Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, So when you think of space, what immediately springs
to mind? For me, Yeah, it's astronauts, you know, floating
around these huge rockets, incredible tech. But also for so
many of us, it's it's that orange drink vix you know,
the one.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I mean, Tang. It just screams outer space, doesn't it.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
It really does. That powdered, fruity things just locked in
our heads with space travel exactly.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
And I think most of us grew up with this idea,
right that Tang was basically cooked up by NASA, you know,
for the astronauts of the definitely, But what if that
thing we all kind of accept, What if it's actually well,
maybe a little less cosmic than we think. So that's
our mission for this deep dive, peel back the layers
on this this really sticky myth. We want to uncover
(00:45):
the actual truth behind Tang and space and maybe see
what it tells us about innovation, marketing and just how
we perceive things. So, yeah, get ready, we're diving into
a bit of cultural history that's frankly more than just
beverage trivia. It's about how stories, you know, take hold.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
It's quite fascinating, really what's truly compelling here is how
a simple link, a simple association, can totally redefine how
we see a product, how it gets its legacy. It's
just a prime example of how these narratives, once they
get going, they can really outrun the facts. The simple story,
it turns out, often isn't the whole story.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Okay, so let's unpack that common belief. Then the story
most of us heard, the one that just feels right.
NASA invented tang right. It brings up these images, doesn't
it Like scientists in lab coats figuring out astronaut food
for zero G and bam they create this easy, shelf
stable vitamin packed drink just for space.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
It's a very compelling picture.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
It fits so neatly into that whole space race narrative. NASA,
this powerhouse of innovation, just gifting us these everyday wonders.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Precisely, and that narrative it's kind of romantic asn't an
mpatriotic too. It just slots tang right in there alongside
other things people think came from space, like valpro or
tef one, right, those usual Yeah, and it's worth saying,
you know, velcro and teflon were connected to space stuff
in interesting ways, adapted or used. But Tang Tang's story
is actually quite different. But the myth sticks, you know,
(02:12):
it sticks because it fits perfectly with that bigger idea
human genius reaching for the stars. All that. It feels comfortable,
It makes sense. For a long time, it just felt right.
But and here's where it gets really interesting. The truth
it takes a sharp turn from that popular story. Okay,
Tang was not invented by NASA. It wasn't developed for
(02:33):
space missions at all. Actually, it existed quite a while
before any astronaut ever sipped it up. There, Wait, what
Tang was developed by General Foods back in nineteen fifty seven.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Nineteen fifty seven, seriously, that's what. That's way before the
Gemini missions. That's five years before John Glenn even orbited the.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Earth, exactly five full years before.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
So if it wasn't NASA, who did invent it? And why?
This is definitely not the story I thought I knew.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Well, the person behind it was a food chemist, a
pretty brilliant one act actually named William A.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Mitchell, William A and Mitchell.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Okay, and here's another little mind bending fact for you.
Mitchell also invented some other really iconic processed foods. Yeah,
things you definitely know, like what pop rocks and cool
whip Oh bod stop. The same guy invented Tang and
pop rocks.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
And cool with the very same William A.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Mitchell.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
That is, it's wild. That's not just a plot twist.
That's like a whole processed food universe from one person.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Okay, So if Tang wasn't for space, what was the
original plan back in fifty seven? What was its like
Earth mission?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
It was much more down to earth. Honestly, pretty mundane.
Tang was just designed as a fruit flavored drink mix,
you know, with vitamins added that dissolved easily in water.
The idea was just convenience, a way to add flavor
and maybe some nutrients to plain old tap water, especially
for families who maybe didn't always have fresh juice handy,
or maybe didn't have great refrigeration.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Makes sense.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
It hit the market the grocery stores in nineteen fifty nine,
and honestly, initial sales were well, they were pretty underwhelming.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Really, it didn't fly off the shelves, not at all.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
It was just another new product, kind of struggling to
find its audience. Huh.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
That's amazing to think about Tang just sitting there quietly
for a few years.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
So what changed? What catapulted it from like pantry filler
to space icon? How did that happen? That's the real question,
isn't it?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
And that is exactly where NASA comes into the story.
But crucially not as the inventor. Tang's fame absolutely exploded. Yeah,
but not because of some genius recipe tweak or as
sudden consumer craving. It was almost accidental, accidental. How well,
in the early sixties, NASA was looking for stuff for
the astronauts to eat and drink on the Gemini missions.
(04:44):
You know Gemini, that was the program right after Mercury,
sort of paving the way for Apollo got it, and
they chose Tang not because it was some breakthrough space
food technology, but for really practical, almost simple reasons, like
what it was super convenient, right, just add water and
maybe the biggest thing for the astronauts helped cover up
the kind of unpleasant metallic taste of the water from
(05:04):
the spacecraft's life support systems.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Ah okay, yeah, I can imagine wanting something to make
the recycled water taste better up there exactly.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Plus it was already out there commercially available. NASA didn't
have to spend time or money developing something new from scratch.
They could just buy it off the shelf.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Basically, so it was just handy and helped with the
water taste. And this, I guess, is where the myth
really takes off. When people actually saw astronauts with it.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
That was the turning point. Absolutely, When astronauts, yeah, including
the big names like John Glenn, were seen on TV
in photos drinking tang in space. Yeah, the media just
latched onto it.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Oh, I bet it was.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Such a powerful visual, these heroes up in orbit drinking
this bright orange stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
And general Foods must have noticed, oh they noticed.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
They seized that opportunity with well pretty brilliant marketing instincts.
They started weaving the space connection into their ads almost
right away.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Did they say NASA invented it?
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Not explicitly, No, they were careful about that. They didn't
outright lie and say NASA invented tang, but it definitely
didn't go out of their way to correct the misconception either.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
A sin of omission. Maybe you could say.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
That They just sort of let people connect the dots themselves,
and those dots formed this incredibly appealing picture Tang equals space.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Travel, and boom, just like that, the whole story around
Tang shifts. It goes from this kind of forgotten drink
mix to the astronaut drink, the taste of adventure, the future.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
All that.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
That's it. That powerful, almost viral association gave birth to
the myth that so many of us grew up with.
It really shows you the power of an image, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
It really does.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
And what's amazing is how stubbornly that myth has held
on for decades now. There are a few reasons why
it stuck so well. Okay, First, you just can't deny
the strong visual association those iconic images, that footage of
astronauts with the Tang pouch. Yeah, it's burned into our
collective memory.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, you can picture it right now.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Second, the marketing momentum was huge. General Foods kept leaning
into that space age angle in their ads for years,
constantly reinforcing the link even subtly. Then there's just the
the cultural simplicity of it all. The idea of this fun,
bright orange powder coming from super advanced space tech. It
just fit perfectly with this bigger, really appealing story about
(07:23):
NASA being this engine of innovation for everyday life. It
was neat satisfying.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
It made sense in that context exactly.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
And finally, maybe the most critical factor a real lack
of clarification. Neither NASA nor General Foods, which is now
part of craft HNDS ever really pushed back hard against
the myth.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Why would they?
Speaker 3 (07:41):
I guess well, that raises the question, right, why correct
a really good story if it's boosting your brand recognition,
probably helping sales, and didn't cost you anything in R
and D.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
That's Yeah, that's a pretty cynical take but probably realistic
from a business perspective. Wow, it makes you think about
how easily we just absorb these stories, especially if they
fit an narrative we.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Like, right, We often want to believe the more exciting version.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Yeah, and it shows how perception can sometimes become more
powerful than the actual facts, especially when there's a benefit
to letting that perception ride.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
And that's the really fascinating takeaway here, Beyond just you know,
tang trivia, it's a powerful lesson. This shows how corporate
marketing media coverage, the public's imagination, how they can all
kind of blur the lines between fact and fiction. It's
also a good reminder, isn't it, that not everything we
link with space travel was actually invented for it. Some
(08:34):
things like tang or even velcro or good old duct tape,
they existed before. They were just adapted because they worked
for a specific need in space.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Right. They were useful tools they already.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Had exactly whereas other things did come directly out of
NASA R and D, you know, things like memory foam
where those infrared Earth thermometers, there's a difference.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
It really highlights why it's important to give credit where
it's due, right, to understand where innovation actually comes from.
Sometimes it is a government lab, sometimes it's a food company.
Sometimes it's just smart marketing grabbing an opportunity. So let's
just quickly sum up our deep dive today. Tang not
from an assa lab, not designed for astronauts, originally didn't
fuel the Mercury missions or anything. Nope, it came from
(09:15):
William A. Mitchell, a food scientist at General Foods back
in the nineteen fifties, a long time before astronauts needed
special drinks. NASA did use it, and that use absolutely
made Tang famous, turned it into an icon, but they
didn't invent it.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
That's the core of it.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
And you know, correcting this kind of myth. It's not
about trying to knock the Space program. NASA's achievements are
incredible on their own. They don't need Tang's invention story added.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
To the list.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
It's more about understanding the real story, right, how things
actually happen, how innovation works, and how culture and marketing
shape what we remember.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
And Tang's image, you know, as the taste of space,
it still endures and maybe that's its own kind of
legacy in a way.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
That's an interesting thought.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
It's just this powerful reminder of how storytelling and branding
and these big, bold frontiers like space, how they can
really shape our collective memory of innovation, even when the
actual facts tell a well slightly different story. It really
makes you wonder, doesn't it. What other facts you think
you know might have a hidden history tucked away behind them.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
That is a great question to end on.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Keep digging, keep questioning those stories, and join us next
time for another deep dive.