Thursday, April 17, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

To Peep or not to Peep

Happy 50th birthday, yummy marshmallow chicks/spawn of Satan

By Roger Naylor

The puke is a mosaic, a splatter of springtime hues. Like something Jackson Pollock might have created after guest starring on a very special "Will & Grace" Easter episode. Floating in the swirl of pastels, I notice hard black dots. My God, it's Peep eyes. They're staring back from the sick!

Why am I studying a picture of vomit on the Internet? Like I told my wife when she asked why I download so much midget shemale porn: research, baby, research. This is no ordinary vomit; this is Peeps-induced regurgitation, a badge of honor yorked up by hearty souls competing in the high-stakes eating contest called Peep-Off.

Peep-themed costumes, Peep-themed dioramas and excessive drinking contribute to the Mardi Gras atmosphere of Peep-Off. It culminates each year with participants furiously cramming marshmallow Peeps down their gullet for 30 minutes. Then struggling to hold them. The record is 88.

Jeremy Dean made the 500-mile trek from Las Vegas to Sacramento for last year's Peep-Off. "I never had any hope of winning," Dean says. "I knew I'd either puke or have a sugar hangover Bill Holden would envy. I don't remember how many I ate. Seventeen comes to mind, but that seems like more than I'd eat now. If I were to do it again, I'd skip the cow patty-sized cinnamon roll for breakfast. I'm pretty sure that didn't help."

Yes, we're talking Peeps, those marshmallow chicks, the soft beasts that rule Easter. They're unbearably cute or disturbingly evil. It depends who you ask. They're a delicious sugary treat or appetizing as a severed human toe. But whatever your feelings, it wouldn't be Easter without them, especially this year.

2003 marks the golden anniversary of Peeps. From non-chocolate basket clutter to pop culture icon, what a long strange trip it's been. Happy 50th, you adorable marshmallow chicks/putrid spawns of Satan.

Debbie McFarlane, a casino cage cashier, is a traditionalist. "I prefer the chicks to the rabbits and no variation in color, just standard yellow," she says. "I want them fresh, like my orange circus peanuts. I bite their heads off because frankly, I don't want to go for the other end."

Peeps are kitschy and instantly recognizable, the Elvis impersonators of holiday candies, but they're not for every palate. They lack the potency of chocolate or the élan of nougat. At best, Peeps are subtle with a long finish. Which is a polite way of saying the taste lingers like the enamel-peeling sugar-grit that clings to your teeth. Store shelves creak under the weight of flashier and tastier confections. Yet Peeps prosper, outgrowing humble beginnings.

The Just Born candy company was founded by Russian immigrant Sam Born. In 1953 Just Born acquired another candy manufacturer, Rodda. Although better known for its jellybean technology, Rodda also had a small line of 3-D marshmallow products. Intrigued by the sales potential Sam Born's son, Bob, helped mechanize the marshmallow forming process--it originally took 27 hours to create one Peep, only 6 minutes today--and their slow march toward market domination began.

Now Peeps got their own peeps, a posse of marshmallow minions and squishy cohorts--bunnies, snowmen, cats, pumpkins, stars and hearts--blanket the holidays. But no matter how crowded the field the original chicks are fizzily buoyant, outselling all other products in Peepdom.

Blame their shiny hipness on the Internet. A fast growing ring of websites has elevated Peeps to cult status. On the Web people dress them up and pose them for photos. They write songs about them. They use them in artwork. They make crafts with them. They conduct scientific research on them. Mostly they try to settle the raging Peeps debate: innocent snacks or demonic spooge?

When the Peep Fun Bus rolled through Las Vegas in February communications specialist Georgia Ford didn't stop by to snag a free sample. "I have an intense dislike for Peeps because Peeps is a dumbass name, and because pastels are the most annoying of God's colors, because candy without chocolate is no candy at all, and because there's something really gross about eating baby chickies with beady black eyes," she says.

On the other hand, Trudy Rigtrup, promotions director, follows a ritual. "I eat one whole one, then eat the sparklies off the outside of the other four in the box," says Rigtrup. "I suck their skin and kind of stretch them but careful not to get too much marshmallow because that changes the taste and texture. It sounds complicated, but I've been doing this for a long time."

Despite such insidious duality--or possibly because of it --more than 700 million Peeps will be consumed in the United States this Easter. Global sales will top one billion. Fan club memberships continue to swell. The Peeps float debuts in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and more new products will be unveiled throughout the year.

It's a Peeps world; we just bounce off the walls in it. A Peeps primer ¥ The official Just Born Peep page: www.marshmallowpeeps.com.

¥ Peep-Off 2003 is scheduled for April 26. For details: www.nokilli.com/food/peep.html.

¥ The most comprehensive list of Peep websites: www.geekbabe.com/peeps.