Oct30

cold case: another dum mystery solved!

Posted on October 30, 2014 by beth

in 1924, the akron candy company developed a small hard candy on a stick. and when it came to naming it, the sales manager came up with “dum dums” because he thought that kids would be able to say it. simple, colorful, and cheap, dum dums soon became an institution.

and on to the mystery –

have you ever wondered why some dum dums have wrappers with question marks where the flavor is normally printed? this was a marketing idea that made production run more smoothly and eating them more fun. the mystery flavor pop is a mixture of two flavors that come together when the end of one batch of candy meets the beginning of the next batch. rather than shutting down to clean it out between flavors, they made pops out of the combination of flavors – the tail end of the old, and the beginning of the new. the candy lines keep running, and the mystery flavor pops are a surprise treat every time.

p.s. for me, this was kind of like finding out about the tooth fairy. if you still believe, tell yourself that you never read this.

—

credit: mentalfloss magazine

51 responses »

bikerchick57 on October 30, 2014 at 6:36 am said:

Fun fact! Next time I run across a dum-dum, I hope I get a question mark.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:54 pm said:
  
  those are always my favs, just for the surprise )
  
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mikesteeden on October 30, 2014 at 6:44 am said:

A veritable education for an Englishman – ‘candy’; ‘dum dum’ and ‘pop’ – fascinating we don’t use those words yet they seem to convey the ‘sweet’ you write of perfectly! An enjoyable read no less.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:55 pm said:
  
  thanks, mike. it’s good to learn something useless and fascinating every day, i always say.
  
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  - mikesteeden on October 31, 2014 at 2:15 am said:
    
    Couldn’t agree more!
    
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murphysmission on October 30, 2014 at 7:03 am said:

sharing…I need some “happy” on my page! 🙂

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:55 pm said:
  
  great, susie!
  
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Alastair Savage on October 30, 2014 at 7:08 am said:

Never heard of them but I love the idea! The Spanish lollies Chupa Chups have a similar alliteration but there the name comes from the verb chupar, to suck.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:55 pm said:
  
  ah – makes sense )
  
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Paul on October 30, 2014 at 7:20 am said:

That is cool – we don’t have Dum Dumds here in Canada. the question marks are an awesome operational idea. Cleaning and resetting production lines is always a major cost.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:56 pm said:
  
  win- win, paul )
  
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ramblingsfromamum on October 30, 2014 at 7:28 am said:

Lol we don’t have dums dums here but they sound nom nom nom lol

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:56 pm said:
  
  ooh, they are a sweet little treat )
  
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Exile on Pain Street on October 30, 2014 at 7:32 am said:

Too late. You can’t un-ring a bell. Thanks a lot.

@ ramblings… What do you mean you don’t have them? I thought dum-dums were ubiquitous. Like cancer.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:57 pm said:
  
  oops – sorry. well, jen from ramblings is from down under, and they have different kinds of lollies there –
  
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Let's CUT the Crap! on October 30, 2014 at 7:41 am said:

See. Goes to show you. A little mystery is good no matter what you’re selling: candy or yourself to a new date? 😀 😀 😀 What about your new boss? Nah. He better know you can do the job first.
😈

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:58 pm said:
  
  great points, all, karen – )
  
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  - Let's CUT the Crap! on October 30, 2014 at 5:27 pm said:
    
    😀 😀
    
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Roy Sexton (Reel Roy Reviews) on October 30, 2014 at 7:47 am said:

I agree with you! I don’t know if I’m happy or sad that I now know why the strange mystery suckers exist! Thanks for sharing this

>

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:58 pm said:
  
  i’m kind of a fan of a little bit of mystery, too roy )
  
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Chatter Master on October 30, 2014 at 8:14 am said:

I love a good dum dum!!!

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:58 pm said:
  
  me too!
  
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Eli Pacheco on October 30, 2014 at 10:11 am said:

sometimes, dum dums feel like the official candy of the colorado rockies.

i love knowing this. watch me drop the knowledge on my kidlets.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:59 pm said:
  
  hah, eli. and as if your girls weren’t impressed enough with your river of odd facts. )
  
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  - Eli Pacheco on October 31, 2014 at 10:02 am said:
    
    River of Odd Facts … that might be the name of my blog in my next life.
    
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evilsquirrel13 on October 30, 2014 at 11:00 am said:

No wonder I never met a mystery Dum Dum I liked! I prefer my flavors to be pure, and was unaware this was how those Riddler pops were born…

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 4:59 pm said:
  
  yes, there is a dark secret behind them, squirrel )
  
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Kitty Cunningham on October 30, 2014 at 11:56 am said:

That explains why I could never figure out what the flavor was. Thank you!

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 5:00 pm said:
  
  that’s so true, me either, kitty )
  
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markbialczak on October 30, 2014 at 12:08 pm said:

I think you know have to be eliminated by the dum dum executives, Beth. Look over your shoulder, please!

No, that’s a great idea on their part to save time and money. I don’t think you spoiled a thing, because the question mark still has a mystery flavor undereath, my friend. ))

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 5:00 pm said:
  
  if i go missing……. and yes, there is always a mystery flavor )
  
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NotAPunkRocker on October 30, 2014 at 12:25 pm said:

Wait, I thought it was for us to guess the flavor? Now you are saying it could be Rootbeer-Grape or some other type of thing? Ugh.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 5:00 pm said:
  
  indeed, it could be butterscotch and nacho !
  
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First Night Design on October 30, 2014 at 3:43 pm said:

What a very sensible idea! Waste not want not.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 5:01 pm said:
  
  it is, but i do love a bit of mystery too – )
  
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peacelovegreatcountrymusic on October 30, 2014 at 4:36 pm said:

I love Dum Dums! A delectable institution! Great post, had never heard about the mystery suckers. Makes me love them even more.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 5:02 pm said:
  
  me too, keep your eye out for the wrappers with the question marks, plcm!
  
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Joseph Nebus on October 30, 2014 at 5:59 pm said:

I had never noticed ?-flavored Dum Dums but I’m enchanted by them, and also by the kind of simple ingenuity that turns the problem of cleaning the machinery from one flavor to another into something that kids would see as almost folkloric.

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 10:14 pm said:
  
  it is kind of the perfect solution – keep a eye out for the ?????? marks
  
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ParentingIsFunny on October 30, 2014 at 6:19 pm said:

How intriguing! Thanks for sharing that. And it’s such a great, economical, efficient idea!

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 10:15 pm said:
  
  glad you enjoyed it, pif )
  
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rachelcarrera on October 30, 2014 at 9:29 pm said:

How cool! I had no idea that was why the question marks! I always figured they just randomly did that as a mystery flavor! LOL! One of my favorite craft projects when I was a small kids was we had Dum Dums and tied a white kleenex on with a white piece of yarn, then took a black marker and added two eyes and a nose and made a ghost puppet — that i got to eat after I played with it!

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- ksbeth on October 30, 2014 at 10:15 pm said:
  
  me too, rachel and i remember those ghosts!
  
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  - rachelcarrera on October 31, 2014 at 12:41 am said:
    
    🙂
    
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meditatingmummy on October 31, 2014 at 2:12 am said:

Oh gosh Beth, my kids keep choosing the mystery flavored one at the pediatrician’s office.. I’m always asked why there are questions marks around the wrapper and how they came up with a mystery dum dum. I now have the story for them.

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- ksbeth on October 31, 2014 at 9:56 pm said:
  
  and one more of those eternal questions you can answer )
  
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Andra Watkins on October 31, 2014 at 10:51 am said:

The question marks were always my favorite.

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- ksbeth on October 31, 2014 at 9:57 pm said:
  
  yes, they were always exciting )
  
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reocochran on October 31, 2014 at 1:40 pm said:

The mystery of ?? pops solved! I like this explanation, Beth and it doesn’t ruin the fun of the crossing of flavors! I love it when banks have Dum Dum’s and I grab a couple each time, perfect for a short ride from the grandies’ home to Nana’s apartment! Smiles!

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- ksbeth on October 31, 2014 at 9:58 pm said:
  
  it is funny, because i am so used to seeing them everywhere and just grabbing them for the kids, small enough for just a little treat, and they work wonders )
  
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