Don't know why, just needed this blast from the past right now.
Orbitz was the product name of a noncarbonated fruit-flavored beverage, made by the company Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation (makers of Clearly Canadian), that had small edible balls floating in it. It was introduced around 1996 and quickly disappeared because of bad sales.
The small balls were held in place by a material known as gellan gum which provided a support matrix, something like a microscopic spider web, that held the flavored spheres in position, and had a visual clarity approaching that of water, which increased with the addition of sugar.
Orbitz came in five flavors:
Raspberry Citrus (introductory flavor)
Blueberry Melon Strawberry (introductory flavor)
Pineapple Banana Cherry Coconut (introductory flavor)
Vanilla Orange (introductory flavor)
Black Current Berry (introduced later)
The website for Orbitz existed for a while, but was taken over by the Internet travel agency of the same name (see Orbitz).
Orbitz was widely disliked during its short stay on the market. Drinking a beverage containing floating particles with the consistency of soggy bread proved to be significantly less popular than the company anticipated. One website gave Orbitz an average of 1 of 5 stars [1].
Unopened bottles of the beverage have since become somewhat of a collector's item in recent years.
(MAYBE THAT'S WHY I'VE BEEN CARRYING AROUND MY LAST BOTTLE FOR 10 YEARS)