Archive for the ‘Mars’ Category

12 Feb

A Candy Conundrum: Sorting It All Out 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Have you ever wondered why it is that when you buy a box or bag of candy containing an assortment of flavors/colors (i.e., Skittles, Dum Dum Pops, gummy bears, salt water taffy, etc.), the ratio of your least favorite flavor/color to favorite seems like 10:1?

For example, when I smuggle in a box of Dots at the movie theater, I feel like I’m eating 10 lime Dots for every cherry.

Dots CandySince it was a slow Saturday afternoon at the Gillerlain corral, I decided to test Murphy’s Law.

I picked up two of each of the following candies: Jujyfruits by Farley’s & Sathers Candy Company (7.8-ounce box); Starburst by Mars Snackfood US (4-ounce box); and Chewy Spree by Wonka (1.7-ounce bag).

I dumped out the candy and started sorting by flavor/color. After much computation (I’m still not using my college calculus), here are my key findings:

Starburst Fruit Chews

- None of the boxes/bags of candies had a uniform number of flavors/colors. (In the photo above, the Starburst box on the left contained seven strawberry pink pieces, the other had two. One bag of Chewy Spree held four cherry red pieces, the other had seven.)

- When comparing like candies, no two boxes/bags had an equal number of pieces. (One box of Jujyfruits contained 80 pieces, the other had 75 pieces.)

- It is possible to strike gold. One of my boxes of Jujyfruits harvested 30 cherry red pieces and only 11 lime greens.

Based on my mind-numbing experiment, it appears to be luck of the draw as to which specific flavors/colors you’re going to get in any one container of candy. And, if weight has everything to do with the number of candy pieces per box or bag, some pieces must be smaller than others.

Bottom line: If you’re smuggling candy into a dark theater, bring a tiny flashlight to navigate around unfavorable flavors and colors. Better yet, smuggle in two boxes for better odds … or bring on the Goobers.

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in Candy, Dots, Dum Dum Pops, Farley’s & Sathers Candy Co., Inc., Goobers, Jujyfruits, Mars, Nostalgic/Retro, Skittles, Spangler Candy Co., Spree, Starburst, Theater, Wonka

5 Feb

Super Bowl Smackdown: Betty White vs. Roseanne Barr 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , ,

In the candy world, the big showdown during Super Bowl XLV isn’t between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. It’s between Betty White and Roseanne Barr.

Candy lovers want to know which seasoned comedian’s Snickers commercial is going to win the most laughs.

Is it going to be Betty White’s near cult classic from Super Bowl 2010 or Roseanne Barr’s 2011 debut during third quarter? (To be fair, Richard Lewis is also starring in the 2011 commercial, which could give Roseanne a leg up.)

Here’s a look back at the commercial that helped reignite Betty White’s career:

And here’s the teaser for Roseanne’s debut:

So, who do you think is going to win on Sunday?

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in Candy, Commercials/Videos, Mars, Snickers

4 Jan

Fact or Fiction? Take This Candy Science Quiz 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain

Take this short quiz to see how much you know about candy science.

1. If you put an M&M at the bottom of a beer bottle, the beer will fizz like crazy.

Fact or Fiction?

2. If you drop a few M&M’s into a bowl of warm water, the white M’s will eventually float to the surface.

Fact or Fiction?

3. If you chew Wint-O-Green Lifesavers in the dark, and watch your mouth in a mirror as you’re chewing, you’ll see flashes of blue-green light.

Fact or Fiction?

4. If you add six Mentos mints to a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke, expect a geyser-like explosion.

Fact or Fiction?

***************************************************************************

If you answered “fact” to all of the above, you are correct and probably did not have your mom or dad do your science projects for you.

Back in the 7th grade, my dad did make a “wet cell” for me, so I felt it necessary to do some double-checking on these experiments in my “lab” (a.k.a. kitchen counter) today. Here’s what I found …

Experiment #1
This past New Year’s Eve, a friend mentioned the trick about putting an M&M in a bottle of beer and watching the beer fizz. At the time, we didn’t waste a beer to test his scientific prowess. When I tried it this afternoon, my Bud Light was bubbling like fine French champagne:

Experiment #2
Immediately after my highly successful beer experiment, I plopped a few M&M’s into a bowl of warm water. Sure enough, the little M’s peeled off and floated up toward my camera:

Experiment #3
Unfortunately, I did not have Wint-O-Green Lifesavers on hand, but, according to CandyExperiments.com, “When you crunch the candy, electrons in the sugar combine with molecules to emit light. The wintergreen oil used for flavoring makes the light more visible.”  Sounds awfully scientific, so I’ll take their word for it. (BTW, this is a great site for science projects.)

Experiment #4
My kids have done the Mint Mentos trick with Diet Coke many times, so I can vouch for the reaction. If you visit eepybird.com, you’ll find some great Coke-Mentos experiment videos. Here’s my favorite:

Have you ever done any cool candy science experiments?

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in Candy, Commercials/Videos, Lifesavers, M&M's, Mars, Mentos, Perfetti Van Melle USA, Inc., Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Wrigley

28 Dec

Looking forward to 2011 candy launches 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Candy products come and go. Some you don’t miss, others you miss terribly.

I miss the braided caramel and chocolate Marathon bars and Bub’s Daddy Bubble Gum (especially the apple flavor).

I don’t miss the Peter Paul Caravelle bar.

I wish Tootsie Roll Industries would offer a box of just red Dots. I also wish a manufacturer would come out with a really good drug store version of an English toffee bar with a thick layer of milk chocolate. Heath doesn’t do it for me. (My kids wish for edible Japanese erasers, but I have a feeling those are already invented.)

Looking back on 2010, several brands/line extensions were “invented,” including Jelly Belly Honey Beans, M&M’s Pretzel, American Licorice Co.’s Natural Vines, and Gimbal’s Honey Lovers.

Also in 2010, a handful of vintage brands made surprise comebacks like Bonomo Turkish Taffy, McCraw’s Flat Taffy, and Astro Pops.

Heading into 2011, are there any candies you’d like to see invented, reformulated (e.g., I wish Nestle Crunch Bars could be made with quality chocolate), or coaxed out of retirement?

Anything’s possible, so post your ideas below or on Facebook. You never know who’s reading.

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in American Licorice Co., Astro Pop, Astro Pops, Bonomo, Candy, Gimbal’s Fine Candies, Jelly Belly Candy Company, M&M's, Mars, McCraw's Flat Taffy, Natural Vines, Nestle USA, Inc.