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AISLE 4 · CANDY & GUM
Space Dust
by General Foods
Gone. General Foods stopped making its popping candies around 1980, though some accounts put the powder's end as late as 1982. The trademark was cancelled in 1983. A 2024 revival filing by Iconic Candy was abandoned in 2026.
Last verified Nov 9, 2026
Pop Rocks ground down to a powder: a packet of crackling candy you poured on your tongue to hear it fizz and snap. It was too good a name, then too risky a one, and it didn't survive the decade.
🧾 One more thingParents complained that 'Space Dust' sounded like 'angel dust', the street name for PCP, so General Foods renamed it Cosmic Candy. It was also swept up in the same exploding-stomach rumor as Pop Rocks, a myth that never hurt anyone.
Filed under: Candy & Gum · the ’70s & earlier
📅 Timeline
- 1976General Foods began selling Space Dust on June 7, according to its trademark filing — two years before the 1978 date usually given.
- 1978TV ads ran, and General Foods renamed the candy Cosmic Candy after complaints about the name.
- 1980General Foods discontinued production of its popping candies.
- 1983The Space Dust trademark was cancelled in July.
- 2024Iconic Candy filed to use the Space Dust name; the application was abandoned in February 2026.
❓ People also ask
Can you still buy Space Dust candy?
No. General Foods stopped making it around 1980. Pop Rocks, its crystal sibling, returned under other owners, but the powder never did.
Why was Space Dust renamed?
Parents worried the name evoked angel dust, slang for the drug PCP, so General Foods renamed it Cosmic Candy.
🧾 Sources
- USPTO TSDR, SPACE DUST trademark record (serial 73090796) (1976)
- USPTO TSDR, SPACE DUST trademark application (serial 98388872) (2024)
- Wikipedia, Pop Rocks (2026)
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