Cotton Candy, the genesis of cavities and the nemesis of parents. In our opinion, it is the sweetest scent of them all. One whiff of this poof of sugar metamorphosis instantly transports you to long lines at the state fair, strangers passing by eating turkey legs the size of their face, carnival games rigged for the odds to never be in your favor….It’s a site to see, taste, and smell! So much so that we wanted to give our sweetest scent a little history spotlight…
Cotton Candy was invented by a dentist. We love a good splash of irony just as much as we love a cheeky joke, sugar. Dentist William Morrison either didn’t get the end goal of dentistry, or was an extremely savvy businessman, creating the need and demand. (A kind of “keep them coming back for more.” We see what you did there, good sir.) In 1897, this creative capitalist teamed up with candy-maker John C. Wharton to invent a magical machine that spun sugar into what they called “Fairy Floss.”
In 1904, the two introduced the world to this sweet treat at the famous World’s Fair. They sold each box for $0.25! While this may seem insignificant to you, sugar, let us put this in perspective for you. 1904’s $0.25 is today’s $5.99. In 1904, Mr. Morrison and Mr. Wharton walked away with $17,163.75 of profit; that’s $410,000 in today’s dollars. This was back in a time when the average U.S. worker was earning between $200 and $400 a year. Basically, they were rolling in it, sugar.
Once the original patent expired, other inventors swept in to re-invent the spinning wheel, so to speak. In 1972, an automatic machine was created and the sweet treat was re-named as Cotton Candy!
We’re originalists here at Sugar + Spruce, and stick to naming this sweet scent “Fairy Floss.” We also pride ourselves in being the guilt-free, zero calorie sweet shop, where you can have your cake and bathe with it, too. We’re also the cavity free sweet shop.
Click here to shop all of our Fairy Floss treats!
Until next time, sugar!
