Marc Summers Finally Reveals What's In Nickelodeon's Iconic Slime
Our favorite throwback '90s game show Double Dare is coming back to TV this summer, and with it, original show host Marc Summers, a Food Network veteran who hosted such classic shows as Unwrapped and What Would You Do? The zany obstacle course full of opportunities to be covered with that iconic Nickelodeon green slime is giving us a major dose of nostalgia, and Summers feels the same.
The Daily Meal had the pleasure of speaking with Summers at Comedy Central's Clusterfest, where Double Dare and Mtn Dew Kickstart gave fans the opportunity to relive the messy, green fun of the cult-favorite '90s game show. We spoke with the host about his favorite childhood foods and '90s snacks, as well as what slime actually tastes like, and it gave us major pre-Y2K vibes.
A native Midwesterner, Summers has been partial to burger chain Steak n' Shake since childhood. "Growing up in Indiana, food was not particularly fantastic," he revealed to us. "The Midwest is not notorious for anything other than maybe macaroni and cheese and hot dogs." (We agree that the Midwest has some of the best hot dogs in America, actually.) "When I get off the plane in Indianapolis to visit my mom, the first thing I do is drive over to Steak n' Shake and have one of the burgers because that brings me back to my childhood," he said.
He may have tasted hundreds of snacks while hosting Unwrapped, but his favorite '90s snack by far happens to be those electric orange cheddar crackers filled with peanut butter. "I was always a peanut butter and cheese cracker guy. I don't know why I was," he told us with a laugh. "You can put peanut butter on your wallet and it would taste good."
When it comes to the next generation of Double Dare fans, Summers tells us the draw will be classic nostalgia and a new co-host. "There's a whole group who have followed me [from Double Dare] over to Food Network, and we have a new host — her name is Liza Koshy," he told us. Co-host Koshy is an American actress and YouTube comedian with tons of Gen-Z fans.
"The people who know her don't know me and the people who know me don't know her, so I think it's the merging of a couple of generations and I think it's cool that we can have moms and dads and kids play together and have fun and win prizes and get slimed and just enjoy themselves," he said.
As for slime, the recipe may have changed since Double Dare's beginning, but Summers assured us that it's still probably pretty tasty. "Back in the day it was officially made out of vanilla pudding, apple sauce, and green food coloring because the insurance company that covered our show said that if it got in kids mouths it had to taste good and it had to be edible," he revealed.
"Now, they've got a whole other way of making it that is edible, but we have a company that makes slime especially for us — I don't know exactly what's in it but from what I understand, it tastes pretty good!" Feeling nostalgic for your favorite '90s foods like Dunkaroos and Gushers? Check out the most popular foods of the last 10 decades for a real throwback.