Inventor of Pop Rocks Dies

I know what you’re thinking, but he didn’t die mixing Coca Cola and Pop Rocks. From The Washington Post (Registration required – BugMeNot):

William A. Mitchell, 92, the food scientist who invented Pop Rocks candy and discovered a substitute for tapioca, died July 26 at a care home in Stockton, Calif. He had congestive heart failure.

Perhaps Mr. Mitchell’s most famous invention was Pop Rocks — the exploding candy that became a cultural phenomenon after it hit the market in 1975. He made the discovery accidentally, while trying to design an instant soft drink, when he put some sugar flavoring mixed with carbon dioxide in his mouth.

For years, Mr. Mitchell, who patented Pop Rocks in 1956, fought to dispel the myth that the carbonated candy was deadly if eaten while drinking carbonated drinks.The guy had his hands (literally and figuratively) in everything – Cool Whip, Jell-O Gelatin, Tang, etc. He will be missed, but his legacy of man-made foods will live on…