Caramel. Peanuts. Chocolate. And a horse.
That's how the story of Frank C. Mars's world-famous Snickers bar begins.
The Snickers bar was introduced in 1930. But it wasn't the candy king's first sweet success. By that time, Mars had been in the candy-making business for about 20 years already. He'd tried and failed a few times before finally making his mark selling buttercream candies to trolley riders in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Then, in 1923, Mars reached for the stars. He and his teenage son, Forrest, cooked up an idea for something new: the Milky Way bar. A few years later, Milky Way bars were lining store shelves. And dollars were piling up in the Mars family bank account.
The newfound fortune allowed the Mars family to buy a racehorse farm in Tennessee, which they named Milky Way Farm. The money was also used to create new candies.
It took over three years to develop the chocolate bar that would become Snickers. Making one started with peanut butter nougat, a soft, sticky candy made from sugar and egg whites. The nougat was poured onto a tray. Then it was topped with caramel and peanuts to make the inside of the bar. After that, the nougat-caramel-peanut creation was cut into slices. Finally, each piece was hand-dipped in melted chocolate.
Once created, the new chocolate bar needed a name.
Sadly, one of the family's favorite horses, Snickers, died shortly before the candy was ready to hit the market in 1930. To honor their beloved horse, the Mars family named the chocolate bar after him. Except in one part of the world: the United Kingdom (UK).
The UK version of the candy was called a Marathon bar until 1990. That's because the Mars company worried the name Snickers was too close to "knickers," a British word for underwear.
Now, Snickers is the top-selling chocolate bar in the world. It brings in billions of dollars each year. And the Mars family still breeds and cares for racing horses like Snickers, whose name was given to a snack food sensation.
QUESTION 1
1 / 4
What is this article mainly about?
Famous and successful candy makers in the U.S.
The history of the top-selling chocolate bar in the world
The history of hand-dipped candies around the world
Fun and unusual British names for chocolate candies