Kate’s Escapades – Thingamajigs and Whatchamacallits

Never let it be said that I am unwilling to make great and noble sacrifices for our devoted Coffee Break readers. You see, I was in the check-out line at the store a few days ago looking over the rows of gum.  (I have previously admitted to a pretty serious gum addiction here.) Instead of finding a new gum flavor, I stumbled upon a new “Limited Edition” candy bar. It’s the name that caught my eye. Thingamajig.

Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t Thingamajig sounds remarkably similar to…Whatchamacallit?

As the checker rang up my purchases I picked up both candy bars and read their descriptions -

Thingamajig – made with chocolate, cocoa crisps and peanut butter

Whatchamacallit – made with chocolate, peanut butter flavored crisps and caramel

To me, these candy bars, both made by Hershey, sound like they are basically the same thing. Maybe it’s because I’ve been working on a science project with my 10-year-old son, but a crazy thought got stuck  in my head  that I wanted to buy both candy bars and compare them. Luckily for me, I have this website to give me semi-valid reasons to do the crazy things that my brain thinks up.

So here it is. In honor of how sick I am of doing (ummm, I mean helping to do) fifth grade science projects, I’ve decided to call it…

The Thingagajig Whatchamacallit Project

Notice the size difference in the two candy bars in the picture below?  The Whatchamacallit is clearly several bites bigger than the new Thingamajig. Let me just tell you that when it comes to candy bars, size does make a difference. (Granted, The Whatchamacallit is a king size candy bar and the Thingamajig is not, however, in searching high and low there were no regular sized Whatchamacallits to be found. Perhaps, king size is the only size made.)

Let’s take a look at the insides.

Both candy bars are coated in a thin layer of chocolate.

The Watchamacallit has a very thin layer of caramel and a thick, crispy layer of peanut butter flavored crisps.

The Thingamajig has a fairly good sized layer of peanut butter, and a smaller layer of crispy cocoa flavored crisps.

Now for the Taste Test Results.

The Whatchamacallit and the Thingamajig are both very yummy.  They are not the melt-in-your-mouth variety of candy deliciousness, but are the crispy, crunchy and yet still chewy, variety of candy deliciousness. The texture of the two candy bars is so similar, the average candy eater would not be able to tell a difference.

The main difference comes in the flavor.

• The Thingamajig has a definite over-all chocolate taste with just the right amount of peanut butter and crunch thrown in.
• The Whatchamacallit has more of a peanut butter caramel flavor crunch, with only a hint of chocolate.

I suppose it’s all about whether you prefer the chocolate/peanut butter combination (Thingmamjig), or the caramel/peanut butter combination (Whatchamacallit). Either way, you can’t go wrong.

So, if you’re in the check-out line sometime soon and see that eye catching red, yellow and brown Thingmagjig wrapper, go ahead and pick it up, and maybe if you’re really feeling daring, grab a Whatchamacallit, too. Do your own taste test and come back and let me know what YOU think. (Remember, Thingamajig is a limited edition candy bar, so no dawdling or you may miss it.)

Maybe I can ride the wave of the Thingamajig/Whatchamacallit popularity and create my own candy bar. I’m thinking of calling it Doohickeymajobber. What do you think? It could work.

~Kate

Enjoy your Coffee Break!