By FPL_Suzanne
Who doesn’t like the smell and taste of cotton candy? Did you know that there are only two ingredients in cotton candy – sugar and food coloring? Sugar and food coloring are spun, at approximately 3,400 revolutions per minute, into airy strands of deliciousness that melt in your mouth. Yum! Would you believe that a dentist helped invent the machine that spins cotton candy?! Please read on...
In 1897 dentist Dr. William Morrison and candy maker John Wharton worked together to come up with a machine that could melt sugar and, at the same time, spin it into light sweet fluffs they called “fairy floss.” They introduced this new-fangled candy and the machine that makes it in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
In the states, this sugary goodness became known as “cotton candy” in the 1920s. Internationally other countries have named it a bit differently:
- England – candy floss
- Australia and Finland – fairy floss
- France – papa's beard
- China – dragon's beard
- Iran – pashmak
- Greece – grandma's hair
Here are some fun ways to help celebrate National Cotton Candy Day on December 7:
- Watch this fun Knowledge Quest video about cotton candy, opens a new window
- Make your own cotton candy at home using this easy recipe from the Today Show on NBC, opens a new window
- If you’d rather read about sweets, here are some fun chapter books about candy
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