Here's How Nickelodeon Made Its Green Slime In The 90s

Growing up in the 1990s, we had so many hopes and dreams. (This writer wanted to marry Taylor Hanson or Jonathan Taylor Thomas — either one would do — win a shopping spree at Limited Too, and maybe one day be invited to join the Spice Girls.) All fairly reasonable desires, no? In addition to all that, though, at the very top of the bucket list was being slimed on one of our favorite Nickelodeon game shows. Nothing would have made us happier than being asked to compete on Double Dare or What Would You Do? and unexpectedly getting a gallon of lime green slime poured all over us. Yep, that was a major 90s dream, but now that we’re adults it actually sounds kind of messy and disgusting, especially after hearing how that Nickelodeon slime was made.

In anticipation of a forthcoming documentary about his life and career, Marc Summers, who we will forever remember as the host of what seems like every single 90s Nickelodeon game show, recently talked to Tech Insider about that iconic green slime. Interestingly, Summers pointed out that slime is very much in again, which we already knew thanks to all those Instagram videos we obsessively watch. But, he pointed out that the slime Nickelodeon used in the 80s and 90s was a very different consistency from the kind everyone seems to be making these days. That's because, Nick's slime was made with food.

Summers explained that although slime is closely identified with his show's Double Dare and What Would You Do?, it actually first appeared on You Can't Do That On Television, which according to IMDb, premiered in 1979 and ran until 1990. Summers said, "What happened was, if you said the words, 'I don't know,' you would get slimed." And, back in those days, according to Summers, the slime was made with four important ingredients: vanilla pudding, apple sauce, green food coloring, and a little oatmeal. These days, that sounds totally nasty, but in the 90s we would have happily bathed in the stuff. And, Summers did say, Nick's recipe made for the perfect slime consistency.