Arizona History: Why tubers throw marshmallows in the Salt River and why they must stop

Flashback: Nobody seems to know how it began, but since at least 2000, anyone who's been invited on a tubing trip has received three important directives: Bring sunscreen. Bring beer. Bring marshmallows — the bigger, the better.

• Marshmallows get very sticky when wet, making them the perfect ammunition to lob at other tubers for some lighthearted fun.
• They also float, so you can pick up discarded ammo and reuse it as you travel down the river.
• The first mention of marshmallow fights we could find in newspaper records was a June 22, 2000, Tucson Citizen article that called the tubing experience "innocent if outrageous fun."

The latest: In a Facebook post Thursday, Salt River Tubing said it will no longer allow marshmallows on its property after finding an "excess" in the river recently.

• Law enforcement informed the company it intends to crack down on polluting tubers, and Salt River Tubing said it doesn't want to see customers get citations.

My thought bubble: This new rule is probably for the best. We all have a responsibility to keep our public lands clean — and, frankly, getting hit in the face with a deteriorating marshmallow is kinda nasty.

Yes, but: There's a small part of me that's sad to see a tradition come to an end. Here's to creating a new environmentally conscious one!

This is a recurring feature delving into interesting episodes from Arizona's history.