Gunge, as it is known in the United Kingdom, or slime, as it is known in the United States and most other English-speaking countries, is a thick, gooey yet runny substance with a consistency somewhere between paint and custard. It has been featured on many children's television programs around the world for many years and has also appeared on game shows and other forms of programming. While gunge mostly appears on television, it has also been used as a fundraising tool for charities, youth groups, and religious organizations. Gunge tanks have appeared at nightclubs and community fun days. The British charities Comic Relief and Children in Need, both supported by the BBC, have used gunge for fundraising in the past. In the United States, slime is often associated with the children's television network Nickelodeon, whose parent company Paramount Skydance has trademarked the word.
Composition The gunge widely used on television is made from the industrial powder thickener hydroxyethyl cellulose, a commonly used gelling and thickening agent. The iconic green slime from the Canadian television series You Can't Do That on Television was reportedly developed by accident, according to producer Roger Price. The original idea was to dump a barrel of food leftovers on a young boy chained in a dungeon, but before it could be used, the contents of the barrel had turned green with mold. The mixture was dumped on the boy anyway, and the series gained its trademark gag overnight. The show later experimented with several slime recipes using ingredients such as lime gelatin dessert powder, flour, oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, baby shampoo, and cottage cheese, though not necessarily all at the same time. On the show, and later on Nickelodeon, the composition of the slime was treated as a closely guarded secret, and some episodes revolved around cast members attempting to discover its ingredients. Marc Summers, host of the network's game show Double Dare, stated that the slime consisted of vanilla pudding, oatmeal, applesauce, and green food coloring.
History of gunge on television
1960s In the UK the popular BBC show Not Only... But Also featured a closing sketch called "Poet's Cornered" in which that week's guest would be challenged to an improvisational poetry contest against Peter Cook, with Dudley Moore acting as referee. Each contestant would sit at the corner of a square tank of "BBC Gunge" on a rigged seat that could be triggered so as to catapult the occupant into the tank. The referee would sit at one of the other corners in a similar chair. Any use of repetition, hesitation or deviation from the challenge theme would precipitate the offender into the tank. The sketch always ended with all three personalities in the tank, chest deep in slime and reciting poetry.
1970s The UK Saturday morning children's show Tiswas used the concept of gunge in abundance. Having already established messy slapstick humour through custard pies and buckets of water being thrown over presenters and guests, Tiswas had taken to locking up adult volunteers into a cage. Once inside the cage, the inhabitants would normally be soaked with buckets of water at random points in the show. Where gunge became involved, was thanks to the tin bath perched on top of the Cage. Through a handle, this tub could be tilted, dropping its messy contents onto the people below, While famous for its custard pie humour, it would not be unusual for Tiswas to have buckets of food and imitation mud/horse manure poured over people. Custard and baked beans were popular choices.
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