Twinkies and all the other products produced by the Hostess Company, which has been producing many compact dessert confections for decades and is the principal owner of other brands as Wonder Bread and the Drake’s line of cupcakes and snacks, is saying goodbye. The company ceased production, claimed bankruptcy, and moves to sell all its assets, various sources including CNN reported today. The company also plans to lay off over 18,000 employees.

A major pop cultural icon in the gourmet sense and junk food of the highest order, the Twinkie, which has to stand as the benchmark product offered in the Hostess oeuvre, is the 5-star standard in a quick snack. Invented in 1930 in Illinois, the cylinder-shaped golden sponge cake with cream in the middle has and continues to continued to adorn lunchboxes for children of all ages for decades and decades; it’s become the stereotypical after meal treat in those situations.