James Dewar was a baker for the Continental Baking Company (makers of Wonder Bread and Hostess snack treats). In the 1930's, Dewar realized that the shortcake machines were sitting unused when strawberries were not in season. He created a shortcake filled with banana cream. It was a huge hit, sold at a nickle for two. Dewar said that he got the idea for the name from a billboard advertising Twinkle Toes Shoes.
When WWII came along, bananas were rationed, so the even more popular vanilla cream was created. The banana cream returned in 2005 for a month-long promotion for the King Kong movie, and since sales increased by 20%, Hostess returned banana cream to their product list in 2007.
Twinkies have ventured far from being merely a snack food. They've become a derogatory term for the defense of sugar-induced crime, a diet, and items for experimentation. There is also an urban legend floating around that says they apparently have a forever shelf life, when it's really about 25 days. Makes you wonder how that Twinkie Bill Clinton put into the time capsule will fare.
As James said, "Twinkies was the best darn-tootin' idea I ever had." And America agrees.
1 comments:
I love hearing how things were invented. Now, can you solve the mystery of what happened to Nabisco's Melody Cookies? I still mourn their disappearance from store shelves.
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