SAN DIEGO -- In 1953, as America was gripped in the Cold War, the Just Born company of Bethlehem, Penn., offered the nation a tasty bit of solace -- the Peep.

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Behold The Indestructible Peep

Peeps, as we all know, are those marshmallow birds and bunnies that seem to be everywhere around Easter. Much like Spam, not many people will admit to eating Peeps -- yet they grow in popularity every year. According to Just Born, Inc., more than 600 million Peeps will be consumed by Americans this year.

Perhaps the most endearing quality of Peeps is their enduring quality.

"If those things get stale, you can drive a nail with 'em," 10News anchor Hal Clement said recently.

But the 10News Team prides itself on journalistic integrity. We couldn't just take someone's word for it -- we had to see for ourselves just how tough Peeps really are.

First, we enlisted the help of the men and women of the San Diego Fire Department. After three consecutive falls from the department's five-story training tower, the mighty Peep smiled in defiance of our efforts.

So we took a Peep foursome to Maxim Crane Works, placing them beneath the outrigger arm of a 30-ton crane. They were squished, and dirty, but not down for the count.

So we drove the crane on top of them. But after peeling them off the crane's tire, the smile still taunted us. Clearly, it was time to bring in the heavy firepower.

We brought a lavender foursome of Peeps to the San Diego Police Department's firing range, where an officer unloaded a round of 9 mm shots into the Peeps. Then they sustained several shotgun rounds.

Admittedly, they were full of holes, but they didn't fall apart. Cops 0, Peeps 1.

The Fire Department decided to give it another try, bringing out the "Jaws of Life", or should we say, "Jaws of Death," for the Peeps?

After applying 60,000 pounds of pressure to the marshmallow treats, the Peeps were just about done in. But they had met their match when we offered them up to a group of teenage boys.

The five boys attacked the Peeps with youthful abandon, on skateboards and bikes. The Peeps were squished to an unrecognizable goo. But, according to one of the boys, they were still tasty.

You can watch us put the Peeps to the test by clicking the video link above left.

If you would like to explore your creative (and possibly less aggressive) side with Peeps, believe it or not, the official Peeps Web Site offers arrange of Peep related recipes and crafts, including what will no doubt become the next hottest fashion item -- the Peeps sombrero.