Daily

Last time we shared the candies we dislike, and today I’m going to make an effort to rank my Top 5 favorite candy bars. I don’t eat them all that often anymore, but I’ve rifled-down enough during my ridiculous life to have an opinion. And it’s difficult to limit it to just five. However… if I expand it to 10 it feels like I’m padding the list with a couple that are not top-tier. So, let’s give it a shot. Here are my five faves, ranked:

5. York Peppermint Patty
4. Snickers
3. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
2. Take 5
1. Kit Kat

I realize there are a couple of controversial entries there. Including number five, which seems to be the most divisive candy bar of them all. But, what can I say? I love ’em! When I admit this, my heterosexuality is sometimes called into question. Because I enjoy a light and delightful candy bar?! Whatever. When I’m at Target or Walmart and spot a box o’ those beauties near the checkout, I’ll go for one every time. But I don’t see them as often as I used to, and it concerns me.

The other one that might surprise people is number two. Most of the top tier entries have been around for decades, but Take 5 is relatively new. And I find it amazing that such a perfect concoction was created at such a late date. 2004, according to Wikipedia. It feels like every combination must have surely been tested by then, right? But here we are. This is a solid and fantastic candy bar, definitely one of my favorites. I wish I had one right now.

Kit Kat kicks ass, needless to say. When we were in England they had a massive number of novelty versions, and I see a few over here too. But it’s the original that I love. Sure the Sunday Roast version is intriguing, and the Pepperoni Pizza Kit Kat is probably interesting, but just give me the tried and true. The best candy bar of them all!

The others are classics, and would probably appear on many Top 5 lists. The ones that were left off, but are also really good: Milky Way (like 3 Musketeers but with a ribbon of delicious caramel as a bonus), Almond Joy (I’m a big fan of coconut in this context. I don’t always like it, but it works here), and Payday (when they’re fresh they’re really good, but they are often semi-stale), and Caramello (damn, should this one be in my Top 5?!).

Some popular ones I don’t really like include Heath, Butterfinger, and Nestle Crunch. I like Krackel but Nestle Crunch makes me sad. It’s a poorly-executed knockoff, waxy as all fuck.

Just because I was curious I looked up the year each of my Top 5 were introduced. Here they are: Kit Kat (1935, but 1970s for USA), Take 5 (2004), Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (1928), Snickers (1930), and York Peppermint Patty (1940). So, I was correct that most date to before WWII. Crazy. The good stuff survives, right?

What do you have on this one? Tell us about it in the comments. Am I way off? Set me straight, won’t you?

And there’s a new podcast episode available, if you’re so inclined. Check it out here.

I’ll see you guys again soon.

Have a great day!

Support us with a monthly $4 donation at Patreon, and get an extra podcast episode every week! We’re also at Venmo (@thewvsr) and PayPal (jeff@thewvsr.com). Thank you, guys!

I touched on this subject briefly in the latest episode of the WORLD FAMOUS podcast, and would like to get your thoughts. I spoke about a few candies that I would put in the “terrible” category, including Circus Peanuts, Milk Duds (dental destroyers), those wax bottles with a quarter-ounce of Kool-Aid inside (as well as their first cousin: wax lips), and those strange dots stuck to paper. But the world’s worst, in my opinion, is the Necco Wafer. WTF?? You can hear a snippet of my comments above. And it turns out, I’m sad to say, they ARE American. Man, oh man.

I know this is a half-assed shit-crumb of an update. But, as you might have heard, these are uncertain times. We’ll get back to it shortly. I hope.

In the meantime, please tell us what you consider to be the worst candies you’ve encountered. Use the comments.

And I’ll see you guys again soon.

Have a great day!

Support us with a monthly $4 donation at Patreon, and get an extra podcast episode every week! We’re also at Venmo (@thewvsr) and PayPal (jeff@thewvsr.com). Thank you, guys!

I stumbled across a questionable webpage a couple of days ago that lists “unusual” town names in West Virginia. Here it is. I’ve never heard of any o’ those places, but wouldn’t mind calling Pie, WV home. Ya know? There were some towns around us, while I was growing up, that had crazy names. Places like Hurricane, Tornado, Mink Shoals, Pax, Paw Paw, Poca, Pinch, Quick, etc. I think most of those would fall under the heading of Strange or Ridiculous.

Here in Pennsylvania there’s a town called Jim Thorpe, a place that Jim Thorpe — the famous athlete — never visited while he was alive. I could look it up, but I’m very tired. I believe they just made a deal with somebody to move his remains there and rename the town Jim Thorpe. Weird. What’s next, Vic Tayback, Missouri? Bert Convy, Alaska? And, of course, Pennsylvania is home to the automatic go-to response in discussions such as this one: Intercourse. Which is located right next to Blue Ball. And down the road from Bird-In-Hand.

In Georgia there’s a town called Cumming, which triggered a lot of local “comedy.” I believe it was near Climax. And there’s a place down there named Santa Claus. Who the hell knows? In California we lived in Canyon Country, which is a bit odd, I think. And nearby was a town that I always thought had the ugliest-sounding name: Saugus. Man, that bugs me, for some reason.

What do you have on this one? I know it’s abbreviated, but I’m hanging by a thread over here. What towns have you encountered that you thought had strange or ridiculous names? Please share them in the comments.

And before I call it a day here, I’d like to invite you to call the podcast hotline and leave a message of congratulations (or whatever) on our 100th episode, which I’ll be recording in the next few days. It’s a voicemail setup, and it’s at 570-290-8151. Please identify yourself, and say whatever you’d like. Within reason, of course. Let’s keep it cordial, please. I’d like for you all to be a part of it!

I’ll see you guys again soon.

Support us with a monthly $4 donation at Patreon, and get an extra podcast episode every week! We’re also at Venmo (@thewvsr) and PayPal (jeff@thewvsr.com). Thank you, guys!

It pains me that I have to remind everyone of this, but nobody gives a thin ribbon of shit about your opinions on Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, or even Calvin “The Wad” Coolidge. Please knock it off. I’m now receiving emails begging me to step in and “fix” the comments section. I will simply remind everyone that this is a no-politics zone. If you want to wallow all day in partisan websites and TV networks, that’s your business. But don’t come here and parrot that crap. I want this to be a place for people to get away from it all.

I have at least three options, if things don’t improve:

I can start banning, temporarily or permanently, the IP addresses of serial offenders. In the nearly 20 year history of this site I’ve only done that once or twice, and those were a long time ago. It’s not something I ever want to do, but will if forced.

I can change the settings so that I have to approve every comment before it goes live on the site. That way I could shitcan all the “cute” snarky political garbage. But I don’t have time for that, and it would delay nearly 100% of the comments from being posted.

I can turn off comments completely. This one is the nuclear option, and I definitely don’t want to do it. But we can’t continue as we are.

So, there you go. Please behave. There’s no shortage of places on the internet for you to wallow and parrot, and this isn’t one of them. Please knock it off.

Support us with a monthly $4 donation at Patreon, and get an extra podcast episode every week! We’re also at Venmo (@thewvsr) and PayPal (jeff@thewvsr.com). Thank you, guys!

Yeah, I know. It’s not supposed to be enjoyed. I realize the gravity of the situation, and don’t need a lecture, thank you very much; please leave your high horse in the corral before entering. I’d just like to know if you’ve found anything kinda pleasant about this situation so far. Anything at all?

I mentioned in the podcast that I went into the weekend knowing I wouldn’t be leaving the house much, which would generally make me a little crazy. But the expectations were set in advance, so it wasn’t so hard. Of course that doesn’t mean that next weekend will be the same. Oh, this shit could go south at a moment’s notice. But, this past Saturday and Sunday were kick-back lazy-ass days, not at all unpleasant. I got caught up on two TV shows I enjoy (Homeland and some ridiculousness called Devs), listened to some good music, read part of a questionable adventure novel, spent some quality time with the family, etc.

Of course I’m still working. So the cabin fever will come later for me. On Monday through Friday I’m still going to the office. The boys aren’t working, and Toney works from home. But I’m still commuting 36 miles down and 36 miles up the Devil’s Parkway each day. So, maybe I’m not an ideal person to ask about this. I’m a loner by nature, which makes it easier, and my life is only really changed on the weekends. But what’s your field report? How are you holding up so far? What’s your situation? Are you still working?

And have you found anything somewhat positive in the lockdown so far? At least for the time being? Tell us about it, won’t you? Use the comments.

I saw on the Adam Carolla Reddit page a quote from him about this subject, and thought it was pretty good: “It’s a prison sentence. It’s a short prison sentence. As they say, as the convicts say, you can do the time or the time can do you. I figure you should do the time, meaning go out, build a treehouse with your son or daughter. Cook lasagna with your wife. Don’t let the time do you. Don’t end up with a face tattoo and a toilet filled with prison wine.”

Please check in and give us a status. And I’ll see you guys again soon.

Have a great one, my friends!

Support us with a monthly $4 donation at Patreon, and get an extra podcast episode every week! We’re also at Venmo (@thewvsr) and PayPal (jeff@thewvsr.com). Thank you, guys!