Today, sweet-toothed Aussies awoke to the distressing news that Starburst lollies are being pulled from supermarket shelves. "Say goodbye to your childhood!" one news story proclaimed. "A sad day for your tastebuds!" shrieked another. Except the panic is entirely unfounded. Starburst lollies aren't going anywhere.

The cautionary reports seem to resurface every year just before Halloween: "Don't let your little ghouls and boys be tricked - with poisoned sweets that could kill them! Stay tuned for the full story on News at 11." I've heard the same warnings ever since I was a kid trying to breathe through a plastic Big Bird mask.

Halloween is taking off in Australia, and with it come the sweets. Lollies are either the best or second-best part of a kid's Halloween, depending on how much they love costumes. But what do you do when your kid brings home mountains of gut-busting, tooth-rotting sugar? Here are your options for shrinking the pile without sucking all the fun out of the holiday.

Someone in my household managed to get the sticky, sugary residue of Halloween lollies (chocolate and fruity/hard lollies) onto our wooden coffee table. NBD in that it wasn't an expensive item, by any means, but I'd still prefer to clean it than to replace it. How can I get the patch of sticky stuff off without ruining the finish? I've tried a coarse sponge and detergent, with no luck.

Easter has passed and the bunny has come and gone, but the chocolate remains. You may have some leftovers, or you may -- in your infinite wisdom -- have hit up the clearance aisle to stock up on peanut butter eggs and hollow chocolate rabbits. Either way, here are some of the most delicious things you can do with your sweet haul besides just eating it.

"Eat a bag (or bowl) of dicks" is one of my favourite insults ever but, until very recently, it's been used in a mostly hyperbolic sense. That's all about to change though, as you can now send a bag of gummy dicks to anyone, with instructions on what you'd like the recipient to do with them.

Over on the Reactions YouTube channel, they worked out a formula that gives you an estimate for how many lollies it'd take to kill you.

Today is Halloween, which means lots of sugary goodies are probably on the menu. If you're planning to host a Halloween party -- or just want to help your kids scoff their trick-or-treat haul -- these comprehensive wine-and-junk-food pairings are well worth exploring.

A crispy, tart and sweet apple, lovingly coated in either a shiny candied shell or rich robe of caramel, is a quintessential treat that is both easy to make, but also fairly easy to mess up. To make sure your toffee apples are the best they can possibly be, there are a few factors you need to keep in mind.

You may not have a mighty need for a giant gummy that looks exactly like a bottle of Coca-Cola, but you can't deny that it's a fun visual gag. It's also not that difficult to make. All you need is some gelatin products, a bottle of Coke and some duct tape.