20 Most Ridiculous Candies of the 1990s

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For years, young people (and sweet-toothed adults) were content to gobble down candy canes around the holidays, saltwater taffies when visiting the coast, and those awful button candies when they visited the five and dime store. But these were only a few of the favorite sweets from the ’90s.

As the pace of life grew faster in the 20th century, people started creating wilder candies to match the prevailing mood. By the ’90s, things had gotten pretty nuts in the candy aisle.

Here are the top 20 candies that made us think: “How on earth did these candies not only get made but also became popular with the kids?!” Can you remember them all?

20. War Heads

war heads candy ridiculous 90s
Amazon

These are not only extremely sour candies, but they are also as hard as a rock. We don’t know about you, but we’re not very fond of the idea of suffering while eating candy.

If there is one thing we like, though, it would be watching other people try this “treat.” It’s always fun to see how they react to the extra sour taste!

19. Hubba Bubba Soda

hubba bubba soda
@tsediva / Instagram

As ridiculous as it may seem, people couldn’t get past the fact that you can now drink bubble gum. So they kept on buying the Hubba Bubba Soda.

As many have confessed, though, the taste was horrible. But we won’t be too harsh: we’re giving this half-candy half-drink a thumbs up for creativity!

18. Bubble Jug

bubble jug candies from the 1990s
Candy Warehouse

We’re not judging, but buying a jug full of gums doesn’t seem like a healthy life choice.

No matter how ridiculous we find the Bubble Jug though, 90s kids went head over heels for it. How novel it was to carry around a jug of powder candy that could slowly turn into bubblegum.

17. Squeezit

squeezit 90s candy
Bustle

This drink is not ridiculous because it looked bad or had some quirky element in it. It was ridiculous because of the high sugar ratio.

We also wonder which chemicals they were made of.

16. Gummy Hamburgers

gummy hamburgers candies
Amazon

We love eating food that looks like other food. I don’t know why this obsession comes from, but it is what it is.

At least they tasted good, and some people found them fun, so there is that!

15. Push Pops

push pop candy
DealSan

This cylindrical lollipop took the playgrounds by storm due to its unconventional design. But it is that same design that made many unhappy. This lollipop has a resealable packaging that you can open and close thanks to a lid resembling a marker.

While all seems fine and dandy when pushing the lollipop up, there is no way to push it down again. So what did the 90s kids do? Stick their fingers in the lollipop and push down until it got back in place. Yuck.

(Plus, who wants to keep a candy full of saliva for later anyway?)

14. Spice Girls Lollipops

spice girls lollipop candy 90s kids

Baby Spice’s signature accessory was a lollipop. Chupa Chupps saw an opportunity, and they took it. The rest is history.

(We only bought these for the “cool” factor—and the stickers).

13. Bottle Pops

baby bottle candies werid candies 90s
Blair Candy

Kids usually want to emancipate themselves from anything that reminds them of their baby phase. They tend to mimic what their parents and teachers do and are keen to take part in adult activities.

Why we liked these baby-bottle-like candies so much remains a mystery.

12. Bit-O-Honey

bit o honey halloween candies
Troyer Country market

These pieces of taffy made us work. It would put our jaws to test and embark us on a chew-a-thon we didn’t ask for as soon as we pop it in our mouths.

Receiving them for Halloween was the opposite of a treat.

11. Spin Pops

toy story spin pop candy
Pic Click

One question: Why?

Was it fun to drill a lollipop into the mouths of young kids? We can’t remember why these were popular, but our guess is only because of the cool character that came with it.

10. Camel Balls

camel balls candy

We can guess that the packaging and the name of this candy made more than a few parents gasp.

Whether you love or hate them, you gotta admit, their marketing department is quite cheeky.

9. Charm Blow Pops

camel balls candy
Amazon

The first time we ate one of these lollipops, we were curious, then confused, then surprised, then perplexed.

Whoever put bubble gum inside a lollipop wasn’t afraid of novelty.

8. Lollipop Paint Shop

Pinterest

Here is a bit of career motivation: if the paint bucket candy got approved by a board and was released to the market, YOU can do anything you put your mind to.

This candy is such a blunder that many don’t even remember its existence.

7. Ring Pops

ring pops 90s kids candies
Old Time Candy

OK, let us explain ourselves first. The Ring Pop is a major staple in any American ’90s kid childhood. No one can deny that. Every time we see one, we are instantly reminded of the good ol’ days.

But let’s be real for a moment here: The shape of this candy is quite peculiar. It is just too big! With that being said, we hope you don’t hate us too much for it.

6. Yoplait Trix Yogurt

yoplait trix yogurt weird candies
Reddit

This one is not candy, but it was so surreal that we had to share it.

Do you remember the Yoplait Trix Yogurt? Their rainbow color experiment didn’t go that well since not many people trusted these peculiar mixes.

5. Chewy Gobstopper

chewy gobstopper candy
Candy Warehouse

For a candy that basically threatens to hurt or kill you, jawbreakers/gobstoppers are wildly popular.

Think about it – do you want your jaw broken? Or your “gob,” meaning mouth, stopped up? No! But still, these things fly off the shelves. Thus it was that in the ’90s, the Wonka Company doubled down and released the oxymoronic (but delicious and wonderful) Chewy Gobstopper. It’s the jawbreaker that’s not a jawbreaker at all!

4. Tongue Splashers

tongue splashers bubblegum
Reddit

Sometime in the early 1990s, in a boardroom somewhere, a group of ostensibly intelligent human beings got together and agreed that what kids wanted was gum that would stain their mouths strange colors for hours after the gum has been spit out (or swallowed). Thus was born the gum known as Tongue Splashers.

These dark little spheres were quick to lose their flavor, but long to leave the mouth, specifically the tongue, stained an ugly shade of greenish, purplish, or blue. And you could buy them by the gallon-sized paint can.

3. Sour Gummy Burgers

sour mini burgers
Sweet Services

For some reason, plenty of people seem drawn to candies made to look like other foodstuffs. There are those among us who see a waxy, gelatinous glob roughly in the shape of a fried egg, or hamburger, or some such item, and say “Hey, is that a gummy something or other? Sold!”

Or at least, we can only assume these people exist, because the people at EFruitti keep on churning out their Sour Gummy Burgers.

2. Bubbaloo Liquid Filled Sour Cherry Bubble Gum

bubbaloo sour red gum
Pinterest

When the name itself spans seven words, you know you’re in for a treat. The folks over at Bubbaloo took a look at regular bubble gum, and they said: “That’s not crazy enough for the modern consumer!”

So they added a glob of lip-suckingly sour liquid goo to the middle of the gum and launched a liquid gum filled revolution. Sort of.

1. Bubble Tape

bubbe tape
Sweet Box Candy

So Bubble Tape was technically released in the late ’80s, but thanks to clever marketing, it was the iconic gum of the early 1990s.

What was the marketing campaign that convinced so many kids to invest in a thin, six-foot-long strip of artificially flavored gum? It hinged on the words “For you – not them!” Meaning “Kids, you need to have this gum and don’t tell any adults about it! You are so awesome, and they are not, now buy gum! Lots of gum! Now! Guuuuum!”

Do you remember these delicious treats? Share them with the other ’90s kids you know!