Each week, Bear Facts will post an article from a past issue.  These articles can demonstrate what life was like for a high school student in that year.  What seemed important to them that seems commonplace now?  This article ran in November 1996.

By John Casey and Jason Kang

One warm sunny day in early September, my friend Jason and I were at ye olde Dominick’s.  As we ambled down the aisles taking in the many treats and surprises which the humble Dominick’s has for sale, we embarked on a mystical, magical journey through the world of the gummy worm. There just in front of the gummy fish and right next to the Swedish fish were the elusive gummy worms. They sat there, smiling at Jason and I, until we screamed in unison, “I just have to have them!” Our beings were completely consumed with a desire to sink our teeth into the deliciously fruity taste of the gummy worm.   Our journeys had led us through many a store, but with the right combination of persistence and perseverance, a log was added to our fire, our quest, for gummy worms.  However, our search was not completely at its finish.  All that was left for us to do was to reach out our hands and to embrace the gummy worms.  They were for sale by bulk.  All we had to do was scoop them up and put them in the plastic bag.  This we did with open arms, for we could see the end of our tunnel.  As the package was cradled firmly yet gently (we did not want to ruin our worms) in our hands, we commenced on the last leg of our journey.  Slowly, not wanting the moment of salvation to end, we continued moving forward.  My eyes were cast downward upon the forbidden fruit, my brain in synch with my feet, as I ambled towards the counter, above which hung a sign that clearly blared “Express Lane 11 items or less.”  I approached the sales representative whose striped uniform had a placard which clearly read “Liz.”  “Hello Dave,” said John, before realizing the sales representative was actually named Liz.  He confidently placed the gummy worms on the conveyor belt, and extracted his wallet.  We then proceeded to purchase the worms.  After this important transaction, we walked through the door, glanced once over our shoulders, and began the next moment in the rest of our lives.

These luscious gummy worms are produced by the Dae Julie company.  They are located in the bulk candy section in Dominick’s, in container number six hundred and fifty-one.  The price is one dollar and thirty-nine cents per pound.  Now we get to the real meat and potatoes of the story.  After taking an in-depth survey of one hundred and thirty-one consumers, we obtained the following results.  Of these, sixty-three preferred the green and yellow worms.  Thirty one liked the red and white, whereas thirty seven preferred the red and green worms.  Thus, it has been proven that forty eight percent of people prefer the green and yellow worms.  Jason and I have often stopped to wonder just what it was exactly that makes the green and yellow worms that special.  Oh, well, mother nature can have her secrets.

The luscious taste of a gummy worm was summarized best by junior Matt Benrus who said, “I like the deliciously fruity blast you get when you bite into a gummy worm.” Some hold even odder ideas about gummy worms such as junior Rob Drew who said, “I think gummy worms killed JFK.”  I’m sure everyone has their own special view of gummy worms.  Please don’t forget next time you are at Dominick’s to stop by the bulk candy section and pick up a few gummy worms.  So, I suppose that the only thing one can conclude about gummy worms is that they’re luscious, simply luscious.