Cotton Candy

Cotton candy is a popular treat at carnivals, sporting events, and state fairs. Cotton candy was invented in 1897 when dentist William Morrison and candy maker John Wharton worked together. They teamed up to create a machine that spun heated sugar to create the floss of cotton candy. Their cotton candy, known as “Fairy Floss,” was sold to the public at the World Fair in 1904. The cotton candy was served in a box for 25 cents each. The World Fair ran for six months and over 68,000 boxes of cotton candy were sold during that time. The inventors made over $17,000 which translates to about half a million dollars today. They later went on to sell both the cotton candy and the machine.

In 1949, the first factory made cotton candy machine was created. Cotton candy contains only two ingredients: sugar and air. The machine was designed to melt the sugar into a liquid and then spin in the hot air. Others made improvements to the original machine throughout the coming years.

When cotton candy originally debuted at the World Fair, it was white and not flavored. Later, cotton candy became available in pink or blue. Today, you can get a variety of flavors and colors of cotton candy, and can find new ideas like the cotton candy burrito (which is a cotton candy shell with rolled up ice cream and sprinkles), cotton candy marshmallows, cotton candy pancakes, and cotton candy pizza. Cotton candy remains a favorite treat of today.

FUN FACTS

A bag of cotton candy has less sugar and calories than a can of soda, candy apples, or funnel cakes.

The longest cotton candy was the length of 13 football fields.