When people who aren't directly affected by the school in Central Pennsylvania (which is a lot of people supposedly) hear the words "Penn State" there are a number of different things that probably pop in their head. I'm assuming Joe Paterno and the football team is number one on that list. I'll actually go out on a limb and say it's probably the only thing people will think of. But you would think "pretzels" is a word that wouldn't describe the school, right? Well say "Penn State" in Britain and you get effing pretzels.

So it turns out Penn State Pretzels is the number one pretzel manufacturer in the UK (suck on that Michigan!). And while the pretzel itself isn't directly affiliated with the university, it is named in tribute to the state of Pennsylvania (the pretzel state? really?) according to the parent company's website.

Here's the think about the British, they're not really known for their appetizing cuisine (blood pudding anyone?) so I really question how good these things can be, although they're pretzels and they come in the three somewhat normal flavors -- original, sour cream & chive and sweet & spicy salsa -- so how bad can they be? Still it should be noted that the company that makes these also makes snacks like Pom-Bear which is a "delicious potato snack ... which melts in the mouth." Yea no thanks.

But maybe more questionable is a product they sell called Mr. Mash, which apparently is dehydrated potato flakes (made of 99% real potato) that can be made into mashed potatoes in about a minute. Seriously, I don't need my mashed potatoes that quickly. Sometimes the whole Better Living Through Chemistry thing is overrated, no?

Anyway, back to the pretzels. Recently Penn State Pretzels started a new ad campaign which is actually kind of cool. When you go to their website you're introduced to seven "Penn Pals" (ok, that's cheesy) who have their own Facebook page, although they only have 25 fans at this point. So, when it comes to non-existent people and Facebook I have them beat.

So if you're ever in England see if you can't pick up a bag of these and imagine Graham Spanier and Joe Paterno having a party in your mouth. I think that's probably what they taste like.