As many of you know, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be released on July 16th. Now working at a bookstore and not having read any of the Harry Potter books (yes--I live in a cave), I find myself with raised eyebrows overhearing managers scuttle about trying to organize the upcoming Potter Party. “Did you find that number for the owl renting service?!!� “The talking toilet will fit perfectly there.� “I don’t think that is going to be enough Troll Boogers for the number of people...�

But as strange as I find renting owls and distributing Troll Boogers, there is nothing quite as puzzling as Jelly Belly’s new line of Harry Potter jellybeans, Bertie Bott's Beans. As if “buttered popcorn� wasn’t enough of a stretch for a candy company, the new Harry Potter flavors include Rotten Egg, Dirt, Earwax, Earthworm, and Vomit. (Look out, Skittles!)

What would posses even the most sugar-starved 8 year old boy and avid PotterFan to spend his allowance on barf-flavored candy? Do the flavors (and I'm using the word 'flavors' here quite loosely) truly taste authentic? An even more disturbing question--how did Jelly Belly decide what tasted like authentic "vomit" or "earthworm"?

Hah, just imagine what the focus group must have been like.

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