Space Dust

Anyone who grew up in the seventies will be familiar with Pop Rocks, or Space Dust as it was alternatively called in some markets - a sugary candy which pops and crackles when consumed and was sold in several colours, flavours and volumes. Urban legend had it that if you ate three packets in quick succession then held your mouth and nose shut, your eyes would pop out. This, of course, is nonsense, as any schoolboy worth his salt would tell you after thoroughly testing the theory behind the science block, on the fat kid from 4b.

What isn't generally known is that the confectionary was first developed by Dr Allen Stropp, a rocket scientist working at NASA, who proposed it as an alternative fuel source. In initial tests it proved to be remarkably potent but, since it could only be activated by saliva, each launch required someone to go around licking rocket motors. Most people felt that this was just a little too weird.

Dr Stropp subsequently left NASA in a huff and nothing is known about his current whereabouts, although stories that he flew to Venus on a sherbet fountain have since been mostly discredited.