Best of the Grammar Diva!
I don’t know about you, but when I think of Halloween, I don’t think about pumpkins and goblins —
I think about candy. And when I got too old to go out with a pillowcase and get my own candy, I stole from my kids’ candy bags (didn’t you????). I loved candy more than they did – I probably still do. I would just take a piece at a time, hoping they wouldn’t notice.
What is your favorite candy? Of course I love chocolate, mostly dark chocolate. Nothing is better than dark-chocolate-covered creams, especially orange and raspberry, and maybe lemon. I also love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (even though mostly they are milk chocolate) and Junior Mints. Right now I don’t eat candy, but when I do, my favorites are basically sugar: candy corn, Good and Plenty, and jelly beans. Yeah, I know: you either love candy corn or you hate it, and it seems that most people hate it, but I could eat it by the bag.
Whether or not you have bought any candy for trick-or-treaters yet, I thought you might be amused and intrigued by some dandy, candy trivia:
Favorite Halloween Candy – Depends on the state you live in. Candy corn is the favorite in Alabama, so perhaps I should move there! But Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Milky Way, and M&Ms are popular everywhere.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – This candy was named after its originator, Harry Burnett Reese.
Candy Corn – The Goelitz brand of candy corn has been around since 1898. It was originally called “chicken feed,” which I am sure some people would prefer to call it now. In 2001 the company changed its name to Jelly Belly. By the way, the Jelly Belly factory is in California. They have a wonderful tour with lots of samples, and they sell bags of irregular (rejected) jelly beans for cheap — they are called Belly Flops. By the way, an opened bag of candy corn can last for three to six months. In my house it can stay for only minutes before it is gone, but I know many people would say it doesn’t matter how fresh or stale it is, it tastes the same.
Candy Cigarettes – I don’t think these have been around for a long time, but they were around when I was a kid. However, North Dakota banned these candies from 1953 to 1969 because they thought the candy would encourage kids to smoke cigarettes.
Tootsie Rolls – Every day 64 million Tootsie Rolls are made.
Tootsie Roll Pops – It takes a licking machine 364-411 licks to get to the chocolate center of a Tootsie Roll Pop. But it takes a human only 144-252 licks. I am assuming the machines are for quality assurance!
Snickers – This candy bar was named after Franklin Mars’ deceased racehorse. The horse was raised at the family farm in Tennessee; the farm was called The Milky Way.
Cotton Candy – This candy was created by a dentist (!), William Morrison, along with confectioner John C. Wharton. It was originally called Fairy Floss until the name was changed to cotton candy in the 1920s.
M&Ms – The two Ms stand for Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie, who developed and financed them.
Junior Mints – This candy was named after the Broadway play Junior Miss, which ran from 1941 to 1943.
Three Musketeers – This candy bar was so named because originally it featured pieces of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry candy. However, during World War II, vanilla and strawberry were hard to find, so they went with just chocolate.
Peeps – (Yuck) – Before automation, it would take 27 hours to make a Peep. It now takes 6 minutes, and 5.5 million of them are made in their Pennsylvania factory every day. (Does all candy come from Pennsylvania? Hershey does.)
White Chocolate – Doesn’t even taste like chocolate to me. And why? Because it isn’t really chocolate and contains no cocoa solids at all.
Care for Some Wine? – Wine experts recommending pairing the following candies and wines: Whoppers with Cabernet, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups with Sherry, and Hershey Kisses with Zinfandel.
How Much Candy Is Too Much? – According to the American Chemical Society, eating 262 fun-size Halloween candy bars would poison a 180-pound person.
Enjoyed your entertaining post about candy. Yes, I love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups too, but I wouldn’t turn away many of the others! Interesting, I just edited a book that used M&M’s. I had to look it up and there is an apostrophe in there.
I will remember that next time I write M&M’s! Thanks for the comment!
Hi Arlene! Such a fun & funny collection of candy trivia – I “snickered” all the way through it! And yes, I bought a bag of Hallowe’en candy today, plus a package of Reese’s “Pumpkins” (the chocolate is carved like a jack o’ lantern to show the peanut filling).
BTW, I’ll trade you my candy corn for your Peeps any day!
It’s a deal You can have the Peeps any day!!!! Thanks for the comment!
Hey Arlene,
A fun read, entertaining and educational! Thanks.
I do have one grammar question. I’m not trying to call you out, just curious if I’m missing a fine point. Shouldn’t the possessive in “Franklin Mars’ deceased racehorse” be “Franklin Mars’s?”
Happy Halloween from a fellow candy corn lover!
You are very welcome — and you are very correct. Well, I go by the pronunciation. How would you pronounce the possessive of Mars?? I think it could go either way. But I do prefer Mars’s.