More than 500 million Twinkies were sold every year. Half a billion. OK. But that’s not good enough to keep ‘em around. Hostess is shutting down. But you knew that. What you didn’t know was the original Twinkie had a problem with mortality. It couldn’t last long enough on the shelves. Engineers had a fix for that. Swap a few natural ingredients for stuff whipped up in the lab, and you’re good to go. Here are the trades they made: Lecigran (not egg yolks), cellulose gum (not fat), artificial colors from the petrochemical industry (not natural ones). The result is a snack that lasts — I mean lasted — 25 days instead of two or three. Hostess had a response to this CNN breakdown of the treat’s ingredients: “Deconstructing the Twinkie is like trying to deconstruct the universe.” You’re right, Hostess. Except you can’t eat the universe.

If that is all is quite boring to you, then I recommend a visit to the Ghostbusters video after the jump. Go on, click “continue reading.” You know you want to. Continue reading →