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February 5

is

International Kissing Day

Five things you should know about

the Hershey’s Kiss

1. It is said that Wilbur & Sons Chocolate Co made the first wrapped chocolate ‘drops’, known as ‘Winbur Buds’ in 1894. Their shape & size likely served as inspiration for Hershey’s Kisses chocolates.
2. Hershey’s Kisses were first manufactured in 1907. According to the Hershey’s Company, a favorite theory is that the name “Kiss” came from the sound of the chocolate being popped out of the machine
3. Kisses were originally wrapped by hand. Automated wrapping began in 1921. The same automatic wrapping process allowed for the paper “plume”, that the company used to guarantee that consumers were getting the genuine Hershey product. Did you know close to 20% of kisses sold in the US before then were counterfeit?
4. Kisses were not produced during World War II. The years 1942 through 1949, because the silver foil wrapping was rationed.
5. According to Hershey’s.com, it takes about 95 Hershey’s Kisses to equal a pound of chocolate.

On This Day in Food History…

1840 Sir Hiram Maxim was born. An American born inventor. Among his hundreds of inventions were a hair curling iron, a mousetrap, an automatic sprinkling system, gas motors, and a machine gun.

1872 Lafayette Benedict Mendel was born. An American biochemist who published various papers on nutrition. His work on vitamins and proteins helped establish modern concepts about nutrition.

1884 Willis Johnson of Cincinnati, Ohio, received a patent for an egg beater.

1914 William Burroughs, novelist, was born. He wrote ‘Naked Lunch.’

1967 Tom Smothers fell into a vat of chocolate today. (The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour premiered).Sir Hiram Maxim was born. An American born inventor. Among his hundreds of inventions were a hair curling iron, a mousetrap, an automatic sprinkling system, gas motors, and a machine gun.