RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG
A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun
A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun
Bob Born, former president of Just Born, the candy company founded by his Russian Jewish immigrant father Sam Born, died last week at the age of 98. The Just Born company makes Peeps, the marshmallow treat which is a popular Easter candy. Under Sam’s stewardship, the company had developed chocolate sprinkles known as Jimmies and also a machine known as the Born Sucker Machine for inserting sticks into lollipops. In the 1950’s, Bob Born was behind the invention of a machine that could extrude a marshmallow concoction into the popular bunny and chick shapes which became the company’s best known product. Which of the following is also a true story about a Jewish candy maker of the 19th and 20th century?
Peeps! by Blake Johnson is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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.
B. Romanian Jewish immigrant David Goldenberg arrived in Philadelphia in 1880. He opened a candy store and created the peanut and molasses candy which he marketed as Goldenberg’s Peanut-Chews. However, when Passover approached, he realized that he could not sell the product to the Jewish community, as peanuts were legumes, which are not kosher for Passover. So he switched to walnuts, and Goldenberg’s Walnut-Chews became a success. But when his children Sylvia and Harry took over the company during the Great Depression, they switched back to peanuts, as this was a cheaper nut to purchase.
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.
D. Tootsie Rolls were created in 1907 by Leo Hirshfield, the son of an Austrian Jewish candy maker. Leo Hirshfield immigrated to the United States and opened a candy store in New York. The candy was certified kosher, and Hirshfield specifically packaged the chocolate taffy in wax paper which was twisted shut at both ends, rather than a sealed package, so that the Orthodox Jewish community of which he was a member could open the candy on Shabbat, when tearing was not allowed.
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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