March 7, 2024 • 28 mins
Are you a fan of licorice? Have you ever encountered wax lips in the wild? Where do you stand in the great Peeps debate? Join Ben, Noel and Max as they continue to explore some of the world's most divisive candy in the second part of this special two-part series.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ridiculous Histories, a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to the
(00:27):
show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so much for
tuning in. This is a two parter, parter parter parter,
part thank you too, Part two. It's two part part
part part two. Thanks to our super producer mister Max Williams,
also research associate on this. This became our entire week
(00:48):
because Noel, you and I have a lot of opinions
about the candies. And I'm bet by the way.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Oh yeah, yeah, and it's me no and I don't
know what do you say? We dive right in to
the chocolate river.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Let's have a reading of the of a little piece
of satire written for the Sundial coming out of Ohio
State Credit to the authors, Sarah Palazzo and Emily Pratt.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
As the festivities of Halloween come to a close, we
find our subject an almond joy candy left forgotten at
the bottom of his child's candy bag. He is no
stranger to this life. After going uneaten, he must endure
the annual humiliation of being given away on the following Halloween,
being passed on to child after child, for he has
(01:39):
never wanted in anyone's home. The endless cycle of fleeting
hope and crushing rejection never gets easier for our unfortunate
Almond Joy.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
So it's the fruitcake argument.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It's true.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I do recognize I'm in the minority in liking Almond Joe.
But hey, I clean up on Halloween, you know, because
my kid gives me all the Almond Joy.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Cleaning up on Halloween is pretty good. How many of
those Almondjoys make it to next Halloween?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Oh God, I don't know. There's no leftover candy. It's
they had to be consumed. No, I don't.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah, I don't end up with like that many because
I guess to Max's point, it does feel like it
is sort of the red headed step child of the
you know, candy grab bag that is often purchased, so
you know, you got to give it out to somebody.
But then I guess they trickle down to it does
seem like kind of like a dad candy.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
So I wear it with bride.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Now, Max, can you break down for us a little
bit of how Ohio State speaks to you nostalgically for
all of them Joy?
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Oh yeah, it's just like you know, my opinions on
almond Joy are so strong that So I'm a diehard
University of Michigan fan, so I hate Ohio State, but
I will quote them if we're making fun of Almondjoy together.
But also, University of Michigan's head coach, head coach doesn't
dance with a whistle in.
Speaker 5 (02:58):
His mouth, So I'm all good.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Okay, I don't know. I don't know about you, but uh, yeah,
that flew over.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Yeah right, that's fine. There'll be some do we need
to wait next?
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Are you saying we need to have whistles? Or so?
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Before last year's Ohio State Michigan game, Ohio State's head
coach Ryan Day, who, if he loses for a fourth
straight time, will certainly be fired. I know a number
of Ohio State fans who wish.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
He was already fired. Uh.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
There is a video, very unfortunate video of him dancing
the He's in the middle with all the players around,
He's dancing around with a whistleless mouth, and it's like
the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
All Right, Well, if it's not too subversive, I suggest
we put a max with the facts in on that one.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Why not? Why not sports? These sports a dish.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
But yeah, it does appear that there are some very
new England roots to almond Joy. According to an article
from mash dot com, The Untold Truth of Almondjoy, it
got its roots in Naugatuck, Connecticut with the candy seller
Peter Paul Halajian, who founded the Peter Paul Candy Company
(04:24):
in nineteen nineteen, and more than two decades later, the almond.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Joy was born a you know, a little I.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Guess elliptical, you know, nugget of a coconut covered in
milk chocolate set with a crunchy almond.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Yeah. And here's the thing you might be wondering, ridiculous historians,
why did Peter Paul Hallijohn create the Peter Paul Candy Company.
He changed his last name to Paul because it being
mispronounced Halla John or halle John. Yeah, kept being mispronounced.
(05:06):
And the roots of this company do date back to
the early nineteen hundreds. But the almond Joy's real moment
in the sun arrives in the nineteen forties. And it
turns out we weren't just citing mounds for fun and games.
Although I do love again this stand up comedian Shen
Wang shen Wang. You gotta check him out. He's so good.
(05:29):
He has a great bit on Almond Joy mounts. And
it turns out that Mounds themselves are part of the
reason for the success of the Almond Joy.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I guess I never realized that Mounds came first. So
in the earliest days of the Peter Paul Candy Company,
now with name change, Peter Paul himself had quite a
few different confections that he had designed, different candy bars too,
including coconut one called the ConA Bar, which is chocolate, coconuts, nuts,
(06:02):
and some fruits. And that was actually one of the
first kind of I guess flag not flagship, but like
you know, a unique creation of the Peter Paul Candy Company.
This is according to Connecticut Explored. Mounds came around in
nineteen twenty one as a combo of coconut filling, coated
and dark chocolate, and I guess, based on the way
(06:24):
things went, it kind of served as almost a prototype
for the Almond Joy. But even before the Almond Joy
came along, was quite popular in its own right.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yeah, yeah, Mounds was quite successful and when Paul unfortunately
passes away in nineteen twenty seven, Carl Kazigian decides to
specialize in candy, and there is a beauty to specificity.
So he says, look, we're going to get rid of
(06:54):
most of the other stuff we're making and we're going
to focus on the things that are doing the best
in the market, which are mounds. And they said, you know,
we also have a problem because mounds are our best seller.
But we have to make every literally every single mound
by hand. So here's what col does that's very smart.
(07:17):
He automates it. He takes like a Henry Ford approach
and builds an assembly line to create the mounds. And
this means they can sell more mounds. People really love them.
And so in the nineteen thirties, the Peter Paul Candy
Company becomes this is a true story, folks, the world's
(07:37):
largest single consumer of coconuts.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Wow, there's something to be said about that.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
At this time, with even with the assembly line stuff
and the kind of modernization of the process, still wouldn't
have been fully automated. I guess I'm picturing sort of
like that I Love Lucy bit where Lucy and Ethel
are like trying to wrap candies or something on this
assembly line and it goes out out of control and
so fast, and like Lucy to keep up, just start
shoving the candies in her mouth. I'm guessing it's sort
(08:05):
of there's still a human element at this point, even
with this insane scaling that you know, would just be
operating on one of those like conveyed type assembly lines.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And so just like Swanson with all those turkeys that
led to the invention of the frozen dinner, Peter Paul
Candy Company is looking around the boardroom and they're they're
a wash with coconuts. They're riddled with coconuts. The boardroom
probably asks crates of coconuts, and they're like, what are
(08:34):
we gonna do with all.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
The guys proposing something in a coconut falls and knocks
them out, Yes, yeah, and everything.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
And they're like, dang, Jeremy's out of the game. Almond
Joy is developed as a result of this. They used
to make a thing called dream Bars, which were coconut
and diced almonds, but they invent almond Joy as an
(09:00):
evolution of this in nineteen forty eight.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
That's interesting because you think it would assembly no maybe
not maybe assembly line wise, plopping that almond on there
on its own, is easier than dicing in and putting
it in there. But it also allowed them to have
two different candies that used the surplus of coconut, so
they essentially were able to double their output. Both of
the candies come in packages of two of these small
(09:26):
bars and have the same exact filling. So there we go,
two coconuts with one coconut, and then Almond Joy of
course uses milk chocolate and adds that whole almond. The
almond is actually, you know, as answers my previous question,
the almond is actually coated in chocolate before being added
to the bar, and then the whole deal is coated again,
(09:48):
and this protects the almond from getting soggy and gives
you know, folks, kind of a little extra hit of chocolate.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And Max compares coconut to coca nut to poison, which
I don't, you know, Max, I gotta tell you, man,
have you ever had a good curry?
Speaker 4 (10:08):
I mean, I had forgotten that I wrote that line.
And because this is this is my moment of truth
right here. Yeah, I actually kind of like almond Joys,
Like I never seek them out, but I don't I
don't mind them.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
It's more than I just.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Can't have them with the condition con That's where this
entire thing came from, is I can't have any candy
because of the condition ASID, I can't have chocolate, I
can't have almonds.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
But uh yeah no, but then a good coconut curry
is the jam huge fan.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
I gotta cook them for you sometimes, you guys, I'm
getting pretty good at it. But all right, still, uh
we have more satire from Palazzo and Pratt about the
almond joy spoiler. I don't think we have to read
the whole thing. It is again arguing a kind of
fruitcake comparison. What we mean when we say fruitcake comparison
(10:57):
is the old troop. I don't know if you guys
have heard of this, the old trope that because fruitcakes
are shelf stable, someone will give it to someone as
a holiday thing, and the next holiday someone will just
send it back. They'll regift fruitcakes. Sure, I don't know, Like,
have you guys ever eaten fruitcake? Are you a fan?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
I don't think on purpose, No, now that I think
about it, I just don't like those kind of weird
preserved candied fruits. They're just a little sacriny something about
it just doesn't It's the weird colors, the green cherries,
you know, a little lot.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
I mean one year Alex got a fruitcake for the
family for Christmas and it's sat in the family fridge
for weeks until somebody just threw it away because it
was a joke.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
But right, that would be Alex Williams, biological brother of
Max and our composer for Ridiculous History.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
I remember, well, y'all have an episode about fruitcakes for
Antarctic explorers or something that, right, because the funny, funny
story here. I was a fan of the show before
I worked on it, so I remember listening to that
one and be like, oh, that's my fruitcake?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Are you serious? Yeah? I don't think I've told you
guys that you have never Oh wow, and here we
are learning on the hot streets of the internet. Thank you, Max.
That's very kind. We have other directions to go, of course,
for many people listening, you might be thinking of other
candy that has yet to be named, and you might
(12:29):
be thinking, what about those red hots, what about all
the cinnamon flavored.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Candy, lemon heads perhaps.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Lemon heads perhaps, what about laughy taffy. What about you know,
do you guys remember in days of childhood Halloween the
orange and black wax paper wrapped taffies. Was that just
in my neighbors.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Saltwater taffy kind of situation?
Speaker 2 (12:53):
They had no label, they were greatly bought in bold. Yeah, yeah,
I do know what you're talking about. Some of them
would be various kind of pale colors, you know, pink,
pinks and blues and things like that.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Distressingly so somehow pallid and love crafting.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
There's also another one. We didn't talk. You mentioned bit
of honey before earlier, right, so it did.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
Can I go a little bit round about this one? Yeah,
because it's like, so I've been using the start.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
I used this article from Local Syracuse by Megan Hatches. Basically,
this is a pole like these are the candies that
people hate, and bet o'honey was on there. I'm like,
I don't agree with that one. So like our equipment
distributor Sweetwater, one of the big things they do is
they send a bag of candy to people and we
get better honey all the time on that and laffy.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
He always had lafi.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
He always Lafti tavy too, and uh, I remember being
like a bit of honey and then I I'm like, oh,
that's actually like pretty good. It's got a nostalgia, it's like,
you know, it's so MATERITISI roll. But I think it's
not a bad candy at all.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
It tastes like honey n cheerios.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, it's just like a very concentrated version of honey cheerios.
So would you want to eat an entire tobleroam bar equivalent?
Probably not in one sitting, right, but I put away
two or three. You probably put it? Yeah, yeah, and
that's I think. Also the genius of a lot of
candy is the idea of individual packaging and wrapping.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Like, you know another thing we didn't have on the
list here you guys, do you remember the wax lips? Yeah?
Is that candy? Are you supposed to eat it?
Speaker 3 (14:32):
No?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
It was you supposed to put it in your mouth
and make a silly face as it makes you look goofy.
Or there'd be different ones with like you know, you
could get ones in a like vampire fangs. Do you
remember a Looney Tunes episode? I can't remember who said it?
But someone was like asking maybe bugs Bunny for a tip, like,
you know, a monetary tip, and he says, never leave
wax lips on the dresser by an open window on
(14:55):
a hot day.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
That is technically true. That is technically a tip, A
good tip. Uh yeah, So shout out to Waco Wax.
They're one of the biggest manufacturer sheet stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Yeah, still to this day they must be the only
game in town.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Can't be a big crowded marketplace for wax lips anymore.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
I'm sure TIMU makes some, right, because TIMU makes everything.
Have you guys gotten the TMU ads?
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Yeah, they're probably bizarre, right, But like I'm looking now
at like the classic configuration, you'd have one that was
like a you know, pretty lady lipstick type lips, and
then there'd be vampire fangs, and then one was like
it's like a mustache. There are probably some other variations.
Those are the ones that I remember from from the classics.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
But wait for it. Do you know who owns Wacko
wax Mmm, Twtsy roll Industries.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
It does say in some of the descriptions that they're chewable,
but you're literally just chewing wax. It's like non flavored gum.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
It's like, I think it's called food grade paraffe in wax,
which does not sound appetizing.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Anytime you say food grade, you think it always is
a little sus right.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
It's an implication. You know, it's up there with cheese
food product.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
That's exactly right. We mentioned laffy taffy quite a bit.
Do I do appreciate their jokes. There's some good dad
jokes contained within laffy taffy packaging.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah, they are laughy for sure. It's kind of like
Bazooka bubblegum. They had a comic book in there, you know. Yeah,
and laffy Taffy's really do there is good taffy.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
It's not my thing, but like you know, if you
go to like a beachside community or something where they've
got a little boardwalk, there's gonna be like people stretching
the taffy. It's again, it's just classic Americana. But guys,
moment of truth, how do you feel about licorice? Black
licorice specifically, because that's even a stand in for a
term for like something that's an acquired taste.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
You say that guy's black licorice, you.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Know, good friend of the show, Lauren Vogelbaum, who may
be returning soon, is a fan of licorice. One time
she reached out to me and she told me that
she had some licorice that was too far for her,
some drops of licorice that were like cough drops, you know,
like like a little robotussin or something kind of cough drop,
(17:22):
but it was licorice flavored. It was sent to her
for her show she does with any Reese called Savor,
and they were like, this is a treat in Northern Europe,
and she tried one and she said she couldn't get
the taste out of her mouth for like an hour, So.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
It's it can be very intense.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
And yeah, in Europe they pride themselves on the intensity
of their licorice candies.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Great Western Europe is saying to themselves, if we would
be known for one thing, Yes, it's the intensity of
our licorice.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Licorice it is in fact derived from a plant that
actually has some I believe medicinal properties.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we're talking and it tastes
like it does. Glycer is a glabra, right, which does
sound like the name of a villain in Harry Potter
or James Bond.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah, and it has anti inflammatory properties, can act as
an antioxidant, and there's also antimicrobial it can it can
help reduce acid reflux.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yeah, it's generally recognized as safe. There are some problems
with it. If you eat too much licorice, you might
lower your potassium levels.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Yeah, we're talking about that right exactly, so that it
wants you to know about the Great potassium Conspiracy about like,
you know, supplement We're going to do a whole episode
on supplements. But that's interesting because apparently potassium, the way
it is absorbed or something like it, it's harder to
get from supplements than say vitamin C or what have you.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Licorice is interesting because it's one of those love it
or hate it things like I don't see a lot
of people who are very middling about licorice. I see
people who have an adverse reaction or they're big fans.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Well, you know, it's funny because people will sometimes refer
to twizzlers or red vines as red licorice, but it's
not the same at all. There's none of that licorice
flavor is in that it's just a similar medium, you know,
for delivering kind of a sugary, strawberry adjacent chewy treat.
I actually quite like Twizzlers for a treat at the movies.
(19:46):
I like it you can bite off each end and
use it as a straw for your soda.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
I like a lot of stuff at cinema that I
wouldn't normally eat.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
I gotta say I love a Nestley crunch because I
associate it with watch movies and you crutch it just
like putting em and m's in the popcorn or something
and shaking it up. You got a nice, sweet, salty treat.
I do have one question for you guys. For everybody peeps,
for them against.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Them, it's a marshmallow like so, I mean, I'm okay
with it in general, but I don't love it.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
They're a little too sugaring.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
Did you guys see the last week tonight? Like they
had like a period where they decided to go after peeps,
maybe like a number of videos.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
I mean, I don't hate them, I don't love them.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
They're fine. I agree with Milsteate completely. They're just like
a marshmallow that's a little too intense.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Okay, They're a marshmallow that went on. It's interesting because
they I think they originally came out in the early
nineteen fifties, and they were always a seasonally base thing,
so it's not like candy corn, where they sort of
found where they fit in. They were always marketed originally
(21:08):
at Easter, so I think that's why you don't see
them happening as a you know, like a nostalgic piece
of other celebrations. When did little duckies start being associated
with Easter? I've always wondered baby ducklings. I guess maybe
just because they're sort of spring springy associated, you know.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I don't know, because new birth perhaps the yeah, maybe
rebirths because they're baby ducklings. But you know, I understand
the rabbits, even though that doesn't make much sense either.
The Easter bunny what that has to do with the resurrection.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
How many poor kids grew up like and I say poor,
not financially, I'm just like, I feel bad for all
of us. How many kids grew up thinking there's a
species of giant rabbits that lays eggs, you know, and
then hides them and then hides them, and it's your
job to high this rabbit. It's very strange.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
It's a little lot.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Maybe a history of Easter as a future episode. But
what do we think, guys, any other candy that we
find just awful?
Speaker 5 (22:13):
Or can I just give you all the flavors necho wafers?
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Yeah? Yeah, do they even realize they had? Like they
thought the same.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
There's eight flavorsnna, you guys gonna encringe at some of them.
We got winter green chocolate, which by far, by, by far,
chocolate's the best one, lime, lemon, clove, cinnamon, orange.
Speaker 5 (22:35):
And here's the last one. Yeah, licorice.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
Ah, yeah, yep.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
They got licorice.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Those things just feel like a pill, like, you know,
like it's yeah, something about them.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
This feels so medicinal.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
My dad was so happy when I give him to
him on Christmas and he said, oh, Max, to want someone,
Oh sorry, I can't have them with the condition, dad,
And I was so glad I could use that as
an excuse, like, nope, can't have those Oh the condition
the condition?
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, yeah, the ultimate the ultimate reason.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Right. Uh, we got.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Your back there, Max. We also want to shout out
I think it was wasn't it? Stuff you should know?
Did a necho Wafers episode. Am I recalling that correctly?
Speaker 3 (23:14):
I don't know, I'm not familiar with that one.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
I always also kind of associate necho wafers with not smarties.
What are the ones that literally look like little pills
that come rolled up.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
They're kind of smaller than necho wafers.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
But they're not smarties.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
They're not smarties. Smarties are around.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Right right, and TikTok is got rolled up?
Speaker 3 (23:37):
What am I thinking of?
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Killdy Well, while you're looking that up, I want to
shout out, shout out our Alma Matter, How Stuff Works
a greater Smarties.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Oh, they're definitely smarties.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah, they're their little pill like they look like an
aspirin or something, but they're essentially, I think, following the
lead of neco wafers. I'm not quite sure what the
chronology is there. They don't purport to have differing flavors.
I want to shout out this article from our Alma
Matter House Stuff Works by John Donovan, which answers the
(24:12):
question some people maybe having in the audience. Max in particular,
how did the necho wafer.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Last so long? Because it's kind of like other you know,
if you go into a cracker barrel or a country
store kind of thing. You see a lot of, you know,
candy of yesteryear, like Penny Candy, Rock Crystal candy, Warhouse
spelled hore Hound malamars.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
That's love marshmallowy chocolatey thing. Really quickly though, I was
looking at the history of Smarties and they definitely are
pretty pretty adjacent to Neco Wafers, founded in nineteen forty
nine by Edward d. He actually repurposed a World War
Two pellet making machine to make and that's where the
shape of these things come to center.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
So yeah, I had no idea, And also shout out
to Max who just slid us a note during class
about pepsi peeps.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
About pepsi peeps, but that sounds like something you'd take
for a upset stomach.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Yeah, I learned that one from last week tonight. I've
never had one, but there was a there was a
period where pepsi and peeps did a combination. Oh god, yeah,
I don't know what it days, but it's like, you know,
awful marshmallows and awful soda mixed together.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
And in February of twenty twenty three they got back
together because they have worked with each other for some time.
It appears this goes all the way to the top
of soda and sugar and candy. And I can't believe it,
but we made this a two parter.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Huh what do you think?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I think we did too. The last thing on Smarty Sorry,
one of the top results that comes up when you
google Smarties is are Smarties made of chalk? So there
you go, But no, I think this is a delightful
tuope parter.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
And I got one last thing to leave us with there.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
If you type in candy corn jokes into Google, you
will find that's one of the top things. A candy
corn looking in the mirror and says, well, I.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Like me, you go good cute looking, they have a
nice shape. I like the the aesthetics of candy corn.
I just don't want to eat them.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
I also, you know, I also want to note there
are things like seafood flavored candy out there by Japanese
squid candy. It's not bad. There are pickles flavored candies.
What we're going to see is that throughout the world
of candy, you can properly find the texture and the
(26:49):
taste that you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Agreed. It's out there.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
If you can imagine it, then chances are someone has created.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
It and thinks as always for joining us, folks. Big
big thanks to our super producer and research associate, mister
Max Williams. Big thanks to Alex Williams, composer of this
slapping bop. You here at the end of every show.
What candy do you think Jonathan Strickland aka the Quist
and Joyce do you think he's a candy man?
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Well, he's in the sense that if you say his
name a certain number of times that year or you
will appear and murder you with his hook hand.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
I mean I think he might go like, you know,
the dentist route and eat Apples's candy.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Got to get you a toilet papering job instantly on Halloween.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Oh, Pez, Pez is what I was thinking about.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Related very adjacent, but at least they figured out that
we'll sell the shy candy uh so that they can
get the toy and then the dispenser, you know.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
And then the Pez dispensers was born.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
I think Pez is original, or at least the dispenser
was meant to be an anti smoking aid or some
fun story for another day.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Perhaps, Yeah, thank you to Pez for sure.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Yeah, I actually think, if I'm not mistaken, we've talked
a bit about the history of PEZ, and I think
it's a story onto itself, Like I believe there are
some twists and turns in that one, So maybe we'll
revisit that for a future episode.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
But man, yeah, no, this is fun.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Thanks also to Christopher Hasiotis, Eve's Jeff cot Gabe Luzier
our pals at Ridiculous Crime, and we got an excellent
opportunity to hang out with them recently. So check out
that crossover wherein we as a group play a game
called twenty Questions.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
We'll see you next time, folks.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Ridiculous Histories, a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to the
(00:27):
show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so much for
tuning in. This is a two parter, parter parter parter,
part thank you too, Part two. It's two part part
part part two. Thanks to our super producer mister Max Williams,
also research associate on this. This became our entire week
(00:48):
because Noel, you and I have a lot of opinions
about the candies. And I'm bet by the way.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Oh yeah, yeah, and it's me no and I don't
know what do you say? We dive right in to
the chocolate river.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Let's have a reading of the of a little piece
of satire written for the Sundial coming out of Ohio
State Credit to the authors, Sarah Palazzo and Emily Pratt.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
As the festivities of Halloween come to a close, we
find our subject an almond joy candy left forgotten at
the bottom of his child's candy bag. He is no
stranger to this life. After going uneaten, he must endure
the annual humiliation of being given away on the following Halloween,
being passed on to child after child, for he has
(01:39):
never wanted in anyone's home. The endless cycle of fleeting
hope and crushing rejection never gets easier for our unfortunate
Almond Joy.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
So it's the fruitcake argument.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It's true.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I do recognize I'm in the minority in liking Almond Joe.
But hey, I clean up on Halloween, you know, because
my kid gives me all the Almond Joy.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Cleaning up on Halloween is pretty good. How many of
those Almondjoys make it to next Halloween?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Oh God, I don't know. There's no leftover candy. It's
they had to be consumed. No, I don't.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah, I don't end up with like that many because
I guess to Max's point, it does feel like it
is sort of the red headed step child of the
you know, candy grab bag that is often purchased, so
you know, you got to give it out to somebody.
But then I guess they trickle down to it does
seem like kind of like a dad candy.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
So I wear it with bride.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Now, Max, can you break down for us a little
bit of how Ohio State speaks to you nostalgically for
all of them Joy?
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Oh yeah, it's just like you know, my opinions on
almond Joy are so strong that So I'm a diehard
University of Michigan fan, so I hate Ohio State, but
I will quote them if we're making fun of Almondjoy together.
But also, University of Michigan's head coach, head coach doesn't
dance with a whistle in.
Speaker 5 (02:58):
His mouth, So I'm all good.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Okay, I don't know. I don't know about you, but uh, yeah,
that flew over.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Yeah right, that's fine. There'll be some do we need
to wait next?
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Are you saying we need to have whistles? Or so?
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Before last year's Ohio State Michigan game, Ohio State's head
coach Ryan Day, who, if he loses for a fourth
straight time, will certainly be fired. I know a number
of Ohio State fans who wish.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
He was already fired. Uh.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
There is a video, very unfortunate video of him dancing
the He's in the middle with all the players around,
He's dancing around with a whistleless mouth, and it's like
the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
All Right, Well, if it's not too subversive, I suggest
we put a max with the facts in on that one.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Why not? Why not sports? These sports a dish.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
But yeah, it does appear that there are some very
new England roots to almond Joy. According to an article
from mash dot com, The Untold Truth of Almondjoy, it
got its roots in Naugatuck, Connecticut with the candy seller
Peter Paul Halajian, who founded the Peter Paul Candy Company
(04:24):
in nineteen nineteen, and more than two decades later, the almond.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Joy was born a you know, a little I.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Guess elliptical, you know, nugget of a coconut covered in
milk chocolate set with a crunchy almond.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Yeah. And here's the thing you might be wondering, ridiculous historians,
why did Peter Paul Hallijohn create the Peter Paul Candy Company.
He changed his last name to Paul because it being
mispronounced Halla John or halle John. Yeah, kept being mispronounced.
(05:06):
And the roots of this company do date back to
the early nineteen hundreds. But the almond Joy's real moment
in the sun arrives in the nineteen forties. And it
turns out we weren't just citing mounds for fun and games.
Although I do love again this stand up comedian Shen
Wang shen Wang. You gotta check him out. He's so good.
(05:29):
He has a great bit on Almond Joy mounts. And
it turns out that Mounds themselves are part of the
reason for the success of the Almond Joy.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I guess I never realized that Mounds came first. So
in the earliest days of the Peter Paul Candy Company,
now with name change, Peter Paul himself had quite a
few different confections that he had designed, different candy bars too,
including coconut one called the ConA Bar, which is chocolate, coconuts, nuts,
(06:02):
and some fruits. And that was actually one of the
first kind of I guess flag not flagship, but like
you know, a unique creation of the Peter Paul Candy Company.
This is according to Connecticut Explored. Mounds came around in
nineteen twenty one as a combo of coconut filling, coated
and dark chocolate, and I guess, based on the way
(06:24):
things went, it kind of served as almost a prototype
for the Almond Joy. But even before the Almond Joy
came along, was quite popular in its own right.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yeah, yeah, Mounds was quite successful and when Paul unfortunately
passes away in nineteen twenty seven, Carl Kazigian decides to
specialize in candy, and there is a beauty to specificity.
So he says, look, we're going to get rid of
(06:54):
most of the other stuff we're making and we're going
to focus on the things that are doing the best
in the market, which are mounds. And they said, you know,
we also have a problem because mounds are our best seller.
But we have to make every literally every single mound
by hand. So here's what col does that's very smart.
(07:17):
He automates it. He takes like a Henry Ford approach
and builds an assembly line to create the mounds. And
this means they can sell more mounds. People really love them.
And so in the nineteen thirties, the Peter Paul Candy
Company becomes this is a true story, folks, the world's
(07:37):
largest single consumer of coconuts.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Wow, there's something to be said about that.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
At this time, with even with the assembly line stuff
and the kind of modernization of the process, still wouldn't
have been fully automated. I guess I'm picturing sort of
like that I Love Lucy bit where Lucy and Ethel
are like trying to wrap candies or something on this
assembly line and it goes out out of control and
so fast, and like Lucy to keep up, just start
shoving the candies in her mouth. I'm guessing it's sort
(08:05):
of there's still a human element at this point, even
with this insane scaling that you know, would just be
operating on one of those like conveyed type assembly lines.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And so just like Swanson with all those turkeys that
led to the invention of the frozen dinner, Peter Paul
Candy Company is looking around the boardroom and they're they're
a wash with coconuts. They're riddled with coconuts. The boardroom
probably asks crates of coconuts, and they're like, what are
(08:34):
we gonna do with all.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
The guys proposing something in a coconut falls and knocks
them out, Yes, yeah, and everything.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
And they're like, dang, Jeremy's out of the game. Almond
Joy is developed as a result of this. They used
to make a thing called dream Bars, which were coconut
and diced almonds, but they invent almond Joy as an
(09:00):
evolution of this in nineteen forty eight.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
That's interesting because you think it would assembly no maybe
not maybe assembly line wise, plopping that almond on there
on its own, is easier than dicing in and putting
it in there. But it also allowed them to have
two different candies that used the surplus of coconut, so
they essentially were able to double their output. Both of
the candies come in packages of two of these small
(09:26):
bars and have the same exact filling. So there we go,
two coconuts with one coconut, and then Almond Joy of
course uses milk chocolate and adds that whole almond. The
almond is actually, you know, as answers my previous question,
the almond is actually coated in chocolate before being added
to the bar, and then the whole deal is coated again,
(09:48):
and this protects the almond from getting soggy and gives
you know, folks, kind of a little extra hit of chocolate.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And Max compares coconut to coca nut to poison, which
I don't, you know, Max, I gotta tell you, man,
have you ever had a good curry?
Speaker 4 (10:08):
I mean, I had forgotten that I wrote that line.
And because this is this is my moment of truth
right here. Yeah, I actually kind of like almond Joys,
Like I never seek them out, but I don't I
don't mind them.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
It's more than I just.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Can't have them with the condition con That's where this
entire thing came from, is I can't have any candy
because of the condition ASID, I can't have chocolate, I
can't have almonds.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
But uh yeah no, but then a good coconut curry
is the jam huge fan.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
I gotta cook them for you sometimes, you guys, I'm
getting pretty good at it. But all right, still, uh
we have more satire from Palazzo and Pratt about the
almond joy spoiler. I don't think we have to read
the whole thing. It is again arguing a kind of
fruitcake comparison. What we mean when we say fruitcake comparison
(10:57):
is the old troop. I don't know if you guys
have heard of this, the old trope that because fruitcakes
are shelf stable, someone will give it to someone as
a holiday thing, and the next holiday someone will just
send it back. They'll regift fruitcakes. Sure, I don't know, Like,
have you guys ever eaten fruitcake? Are you a fan?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
I don't think on purpose, No, now that I think
about it, I just don't like those kind of weird
preserved candied fruits. They're just a little sacriny something about
it just doesn't It's the weird colors, the green cherries,
you know, a little lot.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
I mean one year Alex got a fruitcake for the
family for Christmas and it's sat in the family fridge
for weeks until somebody just threw it away because it
was a joke.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
But right, that would be Alex Williams, biological brother of
Max and our composer for Ridiculous History.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
I remember, well, y'all have an episode about fruitcakes for
Antarctic explorers or something that, right, because the funny, funny
story here. I was a fan of the show before
I worked on it, so I remember listening to that
one and be like, oh, that's my fruitcake?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Are you serious? Yeah? I don't think I've told you
guys that you have never Oh wow, and here we
are learning on the hot streets of the internet. Thank you, Max.
That's very kind. We have other directions to go, of course,
for many people listening, you might be thinking of other
candy that has yet to be named, and you might
(12:29):
be thinking, what about those red hots, what about all
the cinnamon flavored.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Candy, lemon heads perhaps.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Lemon heads perhaps, what about laughy taffy. What about you know,
do you guys remember in days of childhood Halloween the
orange and black wax paper wrapped taffies. Was that just
in my neighbors.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Saltwater taffy kind of situation?
Speaker 2 (12:53):
They had no label, they were greatly bought in bold. Yeah, yeah,
I do know what you're talking about. Some of them
would be various kind of pale colors, you know, pink,
pinks and blues and things like that.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Distressingly so somehow pallid and love crafting.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
There's also another one. We didn't talk. You mentioned bit
of honey before earlier, right, so it did.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
Can I go a little bit round about this one? Yeah,
because it's like, so I've been using the start.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
I used this article from Local Syracuse by Megan Hatches. Basically,
this is a pole like these are the candies that
people hate, and bet o'honey was on there. I'm like,
I don't agree with that one. So like our equipment
distributor Sweetwater, one of the big things they do is
they send a bag of candy to people and we
get better honey all the time on that and laffy.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
He always had lafi.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
He always Lafti tavy too, and uh, I remember being
like a bit of honey and then I I'm like, oh,
that's actually like pretty good. It's got a nostalgia, it's like,
you know, it's so MATERITISI roll. But I think it's
not a bad candy at all.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
It tastes like honey n cheerios.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, it's just like a very concentrated version of honey cheerios.
So would you want to eat an entire tobleroam bar equivalent?
Probably not in one sitting, right, but I put away
two or three. You probably put it? Yeah, yeah, and
that's I think. Also the genius of a lot of
candy is the idea of individual packaging and wrapping.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Like, you know another thing we didn't have on the
list here you guys, do you remember the wax lips? Yeah?
Is that candy? Are you supposed to eat it?
Speaker 3 (14:32):
No?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
It was you supposed to put it in your mouth
and make a silly face as it makes you look goofy.
Or there'd be different ones with like you know, you
could get ones in a like vampire fangs. Do you
remember a Looney Tunes episode? I can't remember who said it?
But someone was like asking maybe bugs Bunny for a tip, like,
you know, a monetary tip, and he says, never leave
wax lips on the dresser by an open window on
(14:55):
a hot day.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
That is technically true. That is technically a tip, A
good tip. Uh yeah, So shout out to Waco Wax.
They're one of the biggest manufacturer sheet stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Yeah, still to this day they must be the only
game in town.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Can't be a big crowded marketplace for wax lips anymore.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
I'm sure TIMU makes some, right, because TIMU makes everything.
Have you guys gotten the TMU ads?
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Yeah, they're probably bizarre, right, But like I'm looking now
at like the classic configuration, you'd have one that was
like a you know, pretty lady lipstick type lips, and
then there'd be vampire fangs, and then one was like
it's like a mustache. There are probably some other variations.
Those are the ones that I remember from from the classics.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
But wait for it. Do you know who owns Wacko
wax Mmm, Twtsy roll Industries.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
It does say in some of the descriptions that they're chewable,
but you're literally just chewing wax. It's like non flavored gum.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
It's like, I think it's called food grade paraffe in wax,
which does not sound appetizing.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Anytime you say food grade, you think it always is
a little sus right.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
It's an implication. You know, it's up there with cheese
food product.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
That's exactly right. We mentioned laffy taffy quite a bit.
Do I do appreciate their jokes. There's some good dad
jokes contained within laffy taffy packaging.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah, they are laughy for sure. It's kind of like
Bazooka bubblegum. They had a comic book in there, you know. Yeah,
and laffy Taffy's really do there is good taffy.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
It's not my thing, but like you know, if you
go to like a beachside community or something where they've
got a little boardwalk, there's gonna be like people stretching
the taffy. It's again, it's just classic Americana. But guys,
moment of truth, how do you feel about licorice? Black
licorice specifically, because that's even a stand in for a
term for like something that's an acquired taste.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
You say that guy's black licorice, you.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Know, good friend of the show, Lauren Vogelbaum, who may
be returning soon, is a fan of licorice. One time
she reached out to me and she told me that
she had some licorice that was too far for her,
some drops of licorice that were like cough drops, you know,
like like a little robotussin or something kind of cough drop,
(17:22):
but it was licorice flavored. It was sent to her
for her show she does with any Reese called Savor,
and they were like, this is a treat in Northern Europe,
and she tried one and she said she couldn't get
the taste out of her mouth for like an hour, So.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
It's it can be very intense.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
And yeah, in Europe they pride themselves on the intensity
of their licorice candies.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Great Western Europe is saying to themselves, if we would
be known for one thing, Yes, it's the intensity of
our licorice.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Licorice it is in fact derived from a plant that
actually has some I believe medicinal properties.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we're talking and it tastes
like it does. Glycer is a glabra, right, which does
sound like the name of a villain in Harry Potter
or James Bond.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah, and it has anti inflammatory properties, can act as
an antioxidant, and there's also antimicrobial it can it can
help reduce acid reflux.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yeah, it's generally recognized as safe. There are some problems
with it. If you eat too much licorice, you might
lower your potassium levels.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Yeah, we're talking about that right exactly, so that it
wants you to know about the Great potassium Conspiracy about like,
you know, supplement We're going to do a whole episode
on supplements. But that's interesting because apparently potassium, the way
it is absorbed or something like it, it's harder to
get from supplements than say vitamin C or what have you.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Licorice is interesting because it's one of those love it
or hate it things like I don't see a lot
of people who are very middling about licorice. I see
people who have an adverse reaction or they're big fans.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Well, you know, it's funny because people will sometimes refer
to twizzlers or red vines as red licorice, but it's
not the same at all. There's none of that licorice
flavor is in that it's just a similar medium, you know,
for delivering kind of a sugary, strawberry adjacent chewy treat.
I actually quite like Twizzlers for a treat at the movies.
(19:46):
I like it you can bite off each end and
use it as a straw for your soda.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
I like a lot of stuff at cinema that I
wouldn't normally eat.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
I gotta say I love a Nestley crunch because I
associate it with watch movies and you crutch it just
like putting em and m's in the popcorn or something
and shaking it up. You got a nice, sweet, salty treat.
I do have one question for you guys. For everybody peeps,
for them against.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Them, it's a marshmallow like so, I mean, I'm okay
with it in general, but I don't love it.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
They're a little too sugaring.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
Did you guys see the last week tonight? Like they
had like a period where they decided to go after peeps,
maybe like a number of videos.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
I mean, I don't hate them, I don't love them.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
They're fine. I agree with Milsteate completely. They're just like
a marshmallow that's a little too intense.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Okay, They're a marshmallow that went on. It's interesting because
they I think they originally came out in the early
nineteen fifties, and they were always a seasonally base thing,
so it's not like candy corn, where they sort of
found where they fit in. They were always marketed originally
(21:08):
at Easter, so I think that's why you don't see
them happening as a you know, like a nostalgic piece
of other celebrations. When did little duckies start being associated
with Easter? I've always wondered baby ducklings. I guess maybe
just because they're sort of spring springy associated, you know.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I don't know, because new birth perhaps the yeah, maybe
rebirths because they're baby ducklings. But you know, I understand
the rabbits, even though that doesn't make much sense either.
The Easter bunny what that has to do with the resurrection.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
How many poor kids grew up like and I say poor,
not financially, I'm just like, I feel bad for all
of us. How many kids grew up thinking there's a
species of giant rabbits that lays eggs, you know, and
then hides them and then hides them, and it's your
job to high this rabbit. It's very strange.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
It's a little lot.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Maybe a history of Easter as a future episode. But
what do we think, guys, any other candy that we
find just awful?
Speaker 5 (22:13):
Or can I just give you all the flavors necho wafers?
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Yeah? Yeah, do they even realize they had? Like they
thought the same.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
There's eight flavorsnna, you guys gonna encringe at some of them.
We got winter green chocolate, which by far, by, by far,
chocolate's the best one, lime, lemon, clove, cinnamon, orange.
Speaker 5 (22:35):
And here's the last one. Yeah, licorice.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
Ah, yeah, yep.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
They got licorice.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Those things just feel like a pill, like, you know,
like it's yeah, something about them.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
This feels so medicinal.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
My dad was so happy when I give him to
him on Christmas and he said, oh, Max, to want someone,
Oh sorry, I can't have them with the condition, dad,
And I was so glad I could use that as
an excuse, like, nope, can't have those Oh the condition
the condition?
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, yeah, the ultimate the ultimate reason.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Right. Uh, we got.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Your back there, Max. We also want to shout out
I think it was wasn't it? Stuff you should know?
Did a necho Wafers episode. Am I recalling that correctly?
Speaker 3 (23:14):
I don't know, I'm not familiar with that one.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
I always also kind of associate necho wafers with not smarties.
What are the ones that literally look like little pills
that come rolled up.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
They're kind of smaller than necho wafers.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
But they're not smarties.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
They're not smarties. Smarties are around.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Right right, and TikTok is got rolled up?
Speaker 3 (23:37):
What am I thinking of?
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Killdy Well, while you're looking that up, I want to
shout out, shout out our Alma Matter, How Stuff Works
a greater Smarties.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Oh, they're definitely smarties.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah, they're their little pill like they look like an
aspirin or something, but they're essentially, I think, following the
lead of neco wafers. I'm not quite sure what the
chronology is there. They don't purport to have differing flavors.
I want to shout out this article from our Alma
Matter House Stuff Works by John Donovan, which answers the
(24:12):
question some people maybe having in the audience. Max in particular,
how did the necho wafer.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Last so long? Because it's kind of like other you know,
if you go into a cracker barrel or a country
store kind of thing. You see a lot of, you know,
candy of yesteryear, like Penny Candy, Rock Crystal candy, Warhouse
spelled hore Hound malamars.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
That's love marshmallowy chocolatey thing. Really quickly though, I was
looking at the history of Smarties and they definitely are
pretty pretty adjacent to Neco Wafers, founded in nineteen forty
nine by Edward d. He actually repurposed a World War
Two pellet making machine to make and that's where the
shape of these things come to center.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
So yeah, I had no idea, And also shout out
to Max who just slid us a note during class
about pepsi peeps.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
About pepsi peeps, but that sounds like something you'd take
for a upset stomach.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Yeah, I learned that one from last week tonight. I've
never had one, but there was a there was a
period where pepsi and peeps did a combination. Oh god, yeah,
I don't know what it days, but it's like, you know,
awful marshmallows and awful soda mixed together.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
And in February of twenty twenty three they got back
together because they have worked with each other for some time.
It appears this goes all the way to the top
of soda and sugar and candy. And I can't believe it,
but we made this a two parter.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Huh what do you think?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I think we did too. The last thing on Smarty Sorry,
one of the top results that comes up when you
google Smarties is are Smarties made of chalk? So there
you go, But no, I think this is a delightful
tuope parter.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
And I got one last thing to leave us with there.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
If you type in candy corn jokes into Google, you
will find that's one of the top things. A candy
corn looking in the mirror and says, well, I.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Like me, you go good cute looking, they have a
nice shape. I like the the aesthetics of candy corn.
I just don't want to eat them.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
I also, you know, I also want to note there
are things like seafood flavored candy out there by Japanese
squid candy. It's not bad. There are pickles flavored candies.
What we're going to see is that throughout the world
of candy, you can properly find the texture and the
(26:49):
taste that you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Agreed. It's out there.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
If you can imagine it, then chances are someone has created.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
It and thinks as always for joining us, folks. Big
big thanks to our super producer and research associate, mister
Max Williams. Big thanks to Alex Williams, composer of this
slapping bop. You here at the end of every show.
What candy do you think Jonathan Strickland aka the Quist
and Joyce do you think he's a candy man?
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Well, he's in the sense that if you say his
name a certain number of times that year or you
will appear and murder you with his hook hand.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
I mean I think he might go like, you know,
the dentist route and eat Apples's candy.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Got to get you a toilet papering job instantly on Halloween.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Oh, Pez, Pez is what I was thinking about.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Related very adjacent, but at least they figured out that
we'll sell the shy candy uh so that they can
get the toy and then the dispenser, you know.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
And then the Pez dispensers was born.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
I think Pez is original, or at least the dispenser
was meant to be an anti smoking aid or some
fun story for another day.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Perhaps, Yeah, thank you to Pez for sure.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Yeah, I actually think, if I'm not mistaken, we've talked
a bit about the history of PEZ, and I think
it's a story onto itself, Like I believe there are
some twists and turns in that one, So maybe we'll
revisit that for a future episode.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
But man, yeah, no, this is fun.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Thanks also to Christopher Hasiotis, Eve's Jeff cot Gabe Luzier
our pals at Ridiculous Crime, and we got an excellent
opportunity to hang out with them recently. So check out
that crossover wherein we as a group play a game
called twenty Questions.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
We'll see you next time, folks.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Ridiculous History News
Hosts And Creators
Ben Bowlin
Noel Brown
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