There are certain food pairings that people come up with that outsiders just can’t understand, like peanut butter and pickle sandwiches or Cheetos and milk, to name a few. But one weird combo made the final cut into a popular crossword puzzle and it’s sparking what can only be classified as outrage in the general public.
It all started with a crossword puzzle that appeared in Wednesday’s edition of USA Today. One clue said, “Cookie that some people eat with mustard” and “Oreo” was the only thing that fit. Don’t think about it for too long—you could get queasy.
Well, Brett Murphy, an investigative reporter for USA Today Network, received an email from someone who apparently thought they were missing out on something, because they actually tried this—and Murphy shared that person's experience with the world.
He posted a screenshot on Twitter of an email he received from someone who clearly did not enjoy their experiment with a bold new combo.
According to the email, the person got some Oreos, put mustard on top, and actually ate one. “I tried it. You bastards,” they wrote. “Oreo and mustard—I can now inform you with learned experimental certainty—is wretched.”
They then demanded answers. "Who exactly are the 'some people' that consume Oreos with mustard?" the email continued: "I would like to have a word with them. If you could kindly provide their phone numbers and mailing addresses, I would be most appreciative."
Murphy’s tweet blew up, with even the official Oreo account weighing in (they’ve never heard of the combination either, apparently). "Adds mustard to list of unusual things people dunk OREO cookies into," @Oreo wrote.
Others tried to figure out what kind of mustard we’re talking about here, as if that would make a difference.
While plenty of people claim the folks behind the USA Today crossword were just trying to make something fit, it doesn't seem like they totally made it up. A 2019 video from WHO TV Channel 13 showed the station’s anchors trying the “treat” after receiving a tip from a reader who claimed it's good. "It's horrible," one said. "No one brought out a trash can?" another gagged.
So…apparently some people do technically eat these—they just don’t necessarily enjoy them.
