Candy Answer

02/06/2023

A. When Russian Jewish immigrant Morris Shorin’s company American Leaf Tobacco faltered during the Great Depression, his sons Abram, Ira, Philip, and Joseph took it over and changed the name to Topps Company, producing candy, collectibles, and chewing gum, including Bazooka bubble gum, which was packaged with a small comic on the wrapper. They later added spearmint-flavored Topps Chewing Gum to their product list. It is believed that they chose the name Topps, having been inspired by the Cole Porter song You’re The Top.

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C. Mike and Ike candies are another candy created by Just Born under Sam Born’s leadership. The candies were chewy and came in fruit flavors, including cherry, strawberry, and orange, though more recently the company produced other flavors such as Strawberries n’ Cream, Cherry Cola, and Cotton Candy. The source of the name Mike and Ike is not clear, though it is rumored to have been named after two dwarf brothers who had been Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz.

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E. Just Born also created Mike and Ike, which are fruit-flavored oblong chewy candies. In 2012 the company announced that Mike and Ike were splitting because of creative differences. Mike claimed that Ike was “spending way too much time on his graffiti art,” while Ike complained that Mike was “spending way too much time on his music.” The candies continued to be sold; however, the labels had either Mike’s or Ike’s name crossed out. Happily, a year later the couple reunited.

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