YHK - yet another hacker news clone

Just Noting That Your Candy Corn Is Made of Bug Secretions

27 points fortran77 2 hours ago 47 comments

15o9o 2 hours ago | parent

really need to see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerria_lacca photos of the lac bug to get this

dtagames 2 hours ago | parent

https://archive.ph/SDzT4

lenerdenator 2 hours ago | parent

Always loved Lewis Black's bit on candy corn. (NSFW Language) [0]

[0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4vVGG_FcvY

drcongo 2 hours ago | parent

I had to type `wtf is candy corn?` into Kagi. It sounds disgusting without needing to know there's bug juice in there.

THX1137 1 hour ago | parent

Do you usually use "wtf" instead of "what" when doing web searches? Does it affect the results? Funny lol

agentultra 1 hour ago | parent

So is honey? And red food colouring used in a ton of products is made out of beetles or something. We eat bugs and bug stuff.

nekusar 1 hour ago | parent

Shrimp are water bugs. People dont seem to have any problems with those bugs, aside anaphylaxis.

mmsc 1 hour ago | parent

Candy corn. Farm corn to create HFCS in order to build candy that looks like corn.

I do wonder how the USA, historically speaking, came to be the creators of this stuff

zdragnar 1 hour ago | parent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_corn

The history section says it all. There was a fad of agriculture related candies targeted at rural customers. Jelly beans, squash shapes and so on.

Don't forget we also have circus Peanuts, gummy worms, candy ribbons, etc. Many candies have some sort of shape and design to look like non-candy things just for the novelty.

ternaryoperator 1 hour ago | parent

True in other lands as well, such as marzipan made to look like fruit sold throughout much of Europe.

tialaramex 59 minutes ago | parent

Also, chocolate eggs, coins, rabbits

It being Halloween yesterday I ate sour fizzy dracula fangs, bats and pumpkins.

chuckadams 32 minutes ago | parent

I'm old enough to remember candy cigarettes.

svachalek 22 minutes ago | parent

Same. Usually found next to the wax soda bottles. Even as a kid I thought they were objectively terrible as candy went (like a pretzel stick coated in sugar) but there was something cool and grown up about puffing a fake cigarette at age six.

ryanmcbride 13 minutes ago | parent

I never had the kind that was a pretzel stick coated in sugar, I'd probably like that better than the candy cigarettes I've had (and which can still be bought) which is just like, a rolled up piece of hard sugar, basically a rolled version of the stick from dipstiks

The_Blade 11 minutes ago | parent

carved by gummi artisans that work exclusively in the medium of gummi

paimapi 1 hour ago | parent

Unsurprisingly, it was at the behest of investors pushing for both deregulation and massive subsidies at the same time: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9781642834444/ba...

A rational government might say, "If we provide you with subsidies, we expect stricter regulatory standards." But we're a far bit past rational at this point.

millerm 12 minutes ago | parent

Candy corn doesn't contain HFCS. Corn syrup and HFCS are not the same thing.

zdragnar 1 hour ago | parent

Quite a few candies still use it, including I think jelly beans, gums and chocolates. Candy corn is far from the standout here.

Wowfunhappy 30 minutes ago | parent

Yes, the article mentions this:

> This glaze is used on jelly beans, Milk Duds, Junior Mints, Whoppers, Lemonheads, and Sugar Babies, to name a few.

theflyingelvis 1 hour ago | parent

Honey is too, no?

ChrisMarshallNY 53 minutes ago | parent

Yup

gattilorenz 49 minutes ago | parent

Dark honey can be worse: insect secretion digested by another insect and secreted again: insection.

KaiserPro 1 hour ago | parent

milk comes from cow tits.

booty 1 hour ago | parent

Source?

edit: damn, seems legit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk

KaiserPro 53 minutes ago | parent

other tits are available

bashmelek 21 minutes ago | parent

Goat milk is good. I’ve never had ass milk but it is apparently expensive. Some of the most expensive cheese in the world is made from goat and ass milk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pule_cheese

tialaramex 51 minutes ago | parent

Also remember that cows aren't magic. It's only possible to get milk from a female cow for the same reason you can get milk from a female human. It's a female mammal which is lactating in order to produce food for its young. The cow was impregnated - it has no say in this matter - and the baby cow has been taken away (and in most cases killed) so that we can steal the milk instead. So that's... not great. Given we're apparently still murdering each other in considerable numbers in multiple wars this isn't on my top-10 "Worst things humans are doing right now" list but hey, it's not nothing.

d0liver 1 hour ago | parent

I already really liked candy corn, but this made me like it even more? This is awesome.

juancn 1 hour ago | parent

Milk is mammal secretion.

Honey is bee secretion

There are many tasty secretions

rob74 1 hour ago | parent

> Honey is bee secretion

...except for honeydew honey, where bees collect the secretions of aphids or other plant-sap-sucking insects (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Honeydew_honey).

rambojohnson 44 minutes ago | parent

"well, actually..."

copperx 28 minutes ago | parent

Don't phrase it like that, please. And don't use that tone of voice.

The_Blade 9 minutes ago | parent

Tasty wombat secretions... with club sauce

rob74 1 hour ago | parent

So are (very old) records: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph_record.

maxglute 1 hour ago | parent

Does anyone outside of US/CAN during halloween eat candy corns? Pls kill it already, or replace with something superior.

grahamburger 24 minutes ago | parent

I think it's mostly used as a garnish here in the US. I've met a few people who eat it. But I've also met people who eat packing peanuts, so...

clickety_clack 1 hour ago | parent

Shellac is used to finish wood surfaces as well. Ridiculously versatile stuff!

phkahler 57 minutes ago | parent

How is it possible to collect enough of this stuff? Seems like it would not be financially viable product.

svachalek 20 minutes ago | parent

It's kind of crazy to think about. But silk is probably even crazier.

deadbabe 54 minutes ago | parent

People think they’re doing something trying to tie common foods to bugs.

In parts of the world people regularly eat bugs and bug products, sometimes raw. We should be eating more bugs, they are a much more sustainable source of protein to grow and when processed you can’t even tell you are eating a bug. I’ve eaten cookies made of cricket flour. Delicious.

SAI_Peregrinus 52 minutes ago | parent

Just noting that your honey is made of bug secretions.

Just noting that your milk is made of cow secretions.

Etc.

mywittyname 42 minutes ago | parent

Following the bugs in your candy theme: natural red 4 is carmine, which is made from crushed insects (which are gross looking, even for insects).

igleria 16 minutes ago | parent

chicken eggs are a result of chicken ovulation!

empath75 44 minutes ago | parent

Natural Red #4 is also made from bugs and a few candies use it still.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine

fnord77 33 minutes ago | parent

I guess the atlantic ran out of AI doom bait articles.

bashmelek 28 minutes ago | parent

I can’t read the full article, but I get a little wary of topics regarding bugs in the food—-it seems like submarine article trying to normalize certain endeavors. Same for how I’ve seen an odd number of vocal individuals who are disgusted by crustaceans.

I’m not even against eating bugs, I’ve had cricket, I’ve had fried silkworm in my own home. I love snails. I like candy corn and this new knowledge is interesting. But I see a number of converging special interests trying to goad and “gotcha” me, and that I would still like to afford some steak and eggs every now and then.