a.fé’s currently taking a short break from Technotown and has ventured out to a place that couldn’t resemble Berlin any less.

Yes, I’m writing on location from the land of Robert Redford, Butch Cassidy and, as I’ve just learned, Jell-O.  Utah: land of mountains and Mormons.  Sure, its international reputation might be one related to powder and the 2002 Olympic Games but when you speak to locals here, they’re quick to show their pudding pride in their “official state snack food”, Green Jell-O (yes, this was actually voted in by the Utahn legislature). Out of interest in strange and pointless things, the two other states with official state snacks are Illinois (popcorn) and South Carolina (boiled peanuts, seriously).

The Deseret News reports:

In 1997, Jell-O officials confirmed that Utah had the highest per-capita consumption of fruit-flavored gelatin in the country. When Utah’s Jell-O sales slipped and Iowa took over that distinction in 1999, it sparked a local campaign (with a lot of support from the Jell-O folks) to “Take Back the Title”.

In 2001, they did, to the point that Utah and the surrounding Mormon areas have been dubbed the Jell-O Belt.

If Bill Cosby, the godfather of all Jell-O-related-jiggliness, tells the Utah state assembly that “he believes the reason people in Utah love Jell-O is that the snack is perfect for families — and the people of Utah are all about family”, then it must be true.

Perfect for families and, it also seems, bathing (oh internet, how you can creep me out), I think we’d all be better off with a bit more green goop in our lives.  Technotown, blogosphere, you have been warned:  it’s time to go green, the Utah way.

foto: thx.