Dum Dum Sucker

Akron Candy Company invented these sugary treats in 1924. Back then, the original flavors were Lemon, Lime, Orange, Coconut-Pineapple, Cherry, Grape, and Butterscotch. Over the years, a number of flavors rotated in and out. But it wasn't until 1995 Blue Raspberry was added to the mix. I.C. Bahr, the Sales Manager at Akron Candy Company reportedly chose to call them Dum Dums since it was easy for children to say. Current flavors include Blue Raspberry, Cream Soda, Watermelon, Root Beer, Sour Apple, Cotton Candy, Butterscotch, Cherry, Strawberry, Bubble Gum, Grape, Blueberry, Raspberry, Lemonade, Peach-Mango, Orange, Fruit Punch, and Mystery Flavor.

Charms Blow Pops

      According to the Charms Division of Tootsie Roll Industries, the Charms Candy Co. was founded in 1912 by Walter Reid Jr. as “Tropical Charms,” which were the square-shaped fruit-flavored hard candies he manufactured, among the first candies to be individually wrapped in cellophane. Located on Bloomfield Avenue, the company, now known as Charms Candy, had its products included in U.S. Army combat rations during World War II, a tradition that continues to the present with the candies included in military Meals Ready to Eat (MREs). Following World War II, Charms faced difficult times due to both the instability of the post-war sugar market and the growing popularity of other hard candies, including Lifesavers. Walter Reid III, the son of the company’s founder, returned from active service and took charge of the company; he was running Charms when Blow Pops — lollipops with a bubble-gum center — were invented in the early 1970s. Blow Pops became the company’s best-selling product of all time.

Laffy Taffy

Laffy Taffy is one of the most popular brands of toffee among the children of America. You can get this brand in numerous fruit flavors and colors, and the toffees are packed in many different ways. People call it toffee outside America, where it is called candy. Taffy is nothing but a mixture of sugar and butter. These are boiled together until they become completely sticky. At this stage, they are given various shapes. The Taffy at this stage must be in a form that can be stretched well. No one actually has any idea about the origin of the toffee or taffy. The first time its name was reflected in the English Oxford dictionary in the year 1817. Some people speculate that it was first made in England, some in Scotland, and few believe that it may have come from France. Some even say that since the butter and sugar were quite frequently used by the Romans in the medieval period, therefore it could have emerged out from Roman period. Also, during the Robbie Burn times, the traditional hard toffee was quite famous amongst people of Scotland. In Scotland, the toffee is considered to be very hard that cannot be chewed with teeth, and hence, the toffee were sold as tablets along with a tiny metal hammer that was used to break them into smaller pieces. The soft variety of Taffy that could be chewed became quite famous during 1800. In those times, these were sold as ordinary candies, which could be stored with ease on shelves of candy stores by wrapping them with wax paper. In the early part of 1800, people used to organize social events that included preparation of Taffy which extended throughout the U.S.

Tootise Roll

In 1896 Austrian immigrant Leo Hirshfield brings to the U.S. his recipe for a chocolaty, chewy candy, which he begins producing in a small store in New York City.Hirshfield names the candy after his five-year-old daughter, whose nickname is "Tootsie."

View- Master History

We owe our love of handheld three-dimensional color slides to a photographer with a wild idea. In 1938, cameraman William Gruber was taking photographs of the Oregon Caves National Monument through two cameras strapped together. The idea? To produce new 3-D color slides for stereoscopes common in most 19th century drawing rooms. A chance encounter at the caves with Harold Graves, president of Sawyer's Photographic Services, led the two to strike a deal. Together, they would produce the View-Master, a new way of viewing tourist attractions in America. The famous red device made its big debut at the 1939 New York World's Fair and was sold through specialty photography stores until Graves and Gruber scored a major licensing agreement with Disney to offer 3-D images of Disney films, TV shows and theme parks. From that point on , the View-Master became a beloved classic.

Army Men History

In 1938, the Bergen Toy and Novelty Co. began selling an inexpensive line of minuscule, monochrome plastic soldiers. The 2-in. American figures were produced in U.S. Army green and molded in a variety of action poses — a little boy's war fantasy come true. Sold in large plastic bags, demand for the little green men rose in the 1950s thanks to a boom in plastics manufacturing and a lead-poisoning scare that made the metal versions less appealing. Soon the company was manufacturing enemy forces too: German troops were molded in grey, Japanese forces in yellow. Though the little warriors have undergone several changes over the years, their most famous identity is as World War II–era soldiers with "pod feet" attached to keep them standing during battle.

Slinky History

"A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing! Everyone knows it's Slinky!" Though its popularity can't be called into question, "everyone" may not know that the Slinky was an accident. Created by mechanical engineer Richard James in 1943, it was the unintended by-product of a new line of sensitive springs that would help keep fragile equipment steady on ships. After knocking one of his newly created springs from a shelf, James watched as it "walked" down from its spot instead of falling to the ground. With a machine designed to coil 80 ft. of wire into a 2-in. spiral and a name chosen by his wife Betty, James began producing his novelty Slinky — but at first to little notice. Slinky got its big break during the Christmas shopping season of 1945, when the Gimbels department store in Philadelphia let James demonstrate his new creation. Within minutes, he sold 400 Slinkys. Sixty-six years and 250 million Slinkys later, we're still just as delighted with James' serendipitous toy as we ever were.

PEZ Dispenser History

Created as a peppermint candy in Vienna in 1927, PEZ, derived from the German word Pfefferminz (peppermint), is now a leader in "interactive candy." The name PEZ came from the German word pefferminz meaning peppermint. The took the first, middle, and last letter of the word to create PEZ (pefferminz). After the candy itself caught on, Oscar Uxa invented the famed PEZ dispenser in the 1950s, but he did not receive acclaim for his creation until heads were placed on top of the dispensers in 1955. Some of the earliest dispensers (Mickey Mouse, Santa Claus) can fetch up to $10,000 at auction. To date, more than 1,500 different dispensers have been created, and more than 3 billion PEZ candies are consumed each year in the U.S. alone.

Yo-Yo History

Though its history can be traced back to nearly 500 B.C., the yo-yo didn't find mainstream success until the late 1920s, when a young U.S. immigrant named Pedro Flores ignited an international craze. Born in the Philippines, Flores saw the toy's potential in the U.S. after remembering its Filipino popularity. (It had received the name yoyo there hundreds of years before.) While working as a bellboy, Flores founded the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in 1928. After selling handmade yo-yos to children around Los Angeles, he was able to secure financing to open a factory. Within a year, the company was producing 300,000 yo-yos a day, and Flores' "Wonder Toy" achieved craze status in the U.S., with yo-yo contests popping up all over the country.

Bubble Solution History

     Seventeenth century Flemish painters show children blowing bubbles with clay pipes. Generations of 18th and 19th century mothers gave their children their leftover washing soap to blow bubbles.  At the beginning of the 20th century, street peddlers and pitchmen were among the first to sell bubbles as a toy.During the early 1940's, a chemical company, Chemtoy, which sold cleaning supplies, revolutionized the toy world by systematically bottling bubble solution.  Tootsietoy Company later acquired the small chemical company and put bubble solution into full retail distribution by the late 1940s. During the 1960s, bubbles became a symbol of peace and harmony to hippies and flower children and further popularized the sport of bubble blowing. In the 1970's, 80's and 90's, bubble making companies like Imperial, Wells and Pustifix came into being increasing world-wide sales of bottles of bubble solution to more than 200 million a year. Today, bubble solution is the best selling toy in the world!

Christmas Tree Worms

Christmas Tree Worms (Scientific name: Spirobranchus Giganteus) are small, tube-building  worms belonging to the family Serpulidae. These attractive corals come in a variety of colors ranging from yellow and orange to blue and white. They are widely distributed throughout the world’s tropical oceans. The worm’s multicolored spirals actually are highly derived respiratory structures. It lacks specialized appendages for movement or swimming and does not move outside it’s tube. They have two beautiful crowns which give them Christmas tree appearance and hence they got their name. These crowns are specialized mouth appendages of the worm. They are very sensitive to disturbances. Even a shadow causes an instant reaction. It’s tube is it’s home.

Light Bulb Sea Squirt

Light Bulb Sea Squirt (Scientific name: Clavelina Lepadiformis) is a colonial sea squirt. The transparent tunic of the worm shows the yellow or white internal organs. This gives them the glow of a light bulb and hence they got their name. They are mostly found along the Norwegian Coast. Their colonies can also be seen in the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and in the Mediterranean Sea. They sit together with a loose binding at the base. They are cylindrical and have a 4cm long elongation. They grow in late winters and reproduce in summers.