Back in 2012 , inexpert wildlife lensman and science fan   Colin Purrington   worried that Twinkies might vanish everlastingly after manufacturer Hostess filed for bankruptcy . Naturally , he decided to carry up on the cake while he still had the chance . He had heard a democratic urban legend that Twinkies can survive forever .

fit in to the legend , Twinkies rest edible for anything between 50 age and the close of metre . Rumors include that the bite is n’t cake at all but instead a " chemical chemical reaction , " or that they last so long because they contain a chemical used in embalming fluid . Mmm , appetizing . For some reason , people believe that when the sovereignty of humans is over and most of Earth ’s animals are gone , there will be nothing will but Twinkie and cockroaches ( and , of course , tardigrades ) . The idea even have in picture likeZombieland , where , after an apocalypse , they are one of the only snacks still viable .

But because 2020 , during the pandemic Purrington   became bored and decided to crack out the Twinkie and take a bite .

It was not in force . When he bit into it , it now made him gag , Purrington wrote in a Twitter ribbon . This may be something to do with the cake having an actual shelf life of 45 day . I ’ve done the math and that ’s right smart shorter than 8 eld .

That was really the least gross part of the story .

Purrington take a closer look at the other Twinkies , and found one " host   an organism of some variety " that he refused to try on the footing that he ’d " seen that movie before " . The worst Twinkie looked like it had evolved into its last shape .

Purrington decide that it   may have been loathsome as a snack , but it was at least of scientific interest . Fortunately , so did scientists after he put out an appeal for help name whatever the fungus was arise on the Forbidden Twinkies .

Matt Kasson , associate prof of forest pathology & mycology at West Virginia University , offered to investigate , and Colin sent him the Twinkie , lead to a biopsy that look about as forbidding as an autopsy . They even used a cock designed for extract os marrow .

The squad trust that the fungus was in the promotional material before the Twinkie was seal up for its 12 long time of purdah , as the plastic wrapper come along to have been sucked inwards , suggesting that it may have used up more O consuming the Forbidden Twinkie than it released .

" You terminate up with a vacancy , " Kasson ’s colleague Brian Lovetttold NPR . " And that vacuum may have halted the fungus ’s power to continue to grow . We just have the snap of what we were direct , but who know if this process occurred five yr ago and he just only noticed it now . "

Examining the sample Twinkies under a microscope establish fungal spores , as they ’d carry .

From the lightly spotted Twinkie , the team was capable to grow the fungus in the laboratory and identify it .

It was   a usual airborne species , Cladosporium . On the horrific Twinkie , however , they have been unable to identify the closed book fungus , as nothing has produce from the sample . They speculate that the fungus could have drop dead years ago , given that the Twinkies are 8 years old , and so it remains unidentified . However , they are set to keep trying to rejuvenate it in the science laboratory , using other mixtures to hear and inveigle it back to life . We ’ve seen this moving-picture show too .

" The storey is not over , of course , " Purringtonwrites on his internet site . " The fungus growing on the sum Twinkie is apparently in the genusCladosporium , but hopefully they will be able to determine the exact species . And I ’m hop that if they ca n’t culture the fungus in the mummified Twinkie that they ’ll be able to sequence it to get an ID . I can not hold off .

" And they are also work on the musty Ho Hos I sent them . "

Clear out your cupboards , man .