Ecto Cooler so non'shlantly :\– But I think b/c of this article I might have to beg mom for the Lava stuff…

Oh man, I remember Ecto Coller, though not drinking it…or when….damn stoner memory.

I noticed a few people mentioned Crystal Pepsi, and a store that still sells it… I am in need of a bottle (it must be a bottle, not a can) of Crystal Pepsi for a "student" film my friends and I are making. It's not exactly a student film, we're not in any film class, but that's not important. I've tried eBay a few times but I keep getting outbid by Pepsi collecting fanatics. I hate those freaks. Anyway, if it would be possible for anyone to get ahold of a bottle of this stuff and send it to me, I'd be happy to pay for the shipping and the bottle itself. If you can help, please email me:

When Slimer juice box drinks start making their way back, you wonder if Rick James and Ki Ki Dee are gonna do a tour.

The McDonald's Orange Lava is definitely NOT Ecto-Cooler; it's really more of a poor-man's orange drink than anything. I've yet to try Orange Lava outside of that fountain setting, so I don't know how the boxed versions would compare, but those getting it from McDonald's should not expect Slimer's sweet juices.

Also, yes, I remember Slimer Toothpaste!! I only had one tube, but I managed to make it last about a year because I'd only use it like once a month, afraid that once it was gone, my mom wouldn't buy me anymore (this fear proved correct, and I was glad for my stinginess).

Wasn't the Slimer toothpaste green and bubblegum flavored?
I seem to remember it that way.

Hmm, well after reading your article I found a strange and quite wonderful feeling growing within me. And my desire to taste such a thing had near prompted me to head down to the nearest store and pick up a case of it. But then stopped suddenly short in my tracks finding that it was no longer ecto-cooler that I desired. No…it was the whatever contents that second glass in the picture held, that absinthe-like liquid had my mouth instantly watering as I started at it and found myself licking my computer screen. I felt compeled to even ask you if I could buy such a thing from you only then later realize that I had fallen asleep at my keyboard with Alien Resurection playing quite loudly in the background. Oh well I guess thats fates way of throwing my books in the mud. I'll just have to realize that not all my dreams are possible or at least in this case. Good day sir.

Kinda off topic but does anyone remember Apple Crush. It apple soda made by the folks that make Orange Crush. No one that I know remembers it. I used to drink it when i was like 3 years old. I don't remember when they stopped making it. I loved that stuff.

Man, I hate all the legal crap… I just want some boxed juice with my main, ecto-oozing, appirition on the front. Keep up the good work, Matt- I'm feeling so nostalgic I could cry.

"Shoutin' Orange TangerGREEN" is Hi-C's new name for Ecto-Cooler, keeping the color at least. In Baltimore this switch happened about three years ago. The painful transition was Happy Slimer then Almost-Inappropriate-For-Children-FancyLad Alan Cumming SpyKids theme then Orange Tangergreen. In the twilight of my life, I will take on the name TANGERGREEN.

Donald Duck OJ is sadly no more.

It was brewed in my home town of Lake Wales, FL. However, the company was bought out by Florida's Natural. Now the water tower that used to have Donald's smiling face is replaced with a rather uninteresing orange.

Does this ecto-stuff cure gas. I could use some of that now, since I smell like 10 day old gym socks. And Autie Maude needs a belt too. She has the winds like a tornado in a trailer park.

Ditto Omni! I'm still a kid, but I remember Ecto-Cooler like it was yesterday. And I think I've seen The Real Ghostbusters maybe, oh, twice? Lived off the gunk in elementary school. Good to know the strange flavor's still around to delight and torment kids everywhere!

Suddenly I'm recalling their more recent Nintendo promotion. Seeing Link in front of a picture of exploding strawberries on the back of a Hi-C box is disturbing.

To be more than honest, the taste of slimer's sweet juicy goodness not only remains with me to this day…but haunts me in the waking hours of the morning. After drinking the stuff for years and years out of my Silverhawks and sequentially Thundercats lunchboxes my mother stopped buying the stuff. In one horrible moment my life was ruined. The world had flipped on it's head. You see, I sort of have this obsession complex. If i get into something…it gets a little unhealthy. For example…in my hometown, Gainesville, Ga, thundercats and ghostbusters came on in about the same block of shows mid-day. I would fake sick to go home and watch them, in total fear of missing an episode. I missed most of my third -fifth grade ears of grammar school. So…now that I know the source of my childhood woes has returned I can die a happy chemical addicted, substance abusing, shell of a man
Thank you Matt

Sittin' at work, sucking down a box of Ecto-cooler. Well, Orange Lavaburst. But, good God damned if it isn't Ecto-Cooler. Draw a Slimer on the box, and be happy. I live in Delaware, where everything is about two months behind, so we just started getting it in. Yummy.

Slimer would beat Photog. With him being dead and all, I don't think Photog's powers would be able to have much of effect.

As for Unicron and the Death Star, I'd have to say it's an even match. But since the Unicron is pointy, it gives it the edge to overtake the Empire.

But douse 'em in Ecto, and they're both outta luck. No one can resist it's power.

Ooh, yeah. And I remember the toothpaste as well. Definitely bubble gum. In fact, I ate it once. I'm still not sure how that has affected my lfieifeifi2521l632.7w./26.6./6/.
Oh, and I remember the fruit snacks too. My mom bought me a box just before they stopped making them and I played almost all day with the box of them, pretending to catch ghosts. Whee.

This is wonderful news. My friends and I used to make the walk from our house to Sat. to football games in college with two liter water bottles each full of Ecto Cooler and grain alcohol. Something about that little green ghost that made our cheering that much more unintelligible. Thanks for the update. This info will come in handy at homecoming.

The toothpaste was good, but worthless for any dental purposes. I remember getting in trouble with my dentist about it when he asked me what kind of tothpaste I used. I had a fucked up dentist.

I remember getting almost an entire lunch from a kid in school for just a box of Ecto Cooler, now that I think back. If bubblegum was the 1 dollar bill, then this stuff was the 50 dollar bill of elementary school currency.

And Orange Lavaburst is indeed Slimer's sweet sweet nectar. God this stuff is tremendous.

Ecto-cooler was great, although if I had more than 2 I would shit citric acid for the rest of the day.

I must admit, though, it's better than shitting tabasco sauce after a night at the Panda Express buffet.

Dear god, I think someone turned the a/c on high in hell. Time to hit the store for some tangerine goodness.

"As for Unicron and the Death Star, I'd have to say it's an even match. But since the Unicron is pointy, it gives it the edge to overtake the Empire."

Except that he'd inexplicably transform from his normal Death Star copy self into his Robot Of Doom look to flail and zap ineffectively at the swarming starfighters, since contrary to most anime turning into a gigantic robot with facial hair makes him really useless, allowing the real Death Star to take potshots at him.

Or so I guess, anyway. Those Transformers are so damned unpredictable, he might've turned into a pool cue of astronomical proportions to play around with the Death Star for all I know.

On topic: Ecto-Cooler is just one more essential luxury item that I've had to miss when I was young, and until TMNT came along The Real Ghostbusters was my one true love. Pity me.

"As for Unicron and the Death Star, I'd have to say it's an even match. But since the Unicron is pointy, it gives it the edge to overtake the Empire."

Or so I guess, anyway. Those Transformers are so damned unpredictable, he might've turned into a pool cue of astronomical proportions to play around with the Death Star for all I know.

On topic: Ecto-Cooler is just one more essential luxury item that I've had to miss when I was young, and until TMNT came along The Real Ghostbusters was my one true love. Pity me.

The stuff is pretty good, but i much prefer the old HI-C because I always grossed out my sister with that stuff and I played a cruel joke in school with it. I poured the stuff in the sink and told my friends that this one dorky kid isn't human and I showed them the nasty green ooze in the sink. Turned out I was sent to the principals office. hehe

Yeah i had that stuff a few days ago, its Ecto Cooler and it takes me back to the old days of getting beat up by little girls

damn you ecto damn you.

I worked at McDonald's for a long, horrid, PAINFUL 13 months. The one thing that kept me sane was we had ORANGE LAVABURST in the fountain pop section! For some reason, it had the traditional orange color of regular Hi-C, but was an almost blood red in the unmixed stage. For a while, the store tried the godawful Pink Lemonade and Fruit Punch, but the customer (and myself)DEMANDED Orange Lavaburst! I even threatened to quit if they made me use the Pink Lemonade for my 4th of July party. (I've been subsequently fired, but I regret nothing.) Love the site! Keep it up!

I used to work at a Hy Vee, stocking the shelves. I remember as early as two years ago we were still putting Ecto Cooler on the shelves and I asked my friend "Do kids even know who the hell Slimer is anymore?" As if Hi-C himself heard my question, a couple months later there was no Ecto Cooler to stock. In it's place, none other than orange lavaburst. My point? I knew this before anyone else, so I'm specialler than all of you! Eat it!

About a year and a half ago, my friend and I came across a Hi-C product called "Orange Tangagreen". As you can tell from the name, that was exactly what Ecto Cooler was, right down to the color. We bought every 10-pack they had (Spent about $30-$40). I don't know if they put this out to replace it, or perhaps it just tastes really similar, but looking for Orange Tangagreen should really make your year.

The Hulk syrup turns your poop green. Hulk neglected to mention that in his product placement article.

heh, I remember that commercial. It went, "Ec-to Cooler" then you hear Slimer laugh like, "Hoo hoo hoo ha ha!"… haha… Good times.

dude, i know this is off topic but looking at the picture of the double stuf oreo reminded me of the OREO BIG STUF!!! remember those things? they were giant oreo sandwiches and the commercial was like "MR BIG STUF… WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!?!? MR BIG STUF!!! etc.etc.etc."

I think maybe Matt should do an article on the Orange Tangergreen connection with Ecto-Cooler, and the Orange Lavaburst connection with Ecto-Cooler.

Having Lavaburst, I can honestly say that it tastes just like Ecto-Cooler. Of course the last time I had that was when Hi-C was selling it in tall skinny cans way back in 1996

Y'know, I honestly have to say that I'm probably the one child in America who never, EVER drank Ecto-Cooler. I was always horrified that I'd actually be ingesting ectoplasm. I was a stupid kid.

the orange crap that they have at McDonald's is definetly NOT ecto-cooler. I remember in elmentry school we used to get McDonald's lunch and the only drink they offered was the "orange drink" b/c soda was sinful (i went to catholic school). That orange crap tasted like tang that was 100 parts water and 1 part tang powder. For shame McDonald's, for shame.

The other night when i went to get some of the Orange Lavaburst i also came across the aforementioned Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen. So I picked up packs of both types. They both taste very similar to each other, and I am not sure I can truly remember what Ecto Cooler tasted exactly like, but I am gonna have to say that the real Ecto Cooler is the Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen due in most part to its color, but even as I type this I am still not sure.

Seeing as how Ecto Cooler was orange + tangerine flavor (I remember reading the label

), I'd always assumed that Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen was the spiritual successor to the Slimer sauce. No store in this area seems to carry it though, so perhaps I'll give the Lavaburst a shot.

I actually emailed Minute Maid about it some months ago, but the person who responded completely ignored the Ecto Cooler portion of my inquiry. Probably didn't even know what I was jabberin' about

smeg, i was about to say the same thing: isn't this actually the new ecto cooler? unfortunately, i have not been able to locate it in any store around here, either. i guess i'll have to try to orange lavaburst as well. i'll check back here afterward.

also, totallysol.. where do you live? and at what store did you find this drink?!

Good god you people. Ecto-coolers are now orange lavaburst. No, ecto-coolers are shoutin' orange tangergreen.
No there not. Yes they are. No my flovered sugar water is the best. No mine is. Bastard, you dishonor my family with your lies, I spit at you, dog. I was so hopeful about the idea of a replacement to one of things I miss from my childhood. I mean if one or the other taste like ecto-coolers great, fuckin' great, I can't wait. But the idea that there may be some confusion over the true victor in this battle for imitation juice drink supremacy is to much for me. So I spend six dollars instead of three at the Sav-mor big deal I just fear the internal conflicted as grapple mentally with which is the true ecto-cooler successor. May the one true god, our lord and savior have mercy on one of his servants and by his grace this dark passing be gone from his eyes. May he serve to small dirt eating eight year old boys in use all a gleam of green orange flavored light that is surly to blood of christ himself Ecto-coolers my brothers and sisters ,ecto-coolers. And with that I will go on to lament in ever quite solitude ever searching for that which is most elusive. Hope.

In the summer following my high school graduation in 1991 a few drug-addled friends and myself rented our first apartment. We were three short months from college, and needless to say what little money we had went toward scoring drugs and alcohol, food and non-alcoholic beveridges were surely an afterthought. My friend craig was the craziest of all of us. He had a tatoo of his mother at sixteen on his arm that he would stroke affectionately and comment about "how hot she was!"

Well, craig somehow scored about three cases of ecto-cooler in those large hi-c cans that impart a certain metallic tang to anything contained within. We drank it with all of our meals. We tried it mixed with everything we had in the house (ice cold with grain alcohol tended to be the fav). We even used the empty cans to drink keg beer. Craig even started some "seedlings" in 'em, later dubbed "ecto-dro."

So that's my experience with ecto-cooler. Next time my friends and I get together we'll have to make some lava-burst junglejuice for nostalgia sake. Actually, I think we drank so much of it I may be the only one willing to try any again.

AGH! As I read this article my stomach began to turn, screaming "BUY SOME ECTO COOLER YOU LAZY BISH!"

I remember seeing Ecto Cooler the last time I purchased Hi-C I could've SWORN I saw Ecto Cooler in the aisle…and if not, I could've been hallucinating. This was just a year ago…but I remember a box with oranges on it and a green label but no Slimer. Without Slimer the drink almost loses its coolness. I mean fuck, wouldn't we drink fermented cat piss if it had Slimer's face on the box [I believe the 'fermented cat piss' line was one of yours, right Matt? If not…I'm SURE I heard this somewhere because I can't be creative enough to come up with things like that….not if my life depended on it].

Maybe they replaced it…so…I need to know, WHICH ONE TRULY IS ECTO COOLER??? I plan on going grocery shopping tomorrow morning and I must decide which one to buy. I can't buy 2 10 packs…my ass will fall victim to a series of fire from my family over being careless.

So, help me out here. I haven't had Ecto Cooler since I was in 6th grade…maybe 7th…so I must know. What happened to my Ecto Cooler? I can't remember it's taste….

David, i got my "Ecto Coolers" @ Charlie's Thriftway in Coatesville Pennsylvania. The Walmart near my house which usually has everything barely had any Hi-C flavors to my surprise. So I don't know if Hi-C is sold as much or whatever as it used to be or if Walmart just sucks in the juice department.

Kinda reminds me of the High Wire Mt. Dew or whatever it is. The stuff is just Orange Slice. I figured it would be instead of tasting like orange dew.

to answer the question of who would win. Unicron or the deathstar i think Unicron would. I mean he ate entire planets. This is a small moon were talking about. Also i've never had ecto plasm but drinking the juices from a big fat ghost doesnt sound appetizing

i dont have anything to say about hi-c but to an old article shreddar should be #2 on most evil 11 evil hhhiiiissss

Ecto Cooler was the stuff. Actually, I remember the exact name of it BEFORE they started marketing it under the REAL Ghostbusters thing.It was called "Citrus Cooler", and it had that same bright green color. I used to call it "green drink", and I drank it by the gallon, often pretending it was spinach and I was Popeye.Actually, with all the Hulk merchandising going on right now, I'm surprised it hasn't made yet another come back in green form. Oh well, if it tastes the same, I'll still drink it. In fact. I think I'll buy some tomorrow.

you know one of the weirder franchises was the flintsones chewable tablets. i dont even remember what they did for you. maybe they were the governments way of testing new syrum or that kind of brick-a-brack

If green poop is your mission… You need look no further than purple Gatorade. I thought about seeing a doctor the first time that happened.

This is off topic somewhat but does anyone remember those little juice drinks that came in odd shaped bottles? They were fruit drinks, they came in green, and red. I think they had other ones too but I don't remember what colors they were. They had fruit flavors. The bottles had little accordion-style straws that sprouted out of the top and connected to the side until you were ready to drink out of it. Then the straw popped loose from the side and you could drink out of it.

I remember drinking it just about every day in the summer. They had pandas on them if I remember correctly. They were great. Does anyone remember?

What were those hugely popular drinks with the faces called? The ones with the plastic twist off top that was so fun to chew? I know you know what I'm talking about, I think they still sell them. What the hell are they?

Hey guys. I saw this story and I jumped for joy. So the next day my buddy and I ran to the store.

Now I read sombody said there was another flavor called Screemin Orange Tangergreen. So I got one case of each to try it out.

I think that both taste alot like Ecto. But tangergeen tastes more like Ecto, and LavaBurst has more of an orange juice taste at the end of it.

The only thing that sucks about Tangergreen is that it doesn't come in gallons, but Lavaburst does.

Shoutin' Orange Tangerine. thats what they renamed after ecto cooler and now the names changed onec more.

Ah! I'm quite young, and when I was a little girl I used to drink ecto. Not too much(I drank more diet coke than anything), but I remember at parties and things whenever ecto was available, i'd drink it. My brother loved ghostbusters, and i think my cousins must have, and I don't remember because I was pretty young, but I used to drink it. And I keep looking for that flavor. i had a green popsicle, and my hopes were so high, however, I was let down. I think I may go out and BUY SOME hi-c, and everyone in my house will be mad, but who cares?

You can still find it at store, still the same color, just a sadly diffrent name with out the little ghost"

Dude! You'r right, I was waiting for someone to say that… Ecto Cooler never went away, it was just chaged to Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen, and now i guess it's Orange Lavaburst.

I remember the Nintendo soda. Came in those little tiny cans with either Mario, Luigi, Princess, or Yoshi flavors. Mmm.. Yoshi.

"This is off topic somewhat but does anyone remember those little juice drinks that came in odd shaped bottles? They were fruit drinks, they came in green, and red. I think they had other ones too but I don't remember what colors they were. They had fruit flavors. The bottles had little accordion-style straws that sprouted out of the top and connected to the side until you were ready to drink out of it. Then the straw popped loose from the side and you could drink out of it.

I remember drinking it just about every day in the summer. They had pandas on them if I remember correctly. They were great. Does anyone remember?

I remember those vaguely, but I think I had blue and purple. They tasted like shit and made my stomach hurt.

Does anyone remember Burple? It's the juice drink that came in little accordian style bottles that you had to stretch out and fill with water to make the drink. Boy was that stuff nasty.

Ok, call me evil, but I don't remember Ecto Cooler as bein green. The BOX was green, sure, and the contents of it were neon-bright, but ORANGE. It worked somehow, tho. The product in general was a bastard child of Chernobyl and Lite-Brite^TM, so I really can't complain. But I KNOW it wasn't green, because we would occasionally get it in the coffee-can sized cylinders and it came out a supernatural dayglo orange. Am I insane? Well, am I more insane than previously thought?

Sean, you know, I've been thinking the same thing, but was afraid to say it. Though I will say this: the aluminum cans of Ecto-Cooler certainly portrayed it as being green.

Ok. You've started a new addiction for me. I've never had this substance before. As I was getting off work I used my last 5 bucks to buy a pack of Lavaburst. It was warm so I bought a gallon jug of it to drink while the boxes were getting cold. Once in my car, I had one box to try it. I couldn't even make it the 5 minute drive home without opening a second. I don't know about tangerine, but the boxed stuff definitely tastes like Mandarin Oranges to me. I was also going to buy the Hulk green syrup but the store didn't have any. Oh well.

I found out why it looks like "beer piss". The boxes of Hi-C say Won't Stain! So they took the food coloring out of it.

I got a gallon of Lavaburst and it's orange. but if you pour it out of the box it won't have the color.

Has ANYBODY found a gallon jug of Tangergreen? Because THAT is EctoCooler, not LavaBurst. Lavaburst is like ectocooler with extra orange juice.

Yeah… I didn't remember it being green, either. I also didn't remember Shredder's name until I heard it (Krang too). I was only ’bout 6. I'm now about 8 years older.

DOES ANYBODY HAVE A BOX OF OLD ECTO COOLER??? Just empty? Read the ingredients. Memorize them. THEN we shall settle the true heir to Slimer's Hi-C Throne.

(PS If it's full, drink it. Compare the tastes, and see if Ecto ages like wine.)

No thanks to the Ecto Coolers. I was addicted to heroin and cocaine, but once I tried the ecto cooler, I quit both cold turkey and its then the real addiction began. I lost my home, my friends, my family, all semblance of self-worth. DAMN YOU ECTO COOLER!!! WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN MY LIFE FROM ME???!!!

This stuff is like so like deep man cool like bad and like dude its the dude man sweet cool like cool.

Dude I drink lava burst ALL THE TIME, I go crazy with that orang tangerine flava.

Ecto Cooler has been around in several diffrent names since the mid 90's when slimer left the box.

It's funny because the same day I read this article I asked my friend if he remembered Ecto Cooler a few hours earlier. It must be a sign!

Ecto cooler was great, but it wasn't the falvor that people bought it for and it was barely the color, heck you only say it for a brief moment in the straw. It was because Slimer was on the box. Without Slimer there it is not Ecto cooler, it may bring back fond memories, but it still lacks the thing which got us hooked in the first place.

I was born in February 1984, and I think that the result was me being mentally and physically in-tune with almost anything from that year.

I played with Ghostbusters, destroyed 3 copies of #1 and 1 of #2 from overuse, and had almost any toy that was vaguely related to the franchise. I even watched that stupid-ass rip-off with the 2 guys and the monkey.

Anyways, thanks for telling us about the Orange Lavaburst. I remember drinking Lavaburst for the 1st time and something being familiar. I remember now, it was the feeling of getting a wet-willie during lunch with the taste of ECTO - Cooler on my breath.

Hi-C now advertises that it won't stain the carpet if it spills. They do this by putting it in opaque packages and not adding any food coloring.

ectocooler was also the driving flavor behind "surge" with it's own cool commercials, although a bit less archaic. it's not just a coinicidence that they were both owned by coca-cola company

Man, when I was stationed in Okinawa I would down Ecto-Cooler by the 64 oz. jug. I must've drank 50 or more while I was there. As a matter of fact, I got in a fight in the barracks one typhoon-ridden day, and one of the guys (I fought three of the drunken idiots) picked up one of my bottles of the stuff and tried to whack me in the head with it, haha. I left there in Feb. 1998 and I can't really remember drinking any since. It's kind of sad, really. But until this very day I can still remember its sweet, tangy Slimer-ific taste. . .

matt! please bring back the archives! I miss all the old articles so very very much. Sooooo very much… Im sooo lonely….

I have to say ive never even heard of f*cking ecto cooler, i mean what the hell….

Must have been an american thing, i owned and ate everything ghost busters, hell i sometimes dressed it (a sad childhood indeed) but as for ecto cooler, never heard of it.

I do however remember the goo that came with the fire house thing, deary me the amount of times i was banned from playin with it coz it got on the carpet and turned black heh heh heh, fun times

I drank ecto-cooler almost every day of my first 7 years of existence (or as long as i can remember). It was orange coming up the straw. Even though i haven't had the newer flavors, it still plays upon my mind's tongue after all these years.

I didnt know there was a slimer beverage out there. Im a fan of GhostBusters and some years ago i made a giand kite with a slimer picture on it. My neiborgs were jealous.

I tried some of this stuff and nostalgia hit me like a tube sock full of loose change. The taste is dead-on, green or not. I last had Ecto Cooler back in middle school - like 5th or 6th grade - and drank it like water when I had it. 32 oz. metal cans of the stuff you had to open with an old can-opener? Gone in a few days. Thank you so much, my friend. I owe you big.

I don't know…I've always been suspicious about whatever all the "other kids" are eating/drinking on the playground. I mean, what trustable product is willing to lend its name to what always turns out to be a short-lived fad *looks about the site* oh…I mean to say, extremely long-lived and never-fadng fad!

Right-o. That Macdonalds faux-orange drink was ambrosia! AMBROSIA I say! They used to buy it for sports days at my school…Mmmm. Macdonalds beverages…

Rock on, man. Rock on. I've known this tidbit for ages, but thanks for spreading the news.

Hot DAMN! for years I have been reminiscing about the sweet sweet taste of ecto cooler, and all along it was right there at WalMart disguised as some orange lava shit!

Wow thank you soo much!! Now I can get my ever loving slimer drinking arse back in gear.
Now I have to find a way to put some slimer stickers on my boxes and im all set.

Hey, I don't know if they have Jewel grocery stores out by you guys, but for those who know of the chain, check out the Jewel brand "Citrus Cooler" fruit juice drink. It is with the Hi-C stuff, and it was always the generic version of Ecto-Cooler, and it is still neon green too. I'd buy it, but right now I've only got room in my heart for one green drink, and that's dnL. I know it doesn't have slimer, but the stuff always tasted like Ecto-Cooler, and I'd be a good benchmark for any taste test comparisons.

It is certainly Ecto Cooler…but you know somebody has a stash of those big metal Ecto Cooler cans with Slimer. I will find him, and take his stash.

Ecto cooler is not actually the Orange Lavaburst flavor. IT IS however still around. Ecto cooler has become the "Shoutin' Orange Tangerine" flavor of Hi-C. For more information and all the proof you'll need on this, go to this website http://x-entertainment.com/articles/0822/

I talked to the coke co. and none of the two flavors you spoke of are it. but shoutin' orange tangerine is alone the same line of flavors

ecto is yummy…but yeah; i remember burple. it was wonderful. i can't find it anywhere, and i have no clue who the hell made it. someone help me!

DUDE I EMAILED HI-C AND THEY SAID ECTO COOLER–IS THE SAME AS Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen

ITS TRUE PEOPLE TIS IS THE REAL DEAL IF YOU DONT BELEIVE ME JUST EMAIL TROPICANA

I have no idea if anyone has made the discovery I am about to claim, but here goes anyway.

At a recent 4th of July Party, I passed over the Coke cooler and went for the kiddy juice cooler. Opening it up, I saw a Capri Sun pouch labeled pacific cooler. I dunno if anyone has tried this yet, but to me it tasted almost exactly like ecto cooler. I propose an investigation! Can anyone else confirm this?

Scotty stops in Ten Forward for a drink, and scoffs at the synthaholic booze. He asks Data if there is any real alcohol, and Data pulls out a dusty unlabeled bottle of the green stuff from Guinan's private stash. Scotty asks him what it is, and he says "It is Green…" Scotty loved it!

I always thought of it as a given that this drink was Ecto-Cooler…Captain Picard gave it to Guinan, and Picard's brother had a vineyard, so who knows. Maybe his brother just had a few cases of the stuff in storage for 300 years, since it apparently was a drink of considerable potency. Or maybe he produces it himself, slapping on a name like "Aldeberan Whiskey" to avoid upsetting Slimer and copyright infringement. Probably didn't help, since his house burned down anyway…. Was the apparition Slimer responsible?

Anyway, Scotty loved it so much he took the entire bottle, drowning the nostalgia of his youth with Ecto-Cooler….

please…please…please bring back ecto-cooler. Not just the taste, but with the picture of slimer too.

Yes dude, the neo ecto blast is the tangerine one (the large green mouth tells it all), not the orange one.

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