Gummi Bears and Obsessive Compulsions

Everyone's got their quirks. Some people have to collect the same edition of a book (mass market, trade, or hard) for the entire series. Some people straighten cards and game pieces constantly. Some won't watch a movie if they have to start in the middle. Some have to peel their orange in one giant piece, while others put each piece on the table such that none of them are touching.

Okay, so those are all me (except the last one, but that's my son, so it's the same thing). When I was a kid, I'd dump all the Gummi Bears on the table, separate them into groups, and eat them in order from my least favorite to my most favorite. That way I'd have the best flavor still in my mouth when I was done.

It's, uh . . . it's possible I still eat food like that.

But I'm discovering it's not just me. My wife, after separating the colors into groups, would eat from the largest groups until they were even. Then she'd eat a bear of each color, keeping them as even as possible until they were gone. My dad, on the other hand, ate the groups that had the least number first. Why? So the strongest would survive.

I have no point, except that it's okay to be crazy. So how do you eat Gummi Bears?

22 comments:

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

How could you possibly watch a movie starting in the middle?

I don't remember separating the Gummi Bears by tribes or eliminating them in preferential order. I was too busy constructing a Gummi Bear High Council, complete with political intrigue and usually a bloody coup at the end. (What? We're supposed to EAT them?)

vic caswell said...

ohman! i totally save the best for last too! but it's not just gummi bears. it's everything. it bothers my hubs to no end when i dissect my pizza, but i can't hardly help it!

Adam Heine said...

@Susan: LOL! Have you seen Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs? I love the part where the monkey rips out the bear's heart. (That's going to sound really weird if you haven't seen it...).

@aspiring: Agreed! Consistency is very important in these things, you know.

Elena Solodow said...

I didn't know that gummi bears had different flavors, so I'm out of the game on this one.

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

@Adam I haven't seen it (I adored the book so much, I was afraid to see the movie), but now I may have to. :)

Claudie A. said...

I kind of eat gummy bears by stuffing them all into my mouth at the same time. Separating them would be too long for my desperate gummy craving.

Is that acceptable, too?

Meg said...

I'm with your wife on this one. I do the same thing with Smarties.

L. T. Host said...

I eat the red and white ones first, then move on to any extraneous red-based colors (i.e., pink, purple). From there I will eat the green ones if they are apple, but pretty much after that I throw them out. Not a fan of orange or lemon or banana or whatever other warped flavors they've come up with.

Of course, just about every company has different gummy bear flavoring guidelines so you must sample each color when opening an unknown bag to ensure you're not missing anything you like.

Sigh. I make this waaaay too complicated, and I don't even sort by color! I just grab the ones I like and toss the rest.

Keriann Greaney Martin said...

I'm with you ... saving the best for last. Though that's usually only the last few gummy bears. Before that, I just eat whichever looks good in that moment. I like to live on the edge!

Victoria Dixon said...

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! Ever since my sister suggested this to me as a child, I've prioritized my plate at each meal. I even eat my cake before the icing! You don't know how many stares I get, but I don't care. It's fun to see how far I can go before the cake collapses. I so totally sound like ten-year-old, now, don't I? LOL

jjdebenedictis said...

Save the best flavour for last? Yep.

However, I only sort the ones in my hand by colour, i.e. I grab a handful, eat the green ones, Then eat the yellow ones...

Adam Heine said...

SO glad I'm not alone!

@Elena: Honestly, I do it with everything, but sanity's cool too. I hear you can get more things done.

@Susan: I haven't read the book, and I hear they're very different, but I loved the movie. If you can remove your expectations, I recommend it.

@Claudie: Totally acceptable! I heartily approve of practicality, and even try to practice it when my compulsions don't take over.

Adam Heine said...

@Meg: Awesome! I do it with everything, even M&Ms which have no difference in the colors!

Adam Heine said...

@LT: I should tell you how I eat Jelly Bellies sometime, though it might require some Calculus ;-)

@Keriann: Daredevil! Though honestly I do the same with Dots and other candy that's too difficult to pour out on the table all at once.

@Victoria: Ha, that sounds awesome! I know when my wife shares her food with me--good as it is--it throws off my whole system.

Adam Heine said...

@JJ: In my better moments, I'm able to do it that way (or if I have no table to dump them all out on). Your sanity is an inspiration to me ;-)

Emmet said...

with my hands

Myrna Foster said...

I always save the best flavor for last. I used to eat the legs, then the arms, then the head . . . but one of my sisters convinced me it was more humane to eat the bear all at once ;)

Adam Heine said...

Biting their heads off first is also humane, and it's more fun!

Deniz Bevan said...

That so sounds like me - especially the straightening cards and saving the best candy/chocolate for last. I always save the red ones :-)
And oh yea, if I'm having brownies and ice cream, and nuts and cherries, all at the same time (yum!), each spoonful has to have a little of each on it...

Adam Heine said...

@Deniz: Heh. My mom always got annoyed with me for being an "artist" with my food. But I was just ensuring every bite had all the good stuff in it!

Daniel Smith said...

Like your wife. Even Steven.

;)

Adam Heine said...

Heh. Awesome, Daniel. She'll be glad to know she's not alone :-)