Featured Image Credit: PKM1/Getty Images
Topics: UK Food
Rachael Davis
Kid and grown ups love it so, and for good reason. Haribo’s got such a great range of sweets catering to just about every sweet-toothed flavours and textures you could ask for that you’re never short on tasty and satisfying gummy options.
Starmix, Goldbears, Twin Snakes, and the beloved Tangfastics are just a few highlights in its range. On the latter, there’s some speculation over one particularly iconic component’s true name.
It’s ‘the key’ we’re on about: a ring with a stubby little protrusion that’s typically yellow-and-translucent, orange-and-translucent or green-and-translucent.
Other Tangfastic stalwarts include cola bottles, crocodiles, and the pièce de résistance: sour cherries – we’re all pretty confident in what each one of those is supposed to be.
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Taking the question of what ‘the key’ really is, one Redditor posted a picture of one on the site with the caption: "What do you call this Haribo?"
As with just about any trivial point of discussion on ‘the front page of the internet’, the post roused plenty of responses.
"Used to think it was a magnifying glass..." suggested one imaginative take.
"Looking glass," agreed another Tangfastics fan.
Another Redditor suggested: "The thing you use to blow bubbles!" They might be onto something, although this writer’s never spotted any at a West Ham game.
"Sour key!" exclaimed another comment, and they had plenty of company.
"Oooooh! All these years and I thought it was a key!" agreed another comment, as did another with: "I call it the key."
Then came the hard facts: "It was a key to me but I know they’re apparently dummies. But they’re clearly not dummies."
Another of the converted said: "I used to call them keys before I found out they were dummies,"
If consensus is tantamount to proof, then it seems dummies are indeed what they are according to the majority of comments.
"It’s a dummy," said another who, for the avoidance of doubt, added: "The things babies put in their mouths."
Throwing the cat amongst the pigeons, a final helpful comment suggested: “I would call it Geoffrey. Not Geoff, Geoffrey.” Thanks, brother.
Now, apologies Reddit, but LMGTFY (let me Google that for you, to the uninitiated).
“The original tangy mix, Haribo Tangfastics provides a fun tangy taste sensation with a perfect hit of sweet and sour,” says Haribo’s official Tangfastics product page. “Containing our popular fizzy cola bottles, sour cherries, dummies and crocodiles.”
Case closed.