Mental Floss

CANDY

Pop Rocks caused an explosion of controversy.

Pop Rocks—General Foods' famously carbonated candy—flew off shelves in the 1970s, but rumors of exploding children brought the food fad to an untimely end.

Jake Rossen








Samohin/iStock via Getty Images

If you've ever eaten a chocolate bar, you've probably eaten a Kit Kat. The four-fingered bar is one of the world's most popular treats and in 2014 was named the "most influential" candy bar of all time by TIME Magazine.

James Hunt








Marten Bjork, Unsplash

Sugar plums didn't originally contain plums, and their name once doubled as a not-so-sweet euphemism.

Michele Debczak