Who doesn't love chocolate with a colorful candy coating? No one--that's who. But as much as we love M&Ms, why in the world do we call them that?
It all had to do with names. M&Ms were invented when Forrest Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie got together during World War 2 to make candy. Thus, the iconic name!
Kit Kats are a delicious combo of wafers and chocolate that's sold worldwide. But it actually got its start (and name) in a 18th century British inn.
The innkeeper where the candy was invented was known as Christopher Catt, and the rest was history. The candy was originally called Kit Cat, but they eventually made the switch to the modern Kit Kat.
Who in the world doesn't love a good Snickers? But as tasty as these chocolate bars are, we're still totally confused by the name.
Snickers are produced by the Mars corporation owned by the Mars family--who used to have a favorite pet horse called Snickers. Hopefully they didn't feed him too many of his namesake!
You might think you know the origins of Baby Ruth's name, but this candy bar has a bit of a cloudy history. It could be named after the famous baseball player, but it might not be.
The Baby Ruth candy bar was originally called the Kandy Kake, and when they made the switch, they said it was to honor President Grover Cleveland's dead daughter, Ruth. However, baseball star Babe Ruth was rising to fame at the time as well, so there's no telling what the real meaning is.
Here's another instance where a candy's name origin sounds obvious--Milky Ways are named after the galaxy, right? It's not that simple!
While our galaxy's name was a bit of an inspiration, the "milky" in Milky Way actually comes from the candy bar's marketing--it was originally advertised as milkier than a malted milk.
The name "3 Musketeers" makes absolutely no sense these days--to most people, it's just always what it's been called. However, when they were originally released, it was the perfect name.
Before wartime rationing during World War II, a 3 Musketeers package used to come with a chocolate, a strawberry, and a vanilla bar. However, it was reduced to just a chocolate bar, and the other two were never reintroduced.
Pez as a candy is already weird enough--you've got these hard, tiny candies coming out of Batman's head. But the short, strange name just makes things even weirder.
However, this is one candy name that's pretty straightforward in reality. Pez is a play on the German word for peppermint ("pfefferminz"), which was the original flavor for the candy.
Junior Mints knew they needed an amazing name if they were going to be successful with such a blah candy. Naming it was basically a game of "How do we avoid copyright infringement?"
At the time when the candy was released, there was a popular play known as Junior Miss. Thus, Junior Mints were born. We never knew it was a bandwagon candy.
When Milk Duds were originally invented, it was kind of a failure. They wanted a perfectly round candy, but some kept coming out misshapen.
These less-than-perfect pieces were referred to as "duds," and thus history was made! We can't imagine that perfectly round ones would taste any better!
Life Savers knew that nothing good would come out of overthinking a name. They just went with the obvious.
They got their name from the fact that they look like mini life preservers you'd find on a boat. Plus, since they're a breath freshener, they'll save your life on a date, etc.
Smarties might not be the most in-demand candy around, but no one really complains when they show up at Halloween. The name of this candy is another instance of a company not overthinking things.
Smarties comes from the phrase, "that smarts!" which is something you say when you stub your toe or experience some sort of sudden, sharp pain. The makers apparently believed that the candy was sour enough to warrant that moniker.
The Butterfinger name makes absolutely no sense. And that's completely to be expected, considering it got its name via a contest.
For whatever reason, someone submitted "Butterfinger", and even more confusingly, the company loved it. I guess it's been too long to complain about now, though!
Tootsie Rolls are typically not a top-tier candy, but they'll do in a pinch. This classic treat has been around since 1907.
When it came to naming the candy, maker Leo Hirshfield kept it in the family. He named them after his daughter, Clara, who was nicknamed "tootsie."
It's a good thing that Jolly Ranchers are delicious, because the origin of the name makes absolutely zero sense. It was a real, "What were they thinking?" moment.
The couple that invented the candy wanted a name that suggested "a hospitable, western company." Thus, Jolly Ranchers were born, but what does candy have to do with hospitality or the American west?
The origin of the name Twix is a little murky, even though it seems like it would be obvious. It's got to do with the two bars, right?
Yes, but beyond that, we're not really sure where the rest of the name came from. Right now, the best guess is that it's a mash-up of the words "twin" and "mix."
Reese's is truly the world's best candy. It's easily the tastiest, but more importantly, it's got a very no-nonsense name.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were invented by Harry Burnett Reese in 1928. Something tells me that he named the candy after himself.
Airheads inventor Steve Bruner was using his head when it came to naming the candy. He knew that it takes a generation for a brand name to enter the public consciousness, so he needed something that was already popular.
He asked his kids for suggestions--specifically asking them what they would call a friend who did something silly. When they replied, "an airhead," history was born.
As a kid, would a trip to the bank be complete without a Dum Dum? These suckers were nothing to write home about, but we never turned them down.
And the origin of the name is very simple and straightforward. The company merely wanted a brand name that "any child could say."
The Heath Bar got its name from its creator--L.S. Heath. In 1914, he bought a candy shop as an investment for his children.
A few years later, they bought the toffee recipe that would later become the Heath Bar. Interestingly, the Heath company was a big supplier of candy to soldiers during World War 2.
The Hershey Company got its name from its founders, but what about the Hershey's kiss specifically? What was the inspiration for that?
It turns out that "kiss" was a general name for small pieces of candy back in the day. However, over time, the term became associated exclusively with Hershey's.
We never imagined that Skittles would be related to bowling, but it turns out that's the case. More specifically, Skittles are associated with UK bowling.
In Great Britain, "skittles" is a type of bowling that's commonly played on tabletops. More specifically, the candy got its name from the resulting British phrase--life is not all beer and skittles.
I'm just going to say it--Sour Patch Kids are trend chasers. These sour gummies were originally known as Mars Men, but that all changed in the 80s.
When the Cabbage Patch Kids blew up in popularity, the candy company decided they needed to capitalize on this success. Thus, the change from Mars Men to Sour Patch Kids.
It might just be candy, but there's something fancy about Toblerone. So it makes sense that the name would incorporate a little exotic flair.
The name is a mash-up of two things. It takes the name of the candy inventor, Theodor Tobler, and mixes it with the word torrone, which is a word for Italian nougats.
Twizzlers are almost 100 years old at this point, but we're still not sure where the name comes from. It's a true mystery for the ages.
People are pretty certain that the name has something to do with the word "twizzle," which means to twist or turn. But beyond that, the specifics are pretty murky.
Which came first--the candy or the Peanuts character? In this case, it looks like York predates the cartoon.
When they were originally released, the patties were a regional candy (York is in Pennsylvania). However, over time, they became the dominant patty across the nation.
