The Mentos FAQ V.01 (beta)

(c) 1994 Heath Doerr doerrhb@expert.cc.purdue.edu

Index:

Section 1: Commercial Synopsis

1. The Broken Shoe (or High Heel Treachery)

A sassy young lady sashays past an open air French style cafe, gaining the attention of a business man, and at the same time interrupting his newspaper enjoyment. As she glides past, a footwear malfunction occurs, leaving her sans one heel. She reaches for her secret freshness enducer, Mentos. After administering a piece of the magic elixir of nuttiness, she breaks off the remaining spike, proclaiming to the world her resourcefulness, and endless freshness. The man in the cafe is undoubtedly impressed.

2. The Fake Press Agent (or 'Those Crazy Kids I')

A young lad and his pals file through a mob of fanatics and paparazzi, in order to get a closer look at their favorite star. However, their adventure takes them over the legal boundaries of said activity, which is then pointed out to them by the authorities. After a bit of contemplation, and a hearty dose of freshness ala Mentos, our hero cunningly disguises himself as a member of the media, and breaks through the defenses of the establishment.

3. The Airport Tram Ride (or 'Baggage Claim Blues')

A young woman finds herself in a bit of a pinch, as she discovers that she has packed too much, and her bags are a most bothersome burden. But she has no fear, it is a burden which is not insurmountable, especially with Mentos on her side. She unsheathes her glimmering blue tube of freshness, and holds it out stretched, like the mighty Excalibur, and although shortening it by 1/14, this weapon has not lost it's power. She consumes the pellet of perkiness, and decrees that she and only she shall be the one to ride the baggage cart, and all the other most unfresh patrons of the airport shall bear the full weight of their baggage. Her friends cheer, and dream of one day achieving a freshness such as hers.

4. The Car Movers (or 'Overalls and Mentos')

Only an unfresh person would park his car in such a way as to make his fellow motorist unable to go on her merry way, but that's just what our heroine is faced with in this episode of the mentos saga. After an exchange of dirty looks, and communication of the parkee's need for promptness, the young girl contemplates her dilemma with the aid of a freshmaker. She has a revelation, and summons what looks to be the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line from a construction site across the way. With surprisingly little convincing, the barbarians lift her Fiat into the road, and as she thanks them she glances in the way of her nemesis, only to add an exclamation point to her freshness.

5. Evading Mom (or 'Psycho Mutant Killer Mom')

While enjoying a pleasant afternoon at the mall, a teen and his companions suddenly spot one of their mothers. She raises her umbrella, signifing that she has acquired her target, and means to move in for the kill. Quickly searching his person, the teen removes from his pocket the only thing to help him out of this bind, Mentos. Thinking quickly, and now sporting fresh, clean breath, he seizes a baseball cap from a near by mannequin. The perfect disguise! Placing it on his head in a diagonal pattern, he strikes a pose, and avoids his pursuer. She spots him again, but this time only after entering the escalator. Knowing she has been vanquished, mom shakes her weapon yet again, all the while thinking, 'My son is sooo fresh!'

6. Through the Car (or 'The 3 Second Car Jacking')

There is little peace in land of mentos, as yet another teen is faced with a distressing problem. While crossing the street, he is separated from his friends, and nearly from his legs by an over anxious motorist. Finding himself needing to traverse the street, but without a normal means to do so, he again thanks his lucky stars he remembered the freshmaker. His supply is reduced by one, but his freshness is increased exponentially. Opening the rear door, he climbs through the auto, and over it's passenger. The passenger is surprised, and later acknowledges the care free youths with an approving glance as he speeds away.

7. The Backstage Crew (or 'Those Crazy Kids II')

In the final episode, once again the establishment has prevented some teens from achieving their goal. At the backstage door to a rock concert, our friends are star struck and must find a way backstage to meet their idols, demonstrate their freshness, and enjoy each others minty clean breath. Musical paraphernalia is being unloaded, and with the aid of a bandana, one teen slips through the line undetected. At the last moment, a security guard spots him, but instead of pouncing on him and beating him to a bloody mess with his nightstick, he lets him go showing an expression that could only mean one thing, "Those crazy kids!". Bravo!

Section 2: The Candies

The candies themselves come in two varieties. 'Mint' and 'Mixed Fruit'. Taste and color are drastically different between the two, but in every other way they are quite similar.

The shape of a Mentos candy is disklike, with an ellipsical bulge in the middle. They measure 3/4" in diameter, and at it's largest point, 6/16" tall.

Net weight is reported as 1.3 OZ/37.5 g, but this was impossible to confirm at the time of this writing.

Coloring of the mint candies is a chalky white, that extends throughout the entire candy. The fruit variety contains three colors, purple (grape), yellow (lemon), and orange (orange).

The mint flavor variety unsurprisingly taste like mint, and could be considered to possess a breath freshening function as well as a cool, menthol-like aftertaste. Mixed fruit have none of these properties, but are instead quite sweet. The differences between the flavors contained in a mixed fruit package are small. Color seems to be the only real distinguishable quality.

When chewed, the candies disintegrate into a gum like consistency, and if appropriate, release their breath freshening characteristics.

Packaging:

Mentos candies come in cylinder shaped 'rolls', with 14 included in each roll. The label consists of 'mentos' written in block letters, covering approximately 2/3 of the roll lengthwise. Next to this logo is the flavor identification, (i.e. 'mint' or 'mixed fruit') although flavor identification can be more readily obtained from the background coloring of the label. Mint has a misty bluish white photograph of many Mentos scattered about, while mixed fruit has a more colorful representation of the same shapes, including purple, orange, and yellow disks. It is important to note that the colors displayed on the package are actually much more vibrant and deep than that of the actual product. Do not be misled, all Mentos have a chalky, very light hue to them, no matter what the flavor.

Ingredients:

Mint: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatin, dextrin, natural flavor, corn starch, gum arabic.

Mixed Fruit: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatin, dextrin, natural and artificial flavor, gum arabic, coloring.

For nutritional information, you can write to:

Nutritional Data P.O. Box 18190 Erlanger, KY 41018

Manufacturer:

Mentos are made by Van Melle, Inc. and manufactured for Van Melle by:

Van Melle
Breda / Holland

in Australia they are imported by:

Stuart Alexander & Co. Pty. Ltd.
62 Rosebery Ave.
Rosebery, N.S.W. 2018 Australia

Van Melle's corporate headquarters:

Van Melle, Inc.
Erlanger, KY 41018

Section 3: Credits

Originator, and maintainer of the Mentos FAQ:
Heath Doerr; doerrhb@expert.cc.purdue.edu

Submission credits:
None at this time.

MENTOS: THE FRESHMAKER

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