The October 28th Chicago Tribune had Mark Jacob's "10 Things you might not know about candy"
Some of the interesting facts he came up with:
1. The Arabs are credited with inventing caramel, but it was used for harem hair removal.
2. Americans knew little about chocolate until the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition which featured chocolate making machines from Germany. A fairgoer, Milton Hershey bought every piece of equipment...and the rest is history.
3. Chicago area candy-- we've been at the center of candy-making for a long time. Such treats as Tootsie Rolls, Atomic Fireballs, Lemonheads, Baby Ruths, Butterfingers, Milk Duds, Milky Ways, Three Musketeers, Snickers, Oh Henry! bars, Frango Mints, Cracker Jacks, Turtles, Doves, Jelly Bellies, and Pixies have been made here. And they didn't even mention my all-time favorite, Red Hots.
4. The Baby Ruth controversy-- The Baby Ruth candy bar debuted in 1921, but the origin of the name has always been in dispute. Chicago-based maker Curtiss Candy Co. insisted it was named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter. But some historians wonder why it would be named after someone who had died 17 years earlier. The name was quite similar to that of baseball star Babe Ruth.
5. Snickers-knickers-- When the Mars Co. started selling Snickers in Britain, they changed the name to Marathon to avoid any jokes about Snickers rhyming with knickers.
6. M&M Misses the Boat-- Producers of the film "ET" wanted to use M&Ms, but Mars said no. Hershey was only too happy to offer their Reese's Pieces. Sales soared.
7. "Bad" parenting-- The National Confectioners Association says that 90% of parents admit to sneaking Halloween goodies out of their kids booty.
8. Brown M&Ms removed Backstage-- You always hear of rock excess and a good story is that Van Halen's contract requires a bowl of M&Ms backstage with the brown ones removed. Singer David Lee Roth says the removal isn't a big thing, just something to see if promoters have paid attention to the contract. Boy, is that David a smart guy.
Getting H-o-n-gry Typing This. Wonder If There's Any Candy in the Old Pantry? --Da Coot
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