What’s the dark meaning behind Nickelodeon’s gooey toy Gak’s name?

The squishy, gooey, bright-colored mid-90s Nickelodeon toy Gak (which has recently been revived) wasn’t just a silly word the toy developers made up. Mark Summers, the host of Nickelodeon show Double Dare where the concept of Gak was first created, reveals its gritty meaning in a new interview.

Summers said that they had some people on their crew in Philadelphia who were “interesting folks.” It turns out “gak” was a street name for heroin in Philly!