Tang (drink)
|
|
Tang2.jpg
Tang is a sugared, fruit flavored soft drink. The original orange flavored Tang was formulated by General Foods Corporation in 1957 and first marketed (in powdered form) in 1959. It was initially intended as a breakfast drink, but sales were poor until NASA began using it on Gemini flights.
The Tang brand is currently owned by Kraft Foods. It is available in five flavors, and is sold both in powdered form (in sachets and larger canisters) and in a ready-to-drink sachet. A single 8 oz serving of Tang provides 92 calories, 60 mg of vitamin C (the entire RDA), and no caffeine. Kraft also makes a sugar-free version of Tang, which comes in individually-measured packets.
Tang usually comes in a plastic container with a screw-on lid that makes six quarts. A larger nine-quart container (898 grams) is available. Tang is also available in larger institutional sizes.
The recommended usage is two tablespoons per 8 ounces of water. The lid on the plastic container also acts as a measuring cup which may be used to make one or two quart quantities.
An urban legend exists that Tang makes for an excellent dishwasher cleaning agent, due to its high citric acid content. Tang's equally high sugar content makes this an unlikely solution, and Kraft recommends against this use.
Tang is not available in many parts of the world.
Canadian authorities--in an attempt to deter addicts from misuse of oral dosages of Methadone--at one time packaged the drug in combination with Tang. Surely, they thought, nobody would be so foolish as to intraveneously inject such a combination. This was not the case.