Commercial Break: Nestlé's Wonder Ball

Hey y'all. Hope you've been enjoying what's been going on with "Top Chef and I" as of late. More of that content is being worked on, but I decided to throw in another "Commercial Break" in the meantime. Normally, commercial breaks aren't fun to go through, but don't fret. These commercial breaks are just as entertaining to read about as the main content. So what do I have in store for this break? Well, as indicated by the title, it's about Nestlé's Wonder Ball!

Oh I wonder, wonder...

Interestingly enough, I actually wasn't planning on releasing this for Halloween, but the stars aligned for me to reminisce on this sweet treat on the day of tricks and treats. Away we go!

Ball of Wonder

Back when I was a kid (which is a sad thing to think about it as true), I had a massive sweet tooth. I had a thing for sugar and things made of it. Strolling in the Cub Foods one day (dating myself), I noticed a square box with cool packaging on it. It looked wacky, zany, and above all probably had an image of cartoon character I liked. (Forgive my brain fuzz.)

It was the Nestlé Wonder Ball. The premise of what I was looking at was simple. A chocolate ball with tart candies inside. I got to trying it out after deciding on...well...trying it out, and it was good. Granted, anything sweet I had at the time I thought was good, but it was the presentation that got me. A smooth cacao ball with added candy was preempted with sparkly wrapping foil. It screamed excitement, and I was here for it.

It soon became a sweet I had to have whenever the fam went to the grocery store. Sooner or later, I would become a little bit obsessed with the Wonder Ball. I'd go on their website and play (what I presumed was) a Flash game. It had something to do with adventure and involved Wonder Balls in some sort of way. All I could really distinctly remember was that the background of the site that contained the game was purple.

Apparently, the website's background was actually blue. Still, hearing those wacky sounds again as the site loaded up was so rewarding to hear back after such a long time

Life was good. Then, it wasn't, and my wonder started to sink in...

Wondering About the Ball

At some point in time, I stopped seeing the Wonder Ball. It just wouldn't appear. I got to thinking, "Why?" I never went on a grocery story manhunt for it. More so, I was bummed that it wasn't at checkouts. That's where they usually were (though I believe my first encounter with them involved them being on some solo stand at the store. I digress though. It was still a bummer that they just poofed one day.)

But I don't have enough paper for all my questions!

As time passed by, the thought of the Wonder Ball seeped back into the forefront of my mind. In true me fashion, I Wikipedia'd to find out its current status, and a few things surprised me.

Perhaps the most surprising thing to me was that I didn't know a previous incarnation of the Wonder Ball existed. Called the Nestlé Magic Ball, it was essentially the same thing but with little toys inside instead of candy (with the toys being inside a non-edible ball that was inside the chocolate ball.) While it was a popular treat, the small size of the toys was considered a choking hazard for kids to many, so it was taken off and re-released as the Nestlé Wonder Ball a few years later.

As I kept reading on, I would see the page saying that the candy had been discontinued. I was bummed yet again. As the years went on, I would go through the whole process of looking at the page again. I would watch ads for both the Wonder Ball (which I never saw growing up in all honesty) and its previous incarnation the Magic Ball. I would see listings for the confection to seemingly be available online only for them to say that they weren't. It was a sad time. Only some more wondering would lead me to hope.

Wonder No More

One day, I just happened to think about the Wonder Ball yet again and returned to the page with yet another false anticipation that a return was happening. Crazily enough, there just so happened to be some new info on it this time (much to my surprise). It had said that the Frankford Candy & Chocolate Company had obtained the rights to make the ball and that it returned! (In reality, the Frankford Candy & Chocolate Company had the brand rights even before it disappeared when Nestlé decided to give the brand away. I always associated the confectionary to Nestlé, but I did read about that back then, However, I had thought a different company had bought the rights and decided to not use them before Frankfurt supposedly took them. It turns out, they were the people that had the rights back then after Nestlé sold it and that they did make some for a bit before abandoning it for sometime.)

The rebirth of the Wonder Ball

I was very eager to get my hands on one, and luckily, it didn't take much to find one. I was ready to enjoy that experience of compartmentalizing the treat once more. It had been so long, and I was ready.

I don't remember getting a coin when I bought a Mario themed Wonder Ball similar to the one in this image, but I was just happy that I could get my hands on a Wonder Ball after so long

Once I had it, I was satisfied. The actual treat wasn't anything luxurious, and it never was. Just standard chocolate and candies. Nothing that'll make your taste buds jolt in a sweet sensation like no other...but It wasn't about that. It was the fact that something that I had yearned for had actually been brought back. It also spoke something about me that I didn't realize until I wrote this blog post.

The Wonder Ball is really me as a candy. I'm not shaped like a Wonder Ball by any means, but I find it a hoot that this confectionary I encountered a long time ago is the one that resonates as someone who often wonders about stuff. Not to say that I didn't like other candies, but the Wonder Ball has qualities about me that I can relate to, and honestly, the best way to display those similarities is with the creation of this blog:

• The smoothness of the chocolate ball is not a nod to me having flawless skin, but to my (inadvertently detrimental) perfectionist habits. No lumps. A seamless feel. It's how I want this blog to uphold to overtime.

• The strikingly individualized layers, from the wrapping paper to the candies, paralleling my deep writing style. A feeling of delight in what I have to say is what I hope to capture when I write these posts.

• The sparkly coating of the wrapping paper itself has a pizzazz about itself. I like pizzazz.

Now, I haven't had a Wonder Ball since that time as I can get a bag of candy for the same price as one singular Wonder Ball, but the gratification was worth it nonetheless. I find it amusing that such a small ball of wonder can be that synonymous to my life, but it really does embody me more than I could've ever realized when I was a kid. Wondering has its positives and negatives, and believe me I've experienced the gravitas of both, but I am glad that I have an innate nature to wonder. It has led me to be more understanding, and above all else, led me to vocalize.

Thanks for taking the time to read on my experiences with the Wonder Ball in this Commercial Break. If you're wondering what else to read on, have a look around at the previous "Commercial Break" on the 2003 reality TV adaptation of Fame or on any "Top Chef and I" content available on the site. Ciao for now!