1. McDonald's Apple Pie

Not everything on the menu comes from the corporate test kitchens. The recipe for McDonald's pipin' hot pie was developed by Litton Cochran, a franchisee in Knoxville, Tennessee. It became the first dessert item on the menu when added in 1968. In 1992, the original fried pied was replaced with a baked pie, but we all know which is superior.

Image: McDonald's / The Guardian

2. Big Mac

If you were living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the 1960s, consider yourself lucky. You were the test market for the Big Mac, which means you got the iconic burger a year before anyone else, in 1967. The rest of the country had to wait until '68, when the Big Mac was introduced nationally for 45¢. The "Two all beef patties, special sauce…" jingle would not arrive until the mid-1970s, however.

Image: McDonald's

3. Smucker's Goober

It's peanut butter and jelly — in the same jar! An informal survey in our office concludes that nobody's mother would allow us to eat the stuff, which is a bit weird in hindsight. We ate the ingredients separately, but somehow storing them in the same glass vessel seemed like junk food. Delicious junk food. Now that we're adults, we'll eat all the Goober we please, mom!

Image: Smucker's / Flickr

4. Red Lobster

Red Lobster is a Disney reference. Did you know that? In Walt Disney's 1940 film Pinocchio, there is a bar called the Red Lobster Inn. In March 1968, entrepeneur Bill Darden borrowed the name — minus the "Inn" — for a joint in Lakeland, Florida, about 50 miles from Walt Disney World. His Red Lobster restaurant was billed as a "Harbor for Seafood Lovers." Half a century later, we all sing the praises of their Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Even Beyoncé name-drops the chain in her songs.

Image: Logopedia

5. Hunt's Snack Pack

The metal pudding cans had a revival recently thanks to the first season of Stranger Things, when a fridge full of the stuff was found in the school. Today, a plastic version of the pudding cups still makes lunchtime more fun, but we miss the metal cans, even if they were a bit of a cutting hazard.

Image: Hunt's / adbydee

6. King Vitaman

Essentially a less sweetened Cap'n Crunch, King Vitaman remains a sort of cult cereal of connoisseurs. A few different iterations of the King have been used, beginning with this cartoon character on the original box. Two different elder actors played the mascot in following decades, including one with a crown made of spoons, but today Quaker has gone back to an animated king.

Image: Quaker Oats

7. Zotz

The sour bombs trace their origin back to Italy. That sour burst would radically change the candy industry. A couple decades later, kids couldn't get enough of extremely sour tongue assaults like Warheads.

Image: Candy Warehouse

8. Screaming Yellow Zonkers

The sugar-coated popcorn had one distinct difference from Fiddle Faddle and Cracker Jack — no peanuts. Not too long ago, ConAgra brought back the Screaming Yellow Zonkers for a limited time. 

Image: TELEVISIONARCHIVES / YouTube

9. Roy Rogers

The first Roy Rogers opened in 1968 in Falls Church, Virginia. If you're looking to go there to celebrate the chain's 50th birthday, don't. It's now a McDonald's. The chain was founded by Marriott hotels, who licensed the name of the popular cowboy to replace their brand of quick-service eateries called Hot Shoppes Jr. Today, there are a little more than 50 Roy Rogers in America.

Image: Vintage Ad Browser

10. The Taco Salad

The very first taco salad is a little difficult to pin down, though it did originate in the 1960s in Tex-Mex restaurants. However, according to the book American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century [1997], the earliest recipe the author could find for Taco Salad popped up in the May 1968 issue of Sunset magazine. Here it is, if you want to replicate it.

Image: iStock

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