Writer of Pop Culture

Like another popular candy brand that is still in production, M&M’s sort of got their start by serving in the war!

1941 – Which Came First – M&M’s or Smarties?

If you’re familiar with the British-made candy-coated chocolate pieces known as Smarties, you might think that were inspired by American M&M’s, but it’s actually the other way around. Smarties have been around since 1937.

During the Spanish Civil War, Forrest Mars Sr., (the son of Frank C. Mars who was the founder of the Mars candy company), took note that some soldiers were eating Smarties which were made in a way that prevented the candy from melting. Forrest took this knowledge and got a patent for his own version on March 3, 1941. With production being made in New Jersey, M&M’s were named after his own name and Bruce Murrie (the son the William F. R. Murrie, the president of the Hershey’s Chocolate Company).

Made with Hershey’s Chocolate, the first M&M’s were introduced on this day. The first big customer was the U.S. Army where the candies were sold exclusively to the military during World War II.

In 1949, M&M’s became known as “The milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.” Peanut M&M’s came about in 1954 and a version made with almonds were available in the 1960’s, withdrawn and made available again in 1988. Since that time, many flavors have been introduced and discontinued including Mint, Crispy, Crunchy Cookie, Pretzel, Coffee Nut, Caramel, English Toffee, Hazelnut Spread, Peanut Butter, Fudge Brownie, Dark Chocolate, Caramel Latte, White Chocolate Candy Corn and many more.

Over the years, the M&M characters have been voiced by different, well-known actors including Jon Lovitz, Billy West, John Goodman, J.K. Simmons, Cree Summer, Vanessa Williams and Amber Ruffin.

Today, M&M’s can be found in over 100 countries. They are made in New Jersey and Tennessee, and it is estimated that 400 million of the little guys are produced each day.

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OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

1935 – ‘Popeye the Sailor Man’ Airs on the Radio

Popeye the Sailor first appeared as a newspaper comic in 1927. In 1933, he made it to the big screen in a series of theatrical shorts and on this day in 1935, Popeye began his first thrice-weekly, 15-minute radio program on NBC.

The show was initially sponsored by Wheatnena breakfast cereal which replaced many of the spinach references. It ran for three years but switched networks three times. Of the 204 episodes that aired, it is estimated that only 20 of them still exist.

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1990 – Will Smith Becomes the ‘Fresh Prince’

Created by Andy and Susan Borowitz, Will Smith starred in the fish-out-of-water comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for NBC. Smith played a version of himself as a street not-so-smart teen from West Philadelphia being sent to live with his relatives, the Banks in Bel-Air Los Angeles. Needless to say, the show was very popular and helped to pave the way for future film projects for Smith.

The Fresh Prince also starred Janet Hubert-Whitten as Aunt Vivian and James Avery as Uncle Philip. Will’s cousins were played by Alfonso Ribeiro as Carlton, Karyn Parsons as Hilary and Tatyana M. Ali as Ashley, the youngest. Joseph Marcell played the Banks’ butler, Geoffrey. Beginning with the 4th season of the show, Hubert-Whitten was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid playing the same role.

The show is also where Smith met actress Jada Pinkett who he married years later. (Pinkett had auditioned to play the part of Will’s girlfriend Lisa, but she didn’t get it because the producers thought that she was too short and the two of them lacked chemistry. The part ultimately went to Nia Long.)

The hit series came to an end after six seasons ending on May 20, 1996. A reboot of the series with the shortened name, Bel-Air, debuted on Peacock in February 2022 changing the comedy series into a drama.

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SATURDAY MORNING TV

Remember watching your favorite cartoons with a bowl of cold cereal? Here are some that began airing on this day. How many do you remember?

Other TV Shows That Debuted on This Day:

• 1966: The Adventures of Superman, The Lone Ranger, The Beagles, The Super Six, The Space Kidettes; Dino Boy in the Lost Valley
  
• 1977: Schoolhouse Rock; ABC Weekend Special; What’s New Mr. Magoo?; The Skatebirds; The Robonic Stooges; The Adventures of Muhammad Ali; Search and Rescue: The Alpha Team; Baggy Pants and The Nitwits; The All-New Super Friends Hour
  
• 1983: Menundo; The Littles; The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries; Inspector Gadget; Rubik the Amazing Cube
  
• 1988: The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh; A Pup Named Scooby-Doo; The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley; Alf Tales; Beany and Cecil
  
• 1994: Reboot; Bump in the Night; Beethoven

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