Popular Candy Created In Ohio Makes It The Dum Dum State

One of the most fascinating things to me is how different types of candy get their names. Names like Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Twix, Hershey's, and others have become household names but all of them have a unique history on how they got their name. This may be one of the weird things that most people ignore as I figure most people don't know the origins of candy bars.

Ohio is known for several things, mostly Ohio State, Lebron James, and other famous individuals. However, the Buckeye State is also responsible for a sizeable list of inventions still being used or enjoyed today. Ohio is actually quite known for its candy inventions as the Buckeye has become the state treat, candy corn was invented in Cincinnati, and now there is a 3rd candy that has been discovered to have ties to Ohio.

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The Akron Candy Company had some of their operations begin to occur around the state and their location in Bellevue made them a fortune. They created a new sucker that would have an interesting name but are still around to this very day. Veterans who fought in the First World War, some of their family members, or history buffs would all know the candy I'm referencing as it received its name from a type of ammunition. Any ideas yet?

The Akron Candy Company is credited with creating the Dum Dum suckers that we have all enjoyed for almost 100 years now. The name was inspired by the dum dum bullets that were used in the war as the sucker was said to resemble them. The other motivation for using the name Dum Dum was that kids would be able to easily convey the message to their parents.

The Spangler Candy Company purchased the rights and equipment to the candy in 1953 and was able to keep the success going. I think many people don't know this origin story because the suckers sold so well that the candy was never really marketed. So Dum Dum suckers just popped on the candy scene and everybody loved them so no one ever had questions.