Only One State Picked Candy Corn As Its Favorite Halloween Candy, According To New Survey

If you want to start a playful debate on Halloween, an almost guaranteed way to get people fired up is to bring up candy corn. The little yellow, orange, and white candy is perhaps the most controversial seasonal candy in existence. Some people can't stand the very sweet, brightly colored, little candy triangles, while other diehard fans love the stuff, waiting all year for it to finally return to store shelves. There is a reason why some of us might find it off-putting, though. According to History, the candy, which was invented in the late 1880s, was designed specifically to look like chicken feed — not a very appetizing treat.

In 1898, a Wunderle Candy Company employee in Philadelphia named George Renninger took control over the recipe for the candy kernels. He began marketing the product as "Chicken Feed," and even included a rooster on the packaging. In the early 1900s, the candy corn took off in popularity as a cheap "penny candy," which children could purchase in bulk with their pocket money for about one cent. And although now candy corn is pretty much synonymous with Halloween, it wasn't closely associated with the holiday until the 1950s, when candy companies began heavily advertising the product during the month of October.