The Original, Online,
Chocolate Flavored Beverage
Journal

16 December 2002

Just when you thought that you'd seen it all and done it all in the world of yoohoo, you take a trip to Wal*Mart and get blindsided by the pseudo-milk chocolate beverage. Wham!

Walking past the food section on my way to buy an ice scraper I saw the common block of yoo-hoo cans modestly populating the shelf. Just as I was about to walk past, I realized that there was a flashy silver bottle breaking up the yellow horizon. I returned for a closer inspection.

There on the shelf were two of yoo-hoo lore's most elusive "unicorns". The fabled Yoo-Hoo Lite and the un-heralded wide-mouthed 15oz beer-can Yoo-Hoo! Who knew that Wal*Mart has such a wealthy cache of the shakeable beverage?

Incidentally, the Yoo-Hoo Lite is not all that bad. Once you get over kind of feeling like a sissy for drinking something that says "L.I.T.E" on the side. The silver bottle is dope and the contents don't taste too much different than the original. It is a little more watery than the original. It kind of tastes like the original might taste if your grandma did the shaking for you.

13 April 2000

It has been too long since the last update. I apologize to all of the faithful Yoo-Hoo lovers out there following this page of Yoo-Hoo admiration. I have been super busy trying to graduate from college. It is much more work than everyone says for sure! But that is not so important for this little dialogue.

The main point here I suppose is the news regarding our favorite bevvy that rocks the yellow tube top to cover those supple chocolate privates. Yeah, that's right I'm talking about Yoo-Hoo.

First on the news tip is the renovation of the Wiles gas station. I have to give mad props out to my man Kahn for running a tight ship down at the corner gas station. Kahn is the hardest working gas station man in the valley and unquestionably the coolest around. While Wiles was under construction, there was a serious lack of Yoo-Hoo in the valley. The Downtown Rainbow Oil was not selling Yoo-Hoo (see Where to buy Yoo-hoo in SLC) and the folks there had been brainwashed into thinking that they had never even carried the product!

But Wiles is looking brighter than ever with some innordinate amount of lights illuminating their fueling stations and a new, hi-tech fleet of pumps.

Today while I was coming back from the post office (where I picked up my copies of Del tha Funkee Homosapien's new album and various singles) I decided to stop off and snag a Yoo-Hoo. Kahn was there and seemed pleased to see me. We shot the bull for a bit and he said: "Hey, did you know that we are on the intenet as the only store in Utah that carries Yoo-Hoo?" I was surprised that he knew and responded with a "Do you know who put you on the internet?" It was cool to see that word had gotten out to the people. Kahn told me that people had come from Ogden and Draper to buy the Yoo-Hoo from him! Big ups to all the pilgrams out there taking their figurative trips to Mecca to pick up the blessed beverage!

We've got big plans for the Yoo-Hoo info presented in this site slated for this summer. Stay tuned here for all the new info. If you have any comments or suggestions on features that you'd like to see in the new site, please don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Well my friends, that is the end of this installment. If it was only as easy to write about atmospheric asymetries as it is to write about my love of Yoo-Hoo! Don't forget to Shake It's Great!

2 November 1999

This one comes to us from our california correspondent Jeremy Miner (Minah). He is a fulltime coder and part-time opinionist and columnist. Here is a mail that he sent to me today regarding the magical elixer.

So I was at the ol' grocery store last night to pick up some Yoo-Hoo after seein' a movie. I also picked up some hot sauce since our apartment has been lacking. At the checkstand one guy was ahead of me and then a woman came up behind me. I guess the woman knew the checker because they greeted each other with some small talk which led to the woman behind me saying, "Yeah, I'm just picking up some milk and Pine-Sol."
The guy in front of me, clearly under the influence of alcohol, said bemusedly, "Wow, that is quite a combination." I looked to see what he was buying and retorted, "Well, let's see what you're buying. Oh WOW! Cheap vodka and whipped cream!!"
Continuing the sequence the drunk guy looked at my collection of items. "Chocolate milk and hot sauce??" he astutely observed. "Dude looks like you've got the cure for the hangover. We should party together." And thus culminated a fateful convergence of a man on a vodka run, a woman on a pine-sol run, and a minah on a yoo-hoo run.

15 September 1999

Here is an email that I recieved from one of my friends not too long ago regarding her own personal yoo-hoo-coming-of-age experience! I thought y'all might like to take a peep at it too.

On the drive to Walla Walla, I stopped by a little place called Boise. I entered a convenience store to get some McDonald's Express food (the Express part of it means that they don't sell McFlurries). Walang hiya [No Shame], huh?

I started feeling adventurous, so I wander through the maze of refrigerator shelves and find odd yellow bottles of this "yoohoo". Being scientifically curious, I cautiously approach it (rationalizing that the loud yellow label is a warning sign that this bottle is hazardous and may self-combust). I take one by the hand and analyze the odd suspension of liquid chocolate and dark brown goo sinking in the bottom of the bottle. I debate whether to buy this Utah-illegal substance, and decide to take the risk. How much could a babae [girl] lose from a cheap drink, anyways? And anything illegal in Utah must be good stuff.

An hour later, I took a cruise-control drive through a winding highway somewhere past Boise, and I decided to take the plunge. My aerobic exercise of the day consisted of shaking this yohoo in hand for approximately 15 minutes to dissolve that icky brown goo. Afterwards, I twisted the aluminum cap, heard a pop, and took a drink.

Sarap! [Delicious]

-Rina Imperial

9 July 1999

Last night I was dragged to the movie "Big Daddy" by Jeremy Miner and Miles Romney . The movie was pretty much awful. I think that about 80% of the show was shown in the preview which happened to grace many of the preview spots during Star Wars Episode I. But there was one pleasant surprise amongst all of the sensless stupidity. Adam Sandler used Yoo-Hoo masterfully to make a powerful statement about staying drug free. In the middle of this movie, there is this scene when Adam is chillin' with some kids in the park. Adam has bought all of the whipper-snappers all a bottle of Yoo-hoo. He tells them that they are having a good time cause "We all have Yoo-Hoo" and then informs them that if you "Booze you loose!". It was something to see.
As we were talking about the movie afterwards, the comment was made that people don't give Yoo-Hoo the credit it deserves. It seems that we often don't realize what we've got until it is no longer available.
Drink Yoo-Hoo and stay drug free!

17 June 1999

So this summer is flowin' like butter. I mean it has already been summer for nearly two months! It has been a summer of Phantom Menaces, a summer of hard work, and a summer of fun. It is hard to believe how quickly it is slipping by. However, this summer is sure to be one of the best ever since Wiles has started carrying Yoo-Hoo. Stand by for more Yoo-Hoo updates here and a detailed story about the fine folks down at the Wiles Gas station. Jeremy Miner and I have been putting the pressure on our fine proprieter down at the Wiles to check into getting the Yoo-Hoo ice cream bar and candy bars. So far no luck. Instead, we continue to show our devotion to good service and good product (namely Yoo-Hoo) by frequenting the station a couple nights a week.

3 May 1999

Last week, Yoo-Hoo was spotted here in Salt Lake City not more than one mile from my home! Wiles gas station and convenience store now carries Yoo-Hoo! We bought the last Yoo-Hoo that the store carried last weekend so one can only hope that they will be sending reinforcements promptly.

26 February 1999

Two weeks ago I recieved my Yoo-Hoo swatch. I was so excited. It was quite difficult to get the Yoo-Hoo swatch. Since I live in Salt Lake City, and no Yoo-Hoo is sold here, it was necessary to purchase Yoo-Hoo in other parts of the country. Every vacation that I took since the "Ask Y" campaign began, consisted of a large scale hunt for Yoo-Hoo. Although the hunts were exciting and rewarding, I really would appreciate it if Salt Lake would get its act together and get some Yoo-Hoo in this town.

17 November 1998

Yoo-Hoo spotted at Albertson's. Thanks to Holmes's Mom, we were able to locate a small stash of the elixer. I talked to my man in the dairy departement and he said not to fear and that Albertson's was expected to be carrying the beverage on a regular basis by February 1999.

I figure that 1999 is going to be one of the best years ever. It will be the return of Yoo-Hoo to the promised valley and it will be the return of Star Wars to the silver screen. It does not get much better than that.






Comments: reid@pha.jhu.edu