Or-peep-os.

No, this isn't weird at all.

So you're thinking, O brave new world, that has such Peeps in it! Or, What unholy mess is this now?

Both understandable thoughts.

If you have not seen the Peeps Oreos, I can assure you that they are a real thing. It's the vanilla cookie used for the Golden Oreos, with a pink Marshmallow Peeps-ish filling.

You may be wondering, is that filling really all that pink?

Yes, yes it is.

It's a pretty impressive collaboration for a couple of reasons, the main one being that neither Nabisco nor its parent company, Mondelēz International, own Just Born, makers of Peeps. So you know big sugary confabs had to take place to make this product happen in time for Easter. Also, high marks to the clever food scientists who were able to make the white Oreo filling quite Peeps-ish, not only in color but in mouthfeel. It does not have that marshmallow flavor, not that I could detect, but it does have a bit of that sugar-crystal texture that coats the outside of the Peep. Well done, you savants of snacking.

The reason you may have heard of these Limited Edition cookies, however, is the story in the news that the pink filling is turning people's feces pink:

One reviewer claims the filling is the same one used in the Marshmallow Crispy Oreos, but with one major difference: It's bright pink and appears to turn your mouth—and even your dung—bright pink, too.

Forgive me if I tread into TMI territory, but I will say that I did not notice any effect of the kind. It may be that you have to eat a lot of these cookies in one sitting, perhaps a dozen or more, which I did not do. Anyway, it's harmless food coloring that is blamed for the phenomenon, so I suppose if this happened you could just chalk it up to festiveness.

On that scatalogical note: Our little dog, Nipper, seemed to be getting into the Mardi Gras feeling a day or two before Fat Tuesday, when his poop came out partly neon green and pink. Turned out he'd been eating the fuzz off some of his toys. If he'd gotten some purple in there too it might have looked like a King cake. We'll plan for next year.