Here's a sweet taste of history:
PEZ: Austrian candy executive Eduard Haas invented PEZ in 1927. Originally, the candy was mint-flavored ("PEZ" is an abbreviation for the German word "Pfefferminz") and was marketed as an adult aid to quitting smoking. The first PEZ dispenser appeared around 1950, and a couple of years later, fruity flavors and cartoon heads were added. Today, there are more than 250 different PEZ heads. Each year, PEZ conventions are attended all over the globe, and the PEZ memorabilia Museum in Burlingame, California boasts thousands of visitors.
Sugar Daddy and Sugar Babies: Robert Welch launched Sugar Daddy in 1926, first referring to it as "The Papa Sucker." (The name was changed in 1932.) On the success of Sugar Daddy, Sugar Babies came along in 1935, with the name coined after the song, "Let Me Be Your Sugar Baby." Today, they are made by Tootsie Roll. And so are Junior Mints, which were launched by Welch's brother, James Welch, in 1949. He named the candy after his favorite Broadway stage performance, "Junior Miss."
Good & Plenty candy was first produced in 1993 by the Quaker City Confectionery Co. in Philadelphia in 1893 and is now made by Hershey.
Fizzies: This effervescent drink tablet was invented in 1957 and went national in 1962 with Warner-Lambert. They became a huge craze as kids just plopped the tablet on their tongue and let it fizz. The Fizzies phenomenon came to a halt in 1968 when the sweetener, cyclamates, was banned by the Food and Drug Administration, due to evidence that it caused cancer. In 1995, grown-up Fizzies fans reformulated the original recipe using NutraSweet (aspartame). But they're no longer on the market.
Clark and Zagnut: The D.L. Clark Co. initially shipped its Clark Bar to American troops during World War I. Its popularity with the soldiers carried over to the general public. Clark and Zagnut are now made by the New England Confectionary Co.
Baby Ruth: The Curtiss Candy Co. in Chicago began selling the bars in 1921, when slugger Babe Ruth was shattering home-run records. When the Yankees slugger demanded royalties for use of his name on the product, Curtiss refused, saying the bar was actually named for President Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth. (A suspicious explanation, since Ruth Cleveland died at age 12 in 1904, about 17 years before the Baby Ruth candy bar was made.) The baseball player then started his own candy company and tried to register the phrase "Babe Ruth Home Run Bar." But the Curtiss company opposed it, and the patent office turned down The Babe's application. The bar is made today by Nestle.
Skybar: In 1938, this bar was introduced by NECCO with a dramatic skywriting campaign.
Candy corn: Of the 20 million pounds of candy corn made each year, 75 percent is sold at Halloween. When it was first made by the Wunderle Candy Co. in the 1880s, the tri-colored candy was considered revolutionary. Goelitz Confectionary Co. (famous for its Jelly Belly jelly beans) began making candy corn around 1898, and the product carried the company through two world wars and the Depression.
Charleston Chew was originally launched in 1922 by the Fox-Cross Candy Company and was named after a dance craze in full swing at the time — the Charleston. Today, it's made by Tootsie Roll.
Mason Crows were originally made in the 1890s by founders Ernest Von Au and Joseph Mason. They were supposed to be called Black Rose, but when the name was given orally to a printer, he heard "Black Crows" and printed up wrappers that way. Both Mason Crows and Dots are now made by Tootsie Roll.
Andes Mints: In 1950, the creme de menthe candy piece was made by Andes Candies and today is the market's top after-dinner mint. They are now made by Tootsie Roll.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were first made in the 1920s by Harry Burnett Reese, a former dairy employee of Hershey Foods who started his own company. In 1963, the H.B. Reese Co. was sold to Hershey.
Rocky Road was the first candy bar produced by Sam Altshuler, a Russian immigrant, in the 1950s. He named his candy company after his daughter, Annabelle. Today, Annabelle Candy Co. makes Rocky Road, Big Hunk, U-NO, Look and Abba-Zaba.
Mounds was made in 1920 by Peter Paul Halajian. The Peter Paul Co. also made Walnettos in 1929, Almond Joy in 1946, Almond Cluster in 1959 and Caravelle in 1965. Peter Paul became part of Cadbury and was later bought by Hershey. Other candies now made by Hershey include Heath Toffee Bar (made in1928 by Heath Brothers Confectionery), Jujubes (made by Henry Heide Inc.), Sixlets, Jolly Rancher, Whoppers, Twizzlers and Payday bars.
Sen-Sen, created in the 1890s by a perfume dealer, was the first commercial breath freshener. The origin of the name is lost; but everyone knew that when a country swain went a-courtin,' he tucked an envelope of these tiny licorice-and-herb candies in his pocket. Today they are made by F&F Laboratories.
Snickers , introduced in 1929 by Frank and Ethel Mars, was named for the family's favorite horse. Mars created 3 Musketeers in 1933, as a three-flavor bar — strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. In 1945, it was changed to all-chocolate nougat.
M&Ms began in 1941 as a joint venture between Frank Mar's son Forrest and Bruce Murrie, son of Hershey President William Murrie, (Mars was the first "M" and Murrie was the second.) M&Ms were included in World War II GI rations because they didn't melt in hot climates. In 1954, the peanut version came out, and so did the famous advertising slogan, "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand."
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