13 Candies Boomers Love That Gen Z Has Never Heard Of

Candy lovers all have their favorites — from Skittles and Sour Patch Kids to Kit Kat bars and plain old M&Ms. And while many of today’s kids’ top candy picks have their origins dating back to the early 20th century, there is still an entire selection of sweet treats that were favorites among the Boomer population that have fallen out of favor. Here, we take a look at some of the most popular candies that were consumed when Boomers were children.

Chuckles

• Invented in 1921 by a marshmallow maker
• It was the first jelly candy
• Available in 5 flavors

Bit-o-Honey

• Invented in 1924 by the Schutter-Johnson Company
• First toffee candy to contain honey
• Cost a penny per piece

Candy Cigarettes

• Made in the late 1800s
• Designed to look like real cigarettes
• Made of sugar, chocolate or bubblegum

Necco Wafers

• Invented in 1847 by Oliver Chase
• Chalky candy discs
• Originally called hub wafers

Good & Plenty

• Invented in 1893
• Licorice candy
• The oldest branded candy in American history

Sugar Daddy

• Invented in 1925
• Originally called a “papa sucker”
• Name was changed to Sugar Daddy in 1932

Atomic Fireball

• Invented in 1954 by Nello Ferrara
• 3,500 Scoville units
• Made using a hot pan method

Slo Poke

• Invented in 1926 by the Holloway Candy Co.
• Started as a sucker
• Evolved to a caramel bar

Jujubes

• First sold in 1890
• Named after the jujube fruit, a native Chinese fruit
• Discontinued by manufacturer and no longer available

Clark Bar

• Invented in 1917 by David L. Clark
• Peanut butter and taffy inside, chocolate coating outside
• First “combination candy” to succeed with consumers

Pixy Stix

• Invented in 1942 in St. Louis, MO
• Was originally a powdered drink called Fruzola
• Succeeded by Lik-M-Aid, which evolved into Fun Dip

Tootsie Rolls

• A hand-rolled candy invented in 1907 by Leo Hirschfeld
• Named after Leo’s daughter Clara, who he affectionately called “Tootsie”
• Commercially marketed in 1908

Candy Buttons

• Invented in the 1930s
• Tiny dots of sugar on a paper sheet
• Made of sugar, flavoring and coloring

The image featured at the top of this post is ©"1930s Boxes of Candies" by daveynin is licensed under BY 2.0..