How Did Nickelodeon Make Green Slime?

Nickelodeon’s iconic slime made its first appearance on You Can't Do That on Television, the Canadian-made sketch comedy show that ran from 1979 to 1990. From there, it became a staple of almost everything the network did, with regular slimings on many programs, at the Kids' Choice Awards and at the Nickelodeon Studios attraction at Universal Studios Florida.

According to Bill Buchanan, a crew member on You Can't Do That on Television for its whole run, the slime was invented early in the show’s history. He was working in the props department one weekend when he got a rundown of items needed for an upcoming show. One of the sketches called for “this kinda disgusting slimy green stuff,” but there were no further details, or even an indication of how the stuff would be used.

Another propmaster, Paul Copping, was given the task of making the slime, and even after asking the director and the scriptwriter, he couldn’t get any more details on what the slime was suppose to be. So, he just went with his gut and mixed up a whole garbage can full of slime. Buchanan says he knows the color came from green latex paint, but didn’t know what else was in it. It smelled and looked foul. People avoided the can while walking through the studio. Bits of sausage may have been floating in it.

The day the slime scene was shot, the propmasters learned the slime’s purpose. It was supposed to be dumped on one of the actors. There was an argument. The producers wanted to go ahead and do the scene, but the prop guys were worried there was something in there that could hurt the actor or make them sick. The sketch got pulled until a new slime could be made. While the old stuff stayed in the garbage can and festered in a corner of the studio, Buchanan, Copping and company got started on a new formula that could get in someone’s eyes and mouth without causing any problems.

This second batch was made mostly from green Jell-O that had been set in the fridge, then pulled out the day before shooting to liquefy and get mixed with flour.

That slime recipe was used for a while, but it required too much preparation time. If the crew had to have the slime ready earlier than expected, it wasn’t fluid enough and had solid chunks of Jell-O in it. They needed a way to make lots of slime on short notice, and turned to Quaker Oats Crème of Wheat for the next generation of slime. They’d basically stir the cereal up cold on the spot in whatever amount they needed, and then dump in green food coloring. The problem with that recipe was that it turned pasty as it dried, and the actors found they couldn’t get it out of their hair. They countered that problem by adding a couple of drops of baby shampoo to the mixture, and stopping tape after a sliming so the actors could rush off the set and into the showers before the slime hardened.

Slime evolved for other shows over the years. Cottage cheese and vegetable oil are sometimes mentioned as ingredients. As Double Dare host Marc Summers explained, most of the slime used on his shows was made of “vanilla pudding, applesauce, oatmeal, green food coloring, and by the third day, anything else that was on the obstacle course.” Yum.