A: Now realize, we’re talking candy here, not flotation device (we did use the word genius, right?) Well, here’s the story. Before electric refrigeration became widespread and affordable (around 1920), summer was a bad time for chocolate makers. So when Ohio chocolate manufacturer Clarence Crane was looking for some non-melty revenue streams in 1912, he decided to develop a hard, peppermint candy that could withstand the summer heat. To make his candy even more summer-friendly (and to differentiate them from the traditional square mints) Crane shaped his invention like the life preservers seen on ocean vessels. Unfortunately, the candy innovator underestimated the American passion for food with holes and sold the brand to an ad salesman named Edward John Noble for a paltry $2,900 just before Life Saver sales began to skyrocket. The only change Noble made to the product was switching the packaging from thin cardboard (which made the candy taste, well, like cardboard) to its trademark foil. Between 1913 and 1987, over 33.4 billion Life Savers were sold.