Here's What Candy Came Out the Year You Were Born

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1941

M&M's

These little candies have a very colorful origin story. During the Spanish Civil war, Forest Mars Sr., son of the inventor of the Milky Way, witnessed soldiers eating small chocolate beads covered in hard sugar shells and was inspired. Chocolate sales typically dropped during the summer when temperatures rose and Mars was excited at the idea of inventing a product that wouldn't melt. He and Bruce Murrie, son of Hershey executive William Murrie, joined together to create the original M&M's (Mars + Murrie = M&M).

In 1941, Mars received a patent for his product and began mass-producing the little chocolate in Newark, NJ. They were originally sold in tubes and shelled in brown, red, orange, yellow, green, and violet coatings and only available to soldiers in the war. The candies were first stamped with a black "M" in 1950, which later changed to the white "M" we know and love today in 1954.

M&Ms

2 Of 42

1945

DOTS Gumdrops

Boasting itself as "America's favorite, #1-selling gumdrop brand" since its introduction in 1945, these chewy little guys have been beloved for over six decades. Tootsie makes over four billion DOTS each year and they still come in the same original flavors today as they did in the 1940s: cherry, strawberry, lemon, lime, and orange.

3 Of 42

1947

Bazooka Bubble Gum

Just looking at that picture brings the classic pink bubblegum taste to my mouth and has me humming, "Bazooka-zooka bubblegum..." Developed at the end of World War II in Brooklyn, New York, Bazooka Bubble Gum, with its Bazooka Joe comics inside, has been a classic chewing gum for decades.

Old Time Candy

4 Of 42

1948

Almond Joy

While its partner candy bar Mounds has been around for almost a century, Almond Joy didn't join the game until a little later. While Mounds were already becoming a classic among Americans, the demand for milk chocolate was increasing steadily, leading to the development of the Almond Joy candy bar.

Amazon

5 Of 42

1949

Junior Mints

With a creamy mint filling covered in a chocolate shell, Junior Mints were named after a popular Broadway show, Junior Miss, that was on stages in the 1940s. Today, over 15 million Junior Mints are produced each day in Cambridge, MA.

itemmaster.com

6 Of 42

1949

Smarties

Edward "Eddie" Dee, an English immigrant, moved to New Jersey in 1949 and founded Ce De Candy, Inc. From there, he began to create the candy wafer rolls we all know and love today. Today, Smarties are made 24 a day in factories in both Union, NJ and Newmarket, Ontario.

Smarties

7 Of 42

1952

Pixy Stix

In the 1930s, a fruit drink called "Frutola," made of a Kool-Aid-esque powder that was mixed into water, was all the rage for kids. Eventually, it evolved into "Fruzola," powdered sugar that came packaged ready with a spoon, erasing water from the equations. Kids, naturally, loved this idea: they were allowed to eat straight-up sugar.

In 1952, the name "Pixy Stix" was first used when the sugar from the Fruzola packets was packaged into straw-shaped containers. Today, Pixy Stix come in five sweet flavors (Grape, Maui Punch, Orange, Red, and Strawberry) and are still providing nightmares to parents everywhere.

Nestlé

8 Of 42

1954

Peeps

Manufactured by Just Born, everyone's favorite marshmallow chicks were created by hand until Bob Born joined the company in 1946. Since then, Peeps have been produced using a machine, popping out a package of the cute little guys in only six minutes.

Peeps

Candy necklaces had a clear advantage over their loose plastic-wrapped kin — you could look down to discover you had candy you had forgotten all about. Especially when your Halloween candy stores are quickly dwindling, is there any better feeling?

9 Of 42

1958

Candy Necklaces

These strings of candy wafers were first introduced in 1958 and have been a classic at birthday parties and candy stores ever since.

Adam Gault/Getty Images

Fun-size Lemonheads
(50 calories, 0g fat for 10 pieces)
Most fruit-flavored hard candies have reasonable calorie counts. But tart ones take longer to eat!WORST FRUITY CANDY
Starburst Fruit Chews
(204 calories, 4g fat for 10 pieces)
Chewy Starbursts are one of the only fruit candies that contain fat; each square has 20 calories.

10 Of 42

1960

Lemonheads

Using the same formula that produces Red Hots, these sweet and sour candies were first produced by the Ferrara Pan Company in 1960. The process is called "cold-panning," in which candy pieces are tossed into revolving pans as color and flavor are added.

Courtesy of Manufacturers