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Some Americans hoarded all the Hostess Twinkies they could find after the company announced plans for a liquidation that would destroy 18,000 jobs. Now, the liquidation has been put on hold, and the collectors of Twinkies may find that their prizes are hardly prizes at all.

The Bakery Workers union and Hostess have agreed to mediation. That may not solve the problem of a liquidation, but it opens the door to a solution. Alternatively, there are rumors that a private equity buyer may want to take control of Hostess.

In the meantime, hoarders who have bought dozens of packages of Twinkies, or hundreds in some cases, will not have a series of collectibles if the worker versus Hostess problem is solved. What might have been rare coins will only be pennies. The owners of the cakes, which are rich in sugar and nothing that is healthy, will be left to eat them, throw them out or find creative alternatives. Among those is to save them a year or two while they harden and then can be used as bricks.

Douglas A. McIntyre