Quote of the Day (Rich Cohen, on Pop Rocks and the Golden Age of ‘Weird Candy’)

“Weird candy is what we had instead of the Internet. It was a golden age, with Red Hots, Everlasting Gobstoppers, Bubblicious and Freshen Up, a gel infused gum that exploded in your mouth. Pop Rocks were akin to The Sex Pistols or The Clash: loud, industrial, meant for youth and possibly dangerous.”—American nonfiction writer and columnist Rich Cohen, “Back When: No, Pop Rocks Did Not Kill Mikey From the Life Cereal Ad,” The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 15-16, 2025

I am nearly a decade older than Rich Cohen, so I missed Pop Rocks—introduced 50 years ago—and the other candy that made such an impression on his childhood.

It’s odd, but every age cohort seems to have its own urban legend about someone who was supposed to have died but did not. Mr. Cohen had John Gilchrist, the child actor who played “Mikey” in those ubiquitous 1970s commercials for Life cereals.

My age group had to sort through false rumors that child actors Jerry Mathers and Jay North had been killed in Vietnam, and that Beatle Paul McCartney died in 1966, only to be replaced by a lookalike.

Nowadays, with social media and at least one alleged cable “news” network, urban legends spread more rapidly—and sometimes with hideous consequences. Nine years ago, Edgar Maddison Welch, after hearing Alex Jones trumpet the absurd “Pizzagate” conspiracy, traveled from North Carolina and, upon reaching the DC establishment at the center of Jones’ tales, fired shots in the Comet Ping Pong restaurant.

In any case, I’m glad I didn’t try Pop Rocks or any of the other “weird candy” Cohen recalls. Over the years, I’m sure they have been the bane of many dentists!

Quote of the Day (Rich Cohen, on Why ‘A Cubs Fan is a Buddhist’)

“By accepting the inevitability of defeat, a Cubs fan can actually live a better life, become a better person. A Cubs fan is a Buddhist. He or she knows that life is suffering and that relief from that suffering comes only by giving up all expectation and desire for victory. In its place, you receive the gift of right now, which is Wrigley Field on a perfect summer day when a breeze is wreaking havoc in the ivy. Whereas my father curses the TV and second-guesses the manager, I understand the term ‘preordained.’ He believes the outcome is in doubt. I know it has all happened before and will all happen again. He was born years before me but, in a way, I am the older man. By wearing the hat with the red C, you tell everyone your kingdom is not of this world.”—Rich Cohen, "A Cub Fan’s Fear of Winning," The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2015

When Rich Cohen wrote this, Cubs fans would have been ecstatic simply for a wild-card berth. They had become all too used to all kinds of misfortune, such as the famous "black cat" incident in a crucial series with the New York Mets back in 1969, as captured in this photo. Now, after defeating the two teams that bested them in their division in the regular season this year—the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals—all bets are off.

After much anguish for their fans, the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays have stamped out the rebellion against their dominion. It’s a different world in the National League, though. As I write this, the Cubs and the Mets are in the National League Championship Series. Who would have guessed that at the start of this year?

It just goes to show: in a short baseball playoff series, anything is possible.

Quote of the Day (Rich Cohen, on the Plight of Today’s Cub Fan)

“A Cubs fan is unique and even necessary, a symbol of defeat in a fallen world, a world where everyone will eventually perish. If my team wins, they will become ordinary. If my team wins, they will later lose. Then they will have become just another team that has won, not very long ago, but is not winning anymore. In winning, the Cubs will make a lot of people happy, but the happiness will fade, and, once it’s faded, what will we have given up? The certainty and distinction and grandeur of epic failure. The humility and holy rags of degradation, the very quality that sets a Cubs fan apart and above. Gone will be the chance to prove the purity of our love for the game. Anyone can look good while winning. Only an aristocrat can be graceful in defeat.”—Rich Cohen, “A Cub Fan’s Fear of Winning,” The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2015

When I checked the standings this morning, the Chicago Cubs’ record stood at 63-48—which translates to 8½ games back of division-leading St. Louis, but still in the hunt for a wild card spot for the playoffs. This will be something to watch, win or lose, the rest of the season.