by Anonymous on August 24th, 2004

Anonymous

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Who invented cotton candy?

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  • by Mr Johnson on August 24th, 2004

    Mr Johnson

    As said above, In a little bit more detail ;-)

    Cotton candy is a soft confection that is made from sugar that is heated and spun into slim threads that look like a mass of cotton. It was invented in 1897 by William Morrison and John C. Wharton, candymakers from Nashville, Tennessee. They invented a device that heated sugar in a spinning bowl that had tiny holes in it. It formed a treat that they originally called "Fairy Floss." As the bowl spun around, the caramelized sugar was forced through the tiny holes, making feathery candy that melts in the mouth.
    They introduced it to the world at the St. Louis World's Fair (1904) and sold huge amounts of it for 25 cents a box (that was lot of money back then). They sold about 68,655 boxes at that fair. The term "cotton candy" began to be used for this treat in about 1920. In the United Kingdom, it is called "candy floss."

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  • by Kim Siever on August 24th, 2004

    Kim Siever

    According to Gourmet magazine (February 2000), the real story takes place in 1897, when William Morrison and John C. Wharton, Tennessee candymakers from Nashville, invented the world's first electric machine that allowed crystallized sugar to be poured onto a heated spinning plate, then pushed by centrifugal force through a series of tiny holes.

    They proudly took their "Fairy Floss" to the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (otherwise known as the St. Louis World's Fair) and sold the product in chipped-wood boxes. Though they sold each box for a whopping 25 cents (half of the fair admission price), they sold 68,655 boxes. (That same fair also introduced the world's first ice-cream cone.)

    Early spun-sugar machines were extremely unreliable. They rattled and broke down constantly. The introduction of spring bases in 1949 proved to be a breakthrough. The company that introduced that innovation, Gold Medal Products of Cincinnati, Ohio, manufactures almost 100 percent of all cotton-candy machines in the country today.

    http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcottoncandy.html

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  • by myskip398 on December 8th, 2009

    myskip398

    The Cotton Candy man ;)

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  • by SoldierAngel when do i wake up on December 8th, 2009

    SoldierAngel when do i wake up

    I don't know, but whoever it was, I LOVE THEM!!! :-D +5

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  • by XT on December 8th, 2009

    XT

    I do!

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