Funyuns

Funyuns is the brand name of an onion-flavored corn snack introduced in the United States in 1969 and invented by Frito-Lay employee George Bigner. Funyuns consist primarily of cornmeal, ring-shaped using an extrusion process, representing the shape and texture of fried onion rings. A salt and onion mix gives them the flavor. They are a product of PepsiCo's Frito-Lay company.

They were named "Funyuns" by University of North Texas professor and copywriter Jim Albright after it was discovered that the first choice of name for the product, "OnYums",^[1] had already been taken by Rudolph Foods.

In 2005, the "window cutout" showing the actual product inside the bag was replaced by a photograph of the product, falling in line with the design of the rest of Frito-Lay's product line. The big-bag Funyuns was one of the last Frito-Lay brands to completely phase out the "window." In Brazil these snacks are sold under the name "Cebolitos".

Flavors

Regular flavor Funyuns

• Regular Funyuns
• Wasabi (2005?-2008)
• Flamin' Hot (2008–present)
• Chile & Limon (2013–present)

In mass media

• A television commercial for Funyuns, circa 1969, featured a variation of Susan Christie's 1966 song, "I Love Onions".
• A line in the movie Half Baked is: "Get some...sour cream and onion chips, with some dip, man. Some beef jerky, some peanut butter. Get some Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars. A whole lotta of chocolate. Gotta have chocolate, man. Some popcorn, pink popcorn. GRAHAM CRACKERS!!! Graham crackers with the marshmallows. Little marshmallows with little chocolate bars and we'll make some s'mores man. Celery, grape jelly, Captain Crunch with the little crunch berries, pizzas, we need two big pizzas, man, everything on 'em, water, a whole lotta water and....... Funyuns."
• Comedienne Margaret Cho made a cartoon featuring Funyuns.^[2]
• Hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse referenced Funyuns in their 2009 song "To Catch a Predator"
• Hip Hop artist Eminem referenced Funyuns in his 2009 song "Underground"
• Comedian and musician Stephen Lynch referenced Funyuns in his 2003 song "D & D."^[3]
• Episodes of NCIS (TV series) has also mentioned Funyuns.
• SMBC Theatre references them in the "Roomies with Buddha" sketch and the "Ultimate Staring Competition" sketch.
• In season 2, episode 9 of the AMC series Breaking Bad, in which Walt and Jesse go into the desert to cook meth. The main provision Jesse thinks to bring along are three bags of Funyuns. When questioned about his choice in foods for the marathon cook Jesse says, "Funyuns are awesome."
• Funyuns are mentioned in Season 4 of the popular television series, "Dawson's Creek."
• The Comedy Central series Drawn Together regularly references the snack; Foxxy Love says "Them ain't your Funyuns, them's Foxxy's Funyuns!"
• In an episode of How I Met Your Mother, Lily thinks Marshall is saying "I Love You" to her when he is actually saying it to a bag of Funyuns held by Ted. In another episode, during a flashforward after a year from Robin and Barney's wedding when Lily and Marshall are living in Italy, they had a discussion in Italian about Funyuns, which began with Lily eating all the Funyuns when in fact it was Marshall who brought it to Italy in the first place.
• In season 5 episode 3 of HBO's Six Feet Under (Hold My Hand), Federico (Freddy Rodríguez) and Angela (Illeana Douglas), having met at a conference of Independent Funeral Directors--and hitting it off--have checked into a cheap motel for an evening of recreational sex. Needing a snack, they hie themselves to a vending machine on the premises, where they survey the offerings. The scene concludes with Angela saying "Oh, look! They've got Funyuns!"
• Frank Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond references Funyuns in the season five episode "The Author" after Ray Barone throws a bag of Bugles on the floor, saying "I hope you're happy. I have to eat Funyuns now" followed by "Marie, Funyuns", asking his wife Marie Barone to give him Funyuns.
• The Onion newspaper had an article titled Funyuns Outsell Responsibilityuns
• In the American Dad episode Gorillas in the Mist, Roger, disguised as a country artist, sings the lines "I eat Funyuns and Tater Tots, I kill squirrels with my gun"
• In the John Hiatt song "Wood Chipper", Funyuns are listed on the grocery list at the end of the song.
• In The Big Bang Theory episode "The Expedition Approximation", Sheldon and Raj ask Amy to buy Funyuns while undergoing their mine simulation in the University's steam tunnels.
• In Season 6, Episode 7 of ABC's The Middle Devin Levin eats a bag of FUNYUNS

See also

• List of brand name snack foods

References

External links and further reading

• "Funyun Philosophy" cooking tips inspired by Funyuns by Charles Lam, Feb 22, 2011