Fame, Fortune and Goo: It all started...

Fame, Fortune and Goo: It all started with a little slime.

That’s what Gus Gray and Justin White were trying to concoct in their high school chemistry lab last Halloween, when their experiment accidentally blew up. The bright green gunk spewed all over the place, sending legions of startled freshmen fleeing for cover.

Once the smoke cleared and the classroom was de-slimed, the two 17-year-olds from a small town in southern Virginia were left with a new substance that’s best described as “edible plastic.”

As a result of this scientific mishap, fame, fortune and fans have entered the otherwise quiet country lives of the two students and their teacher, Holly Hash.

So far, they’ve had to make do with a mere $100,000, split three ways among the students and teacher. It came from a Chantilly, Va.-based company, Fuisz Technologies Ltd., which last month contracted with them for a one-year, extendable option on the technology.

The company, which is best known for its role in creating “melt-in-your-mouth” medications, is now investigating commercial applications of the plastic. Possible uses include improvements in traditional capsules and gel caps, as well as coating for pills, said the company’s founder and chairman, Richard C. Fuisz.

If Fuisz decides to exercise the option a year from now, the payoff could be even bigger: up to $1 million as a lump sum, or 10% of future sales.

So, what is this thing that has brought the boys marriage proposals and appearances on CNN and ABC’s “Good Morning America”?

It is a strong, transparent protein film that looks a lot like Saran Wrap, except it’s a little thicker and it’s edible. Usually the plastic is tasteless, but Gray and White have experimented with different flavors, including cinnamon toast and strawberry, which was voted a favorite by their classmates.

The plastic doesn’t hold a particular shape. When you hold it in your hand, it curls away from your fingers and toward itself. It bonds to glass, paper and wood, and dissolves in saliva but not in water.

Fuisz is helping them file for U.S. and international patents. In the meantime, they are mum on the recipe, although Hash said it’s a gelatin-based formula.