Nothing lasts forever. Eventually, even humanity will get wiped out, maybe by climate change or maybe by ourselves, and there will be little to show for our species besides empty skyscrapers, some styrofoam, and, in all likelihood, Twinkies.
The famously long-lasting snack cake is a hall-of-famer in the food longevity category, alongside other notables like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Australian fruitcake. And while urban legends of the Twinkie’s Highlander-esque qualities abound, one chemistry teacher at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Maine had the foresight to test this hypothesis back in 1976.
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Roger Bennatti’s experimental design was remarkably simple: he just unwrapped the cake and set it on top of the chalkboard in his class. Now, thanks to his scientific hunch and impressive restraint—though he did eat one seconds before commencing the four-decade experiment—we have a pretty good idea of what will happen to an unwrapped Twinkie over long periods of time. The answer is… drum rolllll…. not a whole lot.
Despite undergoing some mild discoloration, from bright starchy yellow to a dull gray, the pastry is completely in tact and shows no sign of decomposing anytime soon. Bennatti, ever the man of science, told the Bangor Daily News this 40-year milestone is only the beginning of an experiment which could, conceivably, go one forever.
“I consider it an ongoing science experiment,” Bennatti reportedly said. “It’s important [for students] to realize that some scientific experiments don’t take 45 minutes.” Bennatti also waxed poetic about his now-legendary experiment. “The Twinkie is a story that will never die,” he added. George Stevens’ Academy has not yet responded to MUNCHIES’ request for comment.
And while there is a good chance that the George Stevens Academy Twinkie—structurally, anyways—outlasts Bennatti, or anyone reading this, it’s a salient reminder that processed foods are probably not the best things to be putting into our bodies.
