Physical Challenge!

October 7, 2009 2:03 PM

What was all the slimy, fluffy, gooey material on the popular TV game show Double Dare made out of?

I have no reason for wanting to know other than pure curiosity. I recall especially in the obstacle course at the end that the kids would get absolutely smothered in all matter of "stuff," designed to look at times like boogers, an ice cream sundae, a pizza, etc. It was sometimes goopy, sometimes fluffy, sometimes liquidy, almost always slimy. But what was "IT"?

Some of my co-workers suggested that it could've been dyed whipped cream, but that seems outrageous to me. I assume it's some awful synthetic chemicals.

Does anybody know? Did any contestants develop rashes/allergic reactions that we know if? What did it smell like?

posted by RingerChopChop to grab bag (13 comments total)

according to Nickipedia (I know...) it is: http://nickelodeon.wikia.com/wiki/Slime

Slime was originally made with green gelatin and cream of wheat, and later oatmeal. Shampoo was later added to help the slime wash out. By the late 90s most of the slime used was either applesauce colored green, or an undisclosed liquid that just resembled water colored green.
posted by parmanparman at 2:09 PM on October 7

A lot of it was probably things like corn syrup and other non-toxic, probably food based concoctions.

It would have been awful lawsuits if there was any real harm to the things they used.
posted by royalsong at 2:12 PM on October 7

"Official" recipes from You Can't Do That on Television.
posted by contrariwise at 2:14 PM on October 7

More on the history and composition of Nickelodeon slime.
posted by zamboni at 2:15 PM on October 7

Wow, so the consensus seems to be that a lot of them were indeed food based. For some reason that seemed too time consuming (prepping these foods) and expensive (although I suppose oatmeal is pretty cheap) to be true. I think it's nice they didn't want to hurt the kiddies with weird chemicals. I bet their studios smelled rank with all this fermenting, rotten applesauce splattered about.
posted by RingerChopChop at 2:20 PM on October 7

Don't forget that Marc Summers has OCD. Imagine how he felt being around all that sticky goo.
posted by elsietheeel at 2:29 PM on October 7

As a graduate of a Florida public middle school, I went to Orlando on class field trips approximately 7,000 times in three years. Because of this, I've been on the Universal Studios tour a significant number of times, and the highlight of that tour was always when they let you taste the green stuff they used on Double Dare. There were actually two varieties (at least, there were two varieties that they allowed the tour groups to sample): one was an applesauce base, which was obviously fairly watery, and the other was a gelatin/marshmallow base, which was quite a bit stiffer (stiff enough to hold a bit of a shape).

Ah, memories...
posted by saladin at 2:54 PM on October 7

I don't remember the studio smelling rank. My friend's uncle's girlfriend worked at WHYY, and I got to be in the audience for two tapings of Double Dare. The studio didn't smell like roses - there were more than a few screaming, over-excited kids packed into it and between that and the studio lights there was a bit of a vague sort of funk, but it wasn't horrible. And the set looked spotless from the bleachers before the show started. I wouldn't wanted to have been on their cleaning crew, but apparently they did an extraordinary job de-gooping the place.

Poor Marc Summers always looked a little uncomfortable, though he certainly was nice enough. Harvey and Robin, though, were awesome.
posted by EvaDestruction at 2:55 PM on October 7

Don't forget, though, that if it wasn't green slime, Nick called it Gak. For a time they sold a Gak product and there was also a YCDTOTV Green Slime Shampoo ("Gets you clean, won't turn you green. Now you can get slimed in your own shower")
posted by inturnaround at 3:13 PM on October 7

There's some green slime used at the beginning of the second "Spy Kids" movie. For that one the main ingredient was Metamucil. (With green food coloring.)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:34 PM on October 7

I remember hearing/reading a recipe to make your own edible Nick green slime at home. I can't remember whether it was actually on TV or in some kids magazine. They suggesting making instant vanilla pudding and stirring in green food coloring.

(Mom was willing to let me make pudding but did not like the potential food coloring mess.)
posted by katieinshoes at 4:58 PM on October 7

well one time i was watching nick and they showed a behind the scenes clip and they said it was pudding and apple sauce (if memory serves) and they mixed some up. Couldn't find the video.
posted by djduckie at 6:05 PM on October 7

Wait, so all the gooey pizzas and things that they would slide into were made of of slime too? I always assumed that was some other form of easily dyable or airbrushable goo.
posted by JauntyFedora at 10:48 PM on October 7