X-Entertainment.com X-Entertainment UGO
X-Entertainment is still feeling pretty bad about those lobsters.

« Devils and Valentines. [Main Index] Soda triumphs and jaguar masks. »

02/04/2007: New Article? Yes! About old soda!


There was a time, many, many years ago, when I wrote these things called “articles.” I was feeling nostalgic, so I decided, what the hey? Let’s use, a lot of commas, and see if it still feels, okay, to write articles.

Today’s feature chooses “eleven” as its arbitrary token number and examines “eleven” different soft drinks that are no longer with us, running the gamut from Surge to Strawberry Burst Pepsi and beyond. It’s my way of getting a return on the many thousands spent to amass a ridiculous collection of old, sealed soda cans.

I hope you find the article to your liking, because I gave up watching Wolf Creek to write it, and I really wanted to see that “head on a stick” part.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Bookmark and Share


Discussion Thread: 485 comments

You need to find a can of Pepsi Latte. Coffee-flavored Pepsi.

Ghosted by Jil In Pattaya @ 02/11/2007 12:37 AM EST

Matt’s a little too young to remember long-missed national brand flops like Lemon Pepsi: all the goodness of Pepsi after it was used to rinse out a bottle of Lemon Pledge! Probably findable among 16 oz. soda bottle collectors. I do sorely miss Orange Spot; you always knew where you spilled it. Finally, Pepsi’s urban hipster vibe ruined Mountain Dew’s proud white-trash hillbilly iconography (Whoop-tee-do for my Mountain Dew!) after it bought the brand; again, see old inked MD bottles for Cletus’ tooth-impaired Dad taking a hit offa moonshine bottle with the top shooting through his floppy hat brim just like bullets!!

Ghosted by Otto von Abbattoir @ 02/11/2007 5:25 PM EST

Pepsi Fire and Pepsi Ice – we have alcoholic shots over here in the UK now the same colour, the same flavours suggested, and called “Fire and Ice” … coincidence?

Ghosted by Russ @ 02/11/2007 6:39 PM EST

Oddly enough, Otto touches on a Pepsi that I was going to mention. I think the thing was called “Pepsi Light”. I remember drinking it after high school football practice…BACK IN 1978!!! It did have that lemon pledge taste. And for soem reason, it was a diet drink that had 110 calories or something. Like 1/3 the sugar was acceptable as a diet drink.

Ghosted by Alex @ 02/11/2007 9:59 PM EST

TAB: Once again, a comment from a guy who lived when dinosaurs were around. (Okay, 8 track tapes). I saw the new Tab. It’s got nutrasweet. The authentic old Tab had “crappY” sacharrin.

Ghosted by Alex @ 02/11/2007 10:02 PM EST

Geez..over 350 comments…I wonder if it’ll hit the big 400??

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 02/12/2007 1:41 AM EST

I remember one of the stigmas that Surge had was the rumor (at least in my high school, not sure if it was widespread) that it would shrink your penis because of Yellow 5… which I think even mountain dew has it. If anyone drank Surge, people would say “Dude that will shrink your penis hahaha!”

Ghosted by Dan @ 02/12/2007 2:09 PM EST

How could you forget 7-up Gold? So bizarre. Shame on you.

Ghosted by Nate @ 02/12/2007 4:18 PM EST

I don’t think I ever had Orbitz. Atleast I don’t remember. Unless I was too afraid of the floaty things to try it.
I never had Surge either. I generally hate anything lemon-lime.

My sister was obsessed with Pepsi Blue though. It looked so vile I couldn’t believe she actually drank it.

I liked Pepsi Kona. I wish they still made it. Coke Blak isn’t the same. I don’t see it as often as I used to anyway.

Ghosted by Adrastia @ 02/13/2007 1:37 AM EST

Anybody remember Tropical Splash? It was by 7 Up I think. The stuff was unreal. Also Wild Cherry Pepsi was great.

Ghosted by Spilchuk @ 02/13/2007 4:32 AM EST

Pepsi Fire and Pepsi Ice were sold late last year in the Philippines. Pepsi X and Pepsi Max are still here but the fire and ice labels were now gone.

I remember drinking Chocola when I was a kid. I can’t remember which company manufactured that.

I liked Vanilla Coke but it’s off the market shelves now. I don’t know why.

Ghosted by claire @ 02/13/2007 1:14 PM EST

I only ever tried Orbitz once. It was the closest I ever care to get to having someone ejaculate into my mouth.

Ghosted by Hellpop! @ 02/14/2007 2:44 AM EST

I work for Coke, and apparently Coke Blak is being taken off the shelves. I managed to score three bottles. I know it’s not old (it’s been out less than a year) but just FYI.

Ghosted by Eric @ 02/14/2007 6:42 PM EST

hey man, your collection is very cool ! I didnt knew there was so much different pepsi flavour !

Do you collect also special cans ? here in quebec, we get special cans every years, same pepsi, different can image. i remember that Wayne Gretzky can, or even the cans with the canada hockey tshirt printed on it.
Im sure you got the star wars special collection too, huh ?
have fun, and good luck finding more weird pepsi flavours around the world !

Ghosted by Mister Sam @ 02/14/2007 9:57 PM EST

aaaaah yes…pepsi blue. you know when you get really really drunk and the next day, when you wake up, your not drunk but you sometimes puke a yellowy liquid? well if you drink pepsi blue the morning after and then have to puke…. yellow vomit + bright blue soda = neon green vomit. it looks like you’re throwing up antifreeze.

Ghosted by kevstation @ 02/15/2007 10:33 PM EST

I miss Citra.

Ghosted by delgadoduvidoso @ 02/16/2007 6:58 PM EST

Pepsi Blue was alright, it tasted pretty crappy until you were halfway done with it, from there it tasted like carbonated cough syrup. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.

Ghosted by CheezNapkin @ 02/16/2007 9:26 PM EST

I was obsessed with Orbitz during when that came out. I think it was during my senior year of High School. I would drink the entire bottle, careful not to eat any of the floating bubble things. Then I’d eat them all in one final triumphant gulp. That was a nasty nasty drink. I’m tempted to buy an orange/vanilla bottle on ebay…for $10.

Ghosted by Josh @ 02/17/2007 12:20 AM EST

Oh how I miss the early days of X-E when articles like this were a daily thing. A wonderful article, Matt! I remain faithful, though, admittedly, my visitation schedule has somewhat become as irregular as the posting schedule…

Ghosted by mawdimus @ 02/17/2007 4:10 AM EST

I LOVED 7-UP Gold! It was the first 7-Up product that actually had caffeine. Remember the old motto Caffeine, never had it never will” that went bye bye with 7-Up gold.

I also remember OK Soda. It was around for like what, 3 months in 1993? They had people give cans away of that stuff, they hung them on door handles. I remember I tried to put one of their stupid stickers on my hockey helmet. I thought it tasted like SWAG.

Ghosted by Don @ 02/17/2007 4:42 AM EST

To that guy who works for Coke, does anyone at your work remember the contest Coke had in 1990, 1991 where they stuck these “Magic Cans” in the general Coke can population? And you oculd win actual money when you popped the tab? A rolled up 5 dollar bill or a wad of 100’s (in the rarer case) was to pop out of the can? But they pulled the cans because the things malfunctioned? One stupid girl where my girlfreind worked got so freaked out because she had a can with a dollar in it. But she wasn’t excited about the dollar, she was freaked because despite all the publicity, she didn’t realize there was money in front of her face. Shw anted soda! I guess that’s why they pulled the contest!

Ghosted by Alex @ 02/17/2007 6:32 AM EST

Oh, and by the way, Cans of Coca Cola STILL have the little Classic logo on them! I don’t understand why they can’t just get rid of it.

Ghosted by CheezNapkin @ 02/17/2007 12:46 PM EST

I Stumbled upon your site. Good job but you forgot it vanilla coke,it really made me mad when they took it off the market.

Ghosted by B-MOONE @ 02/17/2007 3:39 PM EST

As a fellow Jerseyite, I got all giddy when you mentioned Woodbridge Mall. I wasted many an afternoon there. I never bought Orbitz there, though. I think I’m the one person in America that loved Orbitz & was really sad when it was gone. I used to buy it from the 7-11 on Route 22 East in North Plainfield. My family made so much fun of me when I drank it.

Ghosted by MoxieHart @ 02/17/2007 10:14 PM EST

In the 90’s Pepsi had an Apple flavored soda called Aspen. It was tasty, but short lived. Perhaps it was only test marketed here (San Diego,CA) Does anyone remember Bubble-Up? Or when Fresca had pulp?
Matt…contact me if you would like a few SURGE stickers from soda fountain buttons.

Ghosted by JIM LITTLE @ 02/18/2007 3:35 AM EST

I used to work for Coke as a sales rep, and it was an absolute bitch selling new products to people, especially a couple years ago when they were cranking out new products every couple months in an effort to flood Pepsi off the shelves. Seriously, trying to espouse the virtues of Sprite Aruba Blast to the owner of a biker bar in Fargo, North Dakota in early February is a shitty way to make a living.

Funny note about working for Coke: they don’t allow ANY competing brands’ products in the building. You couldn’t even bring food from Taco Bell, KFC or Pizza Hut into the building because those chains are partly owned by Pepsico. However I kind of hate Coke’s products, so I used to fill my Coca-Cola thermos (won at work in a drawing) with Diet Mountain Dew Code Red at home and bring it to work. Whenever someone asked I’d tell them it was strawberry Fanta.

Ghosted by Hellpop! @ 02/18/2007 5:32 PM EST

I remember all those sodas, used to love Surge, but i would kill a man for a 12 pack of KICK! it was awesome, and it tried to say funny things on all the cans,i remember the commercial had a six pack of KICK! kill a mountain dew can in the fridge.

Ghosted by Luke! @ 02/19/2007 2:10 PM EST

I was just thinking about Orbitz soda the other day. I used to buy it all the time because I felt such a cool soda should taste good…it never did. I tried really hard to like it, but inevitably my parents would find the bottle – half gone – and swear never to give me money for novelty drinks again.

Ghosted by Betsy @ 02/19/2007 6:37 PM EST

You forgot Pepsi Cona. (spelling might be off). It was part Pepsi, part coffee & 100% camel piss. I’ve never drank from a u7sed spitoon, but, if I did, I think it would probably taste alot like Pepsi Cona. But, hey, at least we got one hell of an add campaign. The diner waitress rips off her contume to reveal her true identity: ladies & gentlemen, it’s… TOM JONES!!!!

Ghosted by Mike @ 02/19/2007 10:16 PM EST

i was in Poland with my family and they still sell Pepsi Blue there… this is not a Polish joke!@!

Ghosted by Snagboy @ 02/20/2007 2:23 AM EST

My heart just broke seeing that Pepsi Blue. :( I remember when they got rid of it, I managed to find a huge sale of Pepsi Blue cans at a Target and spent like 30 dollars buying the supply. Drinking that last can was pure sadness.

I bought a bottle of that Orbitz stuff once as a freak buy at a gas station. I guess over the years I managed to convince myself that it never existed.

I’ll be throwing parties when Coke Blak is gone though. That stuff simply tastes terrible.

Ghosted by Martine23 @ 02/20/2007 9:48 PM EST

This article broke my heart, I also was in 5th grade in 1990 and being the weird kid I was, collected pop cans, I had some really cool weird coke cans 80s style, and even some cans of pepsi and coke that were still made of steel… One summer when i was like 14 I decided to put them in storage in the attic… Condensed Cans and Super heat… may my can collection rest in peace…

Ghosted by Chris @ 02/22/2007 1:38 AM EST

I think one of the worst sodas I can’t believe I liked were some Super Mario mini cans of fruity sodas I liked when I was 6 or 7 or 8. who knows.

Ghosted by hope @ 02/22/2007 8:03 PM EST

Hey, great post.

I loved Vanilla COKE.

Check me out at:
http://keepmepostedblog.bogspot.com

Ghosted by Keep me posted @ 02/22/2007 11:19 PM EST

Pepsi Fire and Ice are fairly common in supermarkets in Singapore. Not much of a price difference from the regular ones.

Ghosted by NXMT @ 02/23/2007 3:47 AM EST

I remember orbitz before it was orbitz, I was at a church funfair as a volunteer a few years before orbitz was released. The food concession company was selling these fruit drinks that were called UFO’s that had just been invented and were being trial marketed, the bottle was ball shaped at the base and then had a slimmer neck that went up to a poptop like I have seen on bottles of POM overall it looked like a flower vase. They sold well only because you got a free straw and if properly strained through your teeth and shot back through the straw the balls shot very far.

Ghosted by Chris @ 02/23/2007 3:21 PM EST

hey..really interesting..Would be nice to read and see some more. Pepsi really did experiment in the past :)

Ghosted by Henrik @ 02/24/2007 7:36 PM EST

Surge Songs.

I have a music CD (I’ve still held onto it!) that was a promo for Surge. It arrived in my mailbox one day in high school, the date reads 1996. There was a CD, stickers, and coupons for the “fully loaded citrus soda”. There were actually two discs, coupons, et al so you were supposed to share one with a friend.

Many of the bands on the disc are unknowns, but Five For Fighting has a song on there, long before anyone knew who they were.

That’s the only musical accompaniment to deceased soda that I know of.

Ghosted by TR Rose @ 02/25/2007 10:20 PM EST

Mmmm. Pepsi Clear was the bomb. I loved that stuff, but I have to say that I don’t remember it being an amber color. I remember it being clear. Man, I miss that stuff. It seems to me that Pepsi is and has been pulling stuff out of their butt for years and years.

Ghosted by Zach @ 02/26/2007 2:35 PM EST

The Skipper by Craigmont (now its Safeway Select) and Cherry 7-Up. Hope this thread hits the big four-hund

Ghosted by Josh Ednoff @ 02/27/2007 2:52 AM EST

Pepsi Blue was a great drink, well okay not on it’s own. A half and half mix of Pepsi Blue and Barq’s Root Beer made a nasty bog green colour but was actually quite tasty.

Ghosted by Draken @ 02/27/2007 11:57 AM EST

In your next article, you could mention Stewart’s Lemon Meringue Soda:

http://matherd.livejournal.com/1969.html

I would suggest Big Pineapple and Big Peach, but they are still around in Central Texas:

http://matherd.livejournal.com/35764.html

Ghosted by Max Jenius @ 02/28/2007 4:41 AM EST

Oh yeah, and Red Fusion rocked.

Ghosted by Max Jenius @ 02/28/2007 4:42 AM EST

has anyone else ever seen 7-up Gold? I loved it but it only lasted a few months.

Ghosted by Azus @ 03/03/2007 12:26 PM EST

So…yeah… A little late to the party but listen up:
I bought a pack of slice, another of orange slice, one of Ski, and some Mellow Yellow at my Wal Mart here in Ohio two days ago. They’re still kicking. Also, I’m looking for two things:

Mr. Cookieface ice cream sandwiches (Best ever!)
Pinaz Pinapple Soda (Yeah, Pinaz.)

Ghosted by The Dude @ 03/03/2007 1:03 PM EST

you forgot the best discontinued soda ever. vanilla coke.

Ghosted by buckykat @ 03/03/2007 8:11 PM EST

Pepsi Fire and Ice are still sold out of the country.
I went to Fiji this past summer and they had cases of it in the airport snack bar.

Ghosted by Joey @ 03/03/2007 10:47 PM EST

i remember Crystal clear pepsi as a god send. I had some from the states and from Canada, and i swear to this day the Canadian version was completely seet through, just like 7-UP. Never forget folks Blue Pepsi “Tastes Like Banshee Milk” as quoted from Matt all that time ago…

Ghosted by Phill @ 03/05/2007 9:45 AM EST

All the Crystal Pepsi tlk reminds me of that great SNL commercial for Crystal Gravy….mmmmmm…..

400 w00t!!

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 03/05/2007 4:01 PM EST

I think those sodas dissapeared because they couldn’t still making experiments with people.

Ghosted by yelinna @ 03/06/2007 9:07 PM EST

Add A New Comment!


This entry was posted on Sunday, February 4th, 2007 at 5:53 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.