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When Twinkies hit the stores again on July 15, their shelf life will be nearly twice as long as it used to be: 45 days. (We were surprised it wasn't longer.) There's a whole lot of food science employed to help the creme-filled cake defy the laws of baked-good longevity.

After disappearing when Hostess went into bankruptcy last year, the snack cakes that supposedly last forever are now really going to live on. New owners are bringing them back.

Emporia, Kan., was hit pretty hard when the Hostess snack cake plant shut down last year. The company that bought Hostess' business is going to fire its ovens back up, but there will be half as many jobs and they will be nonunion. Still, the news sparked an ecstatic response in this beleaguered town.

Twinkies, Ho Hos and Ding Dongs will go to a pair of private equity firms. Wonder Bread will be sold to snack food maker Flowers Food. The Beefsteak brand of bread will go to a Mexican company.

It's not just Twinkie hoarders and Ding Dong lovers that feel the pain of the Hostess factory closings. For the first time in about 40 years, Booches Billiard Hall in Columbia, Mo. has to go elsewhere to source the buns for its famous burgers. Regulars say they are adapting to the change.

Hostess is now free to fire its 18,000 workers and can look for buyers interested in their brands. The company decided to call it quits because it said it didn't have the finances to survive an ongoing national strike.

According to a bankruptcy judge, Hostess and the major union representing its workers need to try to mediate their differences before the company can be liquidated. So maybe the company's taste treats won't disappear anytime soon.

Hostess Brands will start selling off its assets in a bankruptcy court in New York Monday. That prospect has struck fear in the hearts of lovers of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos. Sensing a possible shortage, some hopeful entrepreneurs took to eBay offering up many Hostess items at some exorbitant prices.

More than 160 workers in Colorado will lose their jobs as a result of Hostess Brands' decision to go out of business.Following the company’s announcement…

In the interest of science, we offer some ideas for people who are hoarding Twinkies now that Hostess has announced it is going out of business. And none of them involve eating.