Death of the Ding-Dong, Twinkie, Wonder Bread: Hostess to Close

Twinkies. Hostess Cupcakes. Wonder Bread. Ding-dongs.

They will be gone forever, with reports that Hostess Brands, Inc., said Friday that it will sell off or close down its 82-year old business. Done in, the CEO claims, by labor union action.

Hostess filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January.

The company has been challenged by not only by snarly labor relations, and a national strike by its second-largest labor union, but also, posits the Wall Street Journal, by consumers switching to healthier foods and high ingredient costs. 

One caveat: The Journal says that Hostess has threatened liquidation before, and not followed through.

The move puts 18,500 workers out of their jobs, CNN reports.

What do you think about this end to a junk-food kingdom? Will you buy some Ding-dongs and Twinkies just for old times' sake? Stock up on them for the future? Watch the beginning of the movie 'Wall-E' for the Twinkie-and-cockroach scene one more time? Is it the end of a beloved era? Or is it 'good riddance,' that the world would be better off without so much junk food? Or do you think someone else will buy them up, and we'll have an unending supply of Twinkies? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.