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\nToday\u2019s episode is all about what Pop Rocks, Cool Whip and Tang all have in common? For the next several episodes I\u2019m going to do things a little differently. There are so many innovators when it comes to food. On one end of the spectrum, you have chefs tucked away in small kitchens coming up with innovative spins on classic dishes. On the other end of the spectrum, you have brilliant scientists in sterile labs coming up with Pop Rocks, Cool Whip and Tang.
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\nA Fascination With Food Science
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\nFood science is an incredibly interesting field. There is a lot of research and money that goes into product development for a food company. At one point in college I explored becoming a food scientist. You might be wondering why I didn\u2019t move forward with that degree? I absolutely love messing around in the kitchen, but there is more to food science than that.
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\n A degree in food science is rigorous. A lot of people at my university would use food science as a pre-med degree. It is so intensely focused in math and science, that it checks all of the prerequisites needed for medical school. Food scientists are super smart. There is a lot of brainpower behind a lot of stuff we eat. 
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\nWilliam A. Mitchell, Food Scientist
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\nWilliam A. Mitchell fit that mold perfectly. To answer my question at the start of the show, he was the brilliant inventor behind Pop Rocks, Cool Whip and Tang. In the course of his career, he had over 70 patents. That is an incredible number of patents for any one scientist to achieve. 
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\nSo who was William Mitchell? He was born in Raymond, Minnesota, in 1911 and grew up on a farm. As a teenager he had a job running sugar crystallization tanks for the American Sugar Beet company. He\u2019d catch a few hours of sleep and then head to high school. Think about that for a minute, he worked a full-time night shift while simultaneously going to high school. He worked as a carpenter to earn his college tuition at Cotner College in Lincoln, Nebraska. He then got a masters degree in chemistry from the University of Nebraska. 
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\nWilliam’s Tremendous Professional Life
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\nAfter college, he was able to get a research position at an Agricultural Experiment Station. He was involved in a lab accident that left most of his body covered in second and third degree burns. 
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\nIn 1941, William joined General Foods. During World War II there were many food items that experienced shortages. Tapioca was one of the items that was in short supply because of the conflict in the pacific. This was when William had his first major success, a tapioca substitute. This invention thickened a lot of the food that soldiers ate. They lovingly nicknamed it, \u201cMitchell mud.\u201d
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\nFrom there, he went on to have many major breakthroughs. Pop Rocks, Cool Whip, and Tang were his most well known inventions. He also developed quick set Jell-O and powdered egg whites. William had a long and successful career. He had 7 kids. One of his daughters also became a food scientist. 
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\n William died July 26, 2004 in Stockton, California at the age of 92. 
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\nA Deeper Dive Into Williams Greatest Hits
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\n William Mitchel and Leon Kremzner patented Pop Rocks in 1961. However, they didn’t offer them to the public until 1975. In 1983 it was pulled from shelves. The excuse being slow sales. Kraft foods owned the product and licensed it to Zeta Especial who manufactured the candy under the Kraft license. It is distributed now in the U.S. by Pop Rocks Inc. and by Zeta Especial in the rest of the world.
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\nThis is a candy that is notorious for it\u2019s short shelf life.