Tang

Tang
Tang product logo.
Type	Beverage
Place of Origin	United States
Color	Orange (Original)
Flavor	Orange (Original) (see "Variations" section for other flavor profiles)
Variations	Tang Pineapple Tang Strawberry Tang Mango Tang Mixed Berries Tang Lemon Tang Guava Pineapple
Manufacturer	Mondelēz International Previously: General Foods Kraft Foods Inc.
Inventor	William A. Mitchell
Introduced	1957
First Apperance	"Sixteen Years and What Do You Get?" (labeled as "Tri-C")
Last Apperance	"Bud on the Side"

Tang is a fruit-flavored powdered drink mixture. It is consumed in various ways by the Bundy family on Married... with Children.

In the first season of the show, it is labeled as "Tri-C" (to avoid legal issues), but starting in the season 2 episode, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Part 2)", it is referred to by its actual name and and its logo is clearly seen.

History

Tang was created in 1957 by a food scientist, William A. Mitchell, who also created other convenience foods such as Cool Whip and Pop Rocks,  and released in its powdered form in 1959, though it failed to gain popularity upon release.

Its improved its market share later, due to it being used by astronaut John Glenn on the Mercury flight in space in 1962 and later used in the Gemini flights.

Although starting out as an orange-flavored powdered drink, it has expanded its flavor catalogue to meet regional tastes, as it is sold in over 30 countries and comes in various obnoxious flavors such as grape, lemon, hibiscus, and mango, though orange is still its most well-known flavor.

Tang at the Bundy household

The Bundys use it as a drink in the morning, but as the family is considerably poor, they have also found ways to turn it into a food. Some of the ways the family has used it:

• Tang Sandwich / "Tangwich" - Adding a few spoonfuls of Tang powder between two pieces of bread. It is necessarily to pinch the edges or else the powder will spill out, as Kelly points out in "Desperately Seeking Miss October"
• Tang Wipe - A slice of bread wiped inside the jar to absorb the residual Tang powder, as seen in "Impo-Dent"
• Tang Margarita - Mixing Tang and pool water into a plastic cup, as seen in "You Better Shop Around (Part 1)"
• Smoking Tang - A spiked drink the family offers to Al in "The Egg and I" as a way to poison him, so they could turn Steve in to the FBI, but he quickly points out that "Tang don't smoke!".
• Tang BonBon - A shotputt-sized BonBon that weighs 5 pounds created by Peggy, the ingredients of include an entire jar of Tang. And takes hours to chew As seen in "Al Goes Deep".
• Bundy Mimosa - A bottle of beer and Tang, used by Bud after sleeping with Gary. As seen in "Bud on the Side"

Appearances on Married... with Children

• "Sixteen Years and What Do You Get?" - Al and Peggy have a bottle labeled "Tri-C" (a play on "Tang" and another juice brand, "Hi-C") on the table that they use to make orange juice.
• "Nightmare on Al's Street" - Peggy brings Al a glass of water and he grabs the jar of "Tri-C" to have juice while Marcy tells them about the two men who offered to repave her driveway.
• "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Part 2)" - As Al questions Peg about the money he gave her and if it went to the strippers at Troy's, he asks her "So the big frost didn't really drive up the price of Tang?" and she shakes her head "No".
• "Impo-Dent" - Bud is seen hiding a nearly empty bottle of Tang under his shirt. Kelly notices and then fights him over "Tang Residue". Al eventually comes downstairs and finds out that they drank the remaining powder. Thinking that they left him nothing, he takes a piece of bread and wipes the inside of the Tang bottle down to make "Tang Wipe", causing the kids to look on and salivate.
• "He Thought He Could" - During his speech he mentions that every morning he has "watered down Tang and still frozen Pop Tart".
• "The Harder They Fall" - A bottle of Tang can be briefly seen in the kitchen cabinet as Al takes out the box of cereal for the "Bundy Snack Tray".
• "The Computer Show" - As Al plans to teach Buck how to bring him his slippers when he comes home from work, he tells Peggy "Go ahead and yuck it up, Peg. But as soon as Buck learns how to make Tang, you're on the first bus".
• "The Egg and I" - After realizing that they can turn their former neighbor turned fugitive, Steve Rhoades into the FBI for a reward, the rest of the Bundy family offer Al a glass of Tang to poison him and make it easier to turn Steve in. He becomes suspicious though when he notices that it is smoking intensely and tells his family "Tang don't smoke!". Kelly then tries to convince him that it is a new and improved versions, "chocked full of vitamins and ministers."

Gallery

Various assorted flavors of Tang, as it is sold in packet form.

Al sitting at the table with a bottle of Tri-C in season 1's "Nightmare on Al's Street"

Al showing off his ingenuity by making Tang Wipe with a piece of bread and Tang residue

Al complaining that she forgot the Tang in the Tang Margarita in "You Better Shop Around, Part 1"

Al demonstrating how to make a Tangwich for Bud and Kelly in "Desperately Seeking Miss October"

The end result from not properly pinching the corners of a Tangwich shut

Al being given a glass of "Smoking Tang" to poison him and turn Steve in, as seen in "The Egg and I"

Al forcing himself to eat the Tang Bonbon that Peggy made

Bud carrying a bottle of Tang, two beers and two glasses to make Bundy Mimosas for him and Gary while Al and Peggy try not to embarrass him in "Bud on the Side"

External links

• Official website (Argentina)