Tops grocery store had a large bulk candy section when we were kids. Every week, if we were good helpers, we could pick out a small baggie with 25 cents worth of one kind of candy or multiple kinds if they were the same price per pound. We knew all about weighing produce and bulk items at the store as it was part of our usual "runner" assignments. We knew that we were not supposed to touch anything with our hands.
Things rarely changed in the bulk candy section. The arrival of a new bin of huge gummy rats was an amazing discovery. My brother P and I quickly realized that they were too expensive for even one to qualify as our candy prize. They were so tempting to look at though, like a toy made of sugar. Eventually, we touched one. Then we smelled each of the different colors to see whether they were different flavors. Then finally, we took a small lick. And then had to try several. I think we must have taken too long choosing a candy prize that week. Dad came over and found us. He was very upset. We lost our candy treat for that week. And he had to fish a couple rats out of the bin to buy-- none of us knowing how many we had contaminated with licking and touching them.
I should mention that we had mice as pets around that time. We thought that the rats were cute, not gross.
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