When I was about 15 years old, my dad got me a "bucket of coal" for christmas. It was a little metal bucket with several lumps of black licorice and a little hammer to break it up. All in all, about 5 pounds of black licorice. Just to be a contrarian, I ate it all. By the time I finished the "coal", I ended up liking black licorice. Can't say it's my favorite, but I do like it.

Candy cigarettes were a staple of my childhood Halloween plunder. Pell Mell, Kamel, Lucky Lights. They probably deserve an honorable mention for divisive Halloween treats.

We LOVE circus peanuts, and candy corn!!!! Keep them coming. We go to certain stores just to get circus peanuts.

Brought back a memory of my grandma calling candy corn, “chicken corn.” She was born in 1910.

I once used candy corn as a practical joke on my mother. I cut off the white tips from several of them, put them in my mouth, pretended to hit a door hard, and spit them out. Mom thought they were my teeth. It was hilarious. She was not amused.

I think my chilhood was fueled by "devisive" candy. I still buy black licorice by the case. Thankfully no one else will eat it, so my stash is safe!

I just had some circus peanuts last week. I had no idea they were banana flavored. It is interesting what happens when you colorize things a different color, than the flavor!

I was raised on Candy Corn, Circus Peanuts, and another candy not featured here - Orange Slices. I have always loved them and I always will!

The CEO of circus peanut company on a TV interview said; "I have no idea why anyone would want to buy and eat these (wtf), but they do, we just make them". That says it all right there.

I am 83 years old. When I was a kid in rural Arkansas and Texas, there were no close neighbors or anywhere to go 'trick or treating'. Sometimes there would be a Halloween party at school. Usually a fund raiser of some sort. I know we bought candy corn and licorice a few times, but no one like either one. I didn't know what the Circus Peanuts were called. I think I recall tasting them sometime. Our spending money was usually hard won, so we learned early on to spend it on necessities, caps for our cap pistols, then later BBs for our BB guns. Usually the picture show on Saturday night was a necessity. It cost .10 cents to get in. A large box of popcorn was .10 cents and a paper cup of Coke was .05 cents. With little brothers and sisters older kids had to make sure we made enough during the week for everyone to go. I was surprised to know that licorice is still being made. I thought something had happened where it was no longer made.I still don't eat candy. I don't like the taste 'sweet'. I think some 5 percent of the world's population don't like the taste. Just plain sugar has a bitter after taste. I don't like pie or cake, either On December 10th, in 1943, my 5th birthday, my new Dad, (no step involved, had adopted me), but I digress In the mess hall at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, he made me a real, honest to gawd jelly roll. The raspberry filling was a bright red against the white cake. I thought that was to most beautiful thing I ever saw. Still do. He cut it with a sewing thread. I didn't think it was right somehow, to eat something that beautiful.' Dammit I' m a sentimental old fool, crying over a jelly roll that's been gone 3/4 of a Century. Ok, my keeper is here with my meds. Gotta hide this website. She thinks I'm looking at porn.

"NECCO WAFERS" Were always the most hated candy in these parts. Little discs of blackboard chalk, YUM! YUM!

Growing up in a large family (7brothers, one sister) in the 60's in Cleveland, Ohio, we ate a lot of these candies because that's what my parents could afford to give use that could be shared so none of us felt left out. Didn't realize how poor we were until I finally got my first job as a teenager. Don't regret it though, taught us thrift and gratefulness.

First off I eat candy corn one color at a time and have since early childhood. Now to the nitty gritty. I think the reason we keep these around is it brings us back to a simpler life. It reminds us of going polliwoging, lightning bug hunting. Simple times where the only thing to worry about is getting home before the street lights came on. A time where an empty box today is a fort and tomorrow it's a rocketship. A time when a broom handle was a horse named Silver or Champion. Where an empty lot was a football field or a baseball diamond.

So I have a peanut allergy. I fondly remember finding circus peanuts when I was little and thinking “wow, I can eat these!” and so I loved them from then on. It’s still a favorite of mine today.

My grandmother, born in 1894, loved candy corn so much that one year when very young, she saved her portion and tried to plant it the next spring.

I am a very picky eater but I absolutely love candy corn and their pumpkin cohorts. I can and will eat an entire bag happily.

The banana flavor in circus peanuts is mimicking an extinct banana known as the Gros Michel. What you buy at the grocery store is the Cavendish banana, which has a completely different flavor profile. That's why people don't think that banana-flavored things don't taste like banana. What they are tasting is a fascinating aspect of history! I don't think anyone has attempted to or successfully replicated the Cavendish banana flavor.

My grandfather used black licorice flavoring to spray on his fishing lures. He swore by it for catching bass and crappie. He passed more than 30 years ago. His tackle-box still smells of it.

Black licorice and "circus peanuts" are the stuff of life ❤

When I was really little, maybe 2 or 3, I saw a picture in a coloring book of a circus elephant holding a peanut in his trunk about to eat it. My grandmother had given me these treats, too, so naturally I concluded that they must be elephant food as well as candy. LOL 🤷🏽‍♀

I love all those! Necco wafers need to be added to the list. I think by law, every grandmother must carry lint-covered Necco wafers in her purse.

My beloved grandfather was a merchant seaman who always smoked a pipe. A favorite childhood memory was my imitating him with a candy pipe made of black licorice...two "old salts" together. RIP, Pop-Pop!

Many of the candies that are hard to find, are sold at Cracker Barrel in their gift shop like area. I made a nostalgia basket for my brother's 50th birthday and bought many of the old favorites there.

The quality of this video is amazing for being just a regular KZfaq video. It takes me back to when me and Mom used to watch Unwrapped or Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives! Hope you can keep making videos like this. I'd love to be able to flick it on, sit back and reminisce!

I'm 70 and love all three. Candy Corn and Circus Peanuts were Halloween staples when I was a child. It is not just a tasty treat, but a good memory!

My grandfather loaned the two guys who started Peter Paul candy company when the bank would not loan them the money because the bank thought a candy company was a bad risk. Shows you how shortsighted bank loan officers can be. We the family got free boxes of candy every Christmas for years after as gratitude for my grandfather's belief in someone's dream.

My grandmother often had a bag of circus peanuts hidden in the bread drawer at their home. I liked them and have very fond memories. Candy corn are one of my favorite candies.

It's wild that some of the candy corn shapes we think of as seasonal now (i.e. pumpkins), might be closer to some of the original shapes. I never knew that. Thanks for another good one!

You should cover the chalky Valentine's Day Hearts in next year's edition. I absolutely love them. People used to give theirs to me because I was the only person who wanted them. I also love Necco Wafers, which are basically the same.

Black licorice is excellent. Very underrated. Very underappreciated.

I love circus peanuts, especially when they just start to go stale. It's the texture more than the taste, the taste is just sugar lol

These three candies were the last I ate out of my trick or treat gatherings when everything I liked was gone.

I love circus peanuts, but never realized the banana flavor was there until you pointed it out.

The secret of candy corn is that you have to buy the Brach's Autumn Mix that only comes out in September. It's soft and fresh with real honey and cocoa mixed in and make sure you just buy a little bag if you don't have anybody to share it with because you will inhale it all overnight. Most people buy the stale generic stuff from the drug store that's fifty cents for a pound. That stuff is pure corn syrup and tastes like "ow, my teeth hurt.''

I love your delivery style. It reminds me of reports on CBS New's 'Sunday Morning'. It is exciting to have found such a fun channel! I am 53 and diabetic, so sadly can no longer have candy corn. When I was a kid (and a couple times as an adult) I ate so much that I ended up an upset stomach.

your channel makes me so happy :) it's like having my grandfather tell me about the good old days, a lovely cup of chicken noodle soup but in video form

The mention of Necco wafers (from the New England Candy Company) will always stir up a lively discussion in my home state of Connecticut. I, for one, like them and find them nostalgic. Also, growing up in the 1960's, I saw the shift from full-sized candy bars given out as treats to the diminutive "fun sized" bars. I remember thinking to myself "Who's idea of 'fun' is this?!!!" Now, half a century later, I can still remember the houses in my neighborhood who gave out the treasured, full-sized Hershey bars for Trick-or-treat. Best regards from Key West, Capt. Blackheart Charlie

Circus peanuts have been my favorite candy since I was a child. I remember getting made fun of because others would say it was "old people's candy."

England here. Never seen candy corn before 🤩 However, I can confirm that we had those marshmallow peanuts in the 1970s. I recall thinking they were weird at the time (and not really noticing they were supposed to taste like bananas).

Love all of these, particularly Good & Plenty. Thanks for this video. “Satan’s ear wax!”😂

Circus Peanuts bring back memories of my Grandmother's pantry. Whenever we visited there was always a bag of circus peanuts on the shelf. Candy corn was always in candy dishes in everyone's house during the autumn, along with candies shaped like cats, bats and small pumpkins (and those were VERY special! LOL!).

A sister to circus peanuts persists in Australia. Same texture, same flavour, but in the shape of bananas to match their taste. Candy bananas are quite popular here.

I’ve been craving those marshmallow peanuts and now I’ve had to watch this video. Too the candy shop! lol. =]

I have loved black licorice since I was a child. I especially loved licorice pipes and cigars; they were my favourites. I can't find them anymore…or maybe I just haven't looked for them hard enough. Thank you for the memories!

I have such fond memories of the Circus Peanut. Next to chocolate, it was my favorite candy as a kid in the Fifties. I didn't eat it so much as a young adult, but now as an Senior Citizen, it is even better. For a Winter afternoon snack, a cup of hot coffee filled with cream, and a couple of the Circus Peanuts, I couldn't ask for a better treat. Thank you for sharing this oddball bit of candy mystery/history.

a good historian can take anything and make it the most interesting and attention grabbing story you've ever heard! thank you again, history guy!

I was born March 9, 1952. My sister, December 2, 1954. When they brought her home from the hospital I was exited and wanted to share my Halloween candy with her. Parents were in kitchen and heard her choking. I'd shared my favorite, candy corn, with her. Parents weren't thrilled even though they always taught me to share. For her 30th birthday I found a throw pillow shaped and colored like a piece of candy corn. I wrote in the card, " I tried to be an only child, but it didn't work out." She laughed and had to explain it to her husband and kids.😊😅😅

Side note. I spent a year on a ship operated by a developing nation. There was no sugar whatsoever on that ship. I had never had a sweet tooth and especially was never impressed with cake. But after that year the first sweet thing I had was a piece of cake and it was mind blowing. It completely changed my perspective on why sweets like cake or your examples were such a big deal in a time before sugar and high fructose corn syrup had worked it’s way into everything we eat.

I'm 63 years old, and those are 3 of my favorite candies from childhood, and I love them still. They're just a few of those little things in life that bring us as close as we'll ever get to time travel.

Circus peanuts have always been my favorite candy. Fresh, stale, I don't care. I really like candy corn too especially if mixed with salted peanuts.

I have ALWAYS and still do LOVE Circus Peanuts (EXTREMELY) and CANDY CORN is delectable to me😋 I’m 63 years old and I literally crave them from time to time. I’m constantly searching for them in stores and buy many sometimes all the bags they have to store up for when my faves have shortages 🤪 My son and husband ABSOLUTELY ADORE BLACK LICORICE!!!😂

When I was a kid, back in the 70s, we lived behind a Kmart. I loved dumpster diving in their dumpsters. One day I discovered cases and cases of candy corn in the dumpster and brought them home. I secretly gorged on candy corn for weeks. That was the last time I've eaten it. Cured me for good.

Weird... up until now I didn't really identify circus peanuts as having a banana flavor hahahaha.

Howes in Grove city Pennsylvania still produces Circus Peanuts using the Spangler trademark in several flavors and I love them all....

My grandmother was born in 1919 and circus peanuts were her favorite candy. Interesting side note that connects to this, my grandma was the Spider Girl for a very short time in the Hagenbeck and Wallace Circus, so more than likely, traveling circuses did indeed have them.

I very seldom eat candy, but when October rolls around, I usually buy a few bags of candy corn. The mix with the pumpkins is the best.

The Danes have a huge affinity for licorice. When I was in Denmark, I went to a local grocery and was simply astounded to see how many varieties of licorice they had. My black licorice-loving father would have been so pleased. Although even he drew the line at triple-salt black licorice. That, he stated, simply tasted like a salt lick.

Candy corn and peanut butter taffy in orange and black wrappers are classic Halloween candies, somehow without them Halloween wouldn't be the same. Mom always wanted the candy corn in small packets to give out on Halloween, yet I have never seen it packed this way. The candy companies don't seem to know that this would increase sales.

I did not realize circus peanuts were considered bad. I love all three of these candies. Great video!

This guy could make a 30 minute video of the history of LITERALLY anything and I'm gonna watch the whole thing everytime. 👏 bravo sir

I was never a big licorice fan. But Basset's Licorice allsorts and Torpedos were and are worthy of mention. They are the most common products of that type in the UK.

What a hoot!! I'm in the ranks of liking all three! That was a delightful talk, thank you. 👍

I grew up eating Black Licorice because my grandfather loved it. I grew up eating Circus Peanuts and candy corn because my father loved it. I as a child LOVED Good and Plenty and still do!

I've never known that circus peanuts were banana flavored, but looking back at it it's so obvious. How did I never realize that?

I really like this video. Some deeper dive into the basics of the production methods and the history of the technology would be cool too. More please!

I watched this baked and it felt like an hour long documentary, this kind of stuff is so cool

Throughout the sixties and seventies, my family traveled from wherever we were to meet at our grandmother's house before spending a month at the beach. Every year she set out the same spread to greet us kids. Canada Dry ginger ale served warm in the can with paper straws, Wise potato chips, and circus peanuts. Not refreshing, exactly, but unforgettable.

Should do another video on rootbeer barrels, wax lips, and necco wafers.

I have always adored Circus Peanuts. My grandmother always had those, Orange Slices, and Oatmeal Cookies. But the Circus Peanuts were the only ones that I never could get my mother to agree to buy, because she thought they were so disgusting they must be bad for you.

I’ve always loved candy corn. I didn’t realize people hated it until I was an adult. Seriously, I always looked forward to it. It was one of if not my favorite Halloween candy. Circus peanuts are definitely not my favorite. They taste like if peeps were made out of foam, and I hate peeps.

As a kid in the '50s, whenever I would go to see a movie I would stop at the candy counter and buy a box of Good and Plenty. I still love licorice.

I came home from work and started chowing on circus peanuts and found your channel. Good show, mate. Cheers!

My grandma, born in 1889, liked good and plenty, the bright squares from England and the twists; she was the only person who offered it to me and she did so regularly.

When I was a kid I loved all three: Licorice, circus peanuts, and candy corn. Later I began to feel that circus peanuts and candy corn were too sugary and although I might enjoy one or two on rare occasions, that is my limit. I still love licorice though, especially Good & Plenty.

A radio station here in Philly, asked everyone to bring down all their unused/unwanted Halloween candies back in the 1960's. They filled 46 trashcans with different bands of crap candies. I won the one filled to the rim with Good & Plenty. I still think that's why I made it into my folk's will. lol!

I am 50 and love candy corn, but I love circus peanuts even more. Spangler circus peanuts are the best but you need to give one a squeeze in the package to test its firmness. My brother and I were just at Menards and saw them there and we both ate the whole bag on the ride back home. We both approve of this delicious candy but yeah....its not for everyday. Thanks for doing the background history of this American classic 🙂

My grandmother loved Circus Candy. Even had diabetes. She wouldn’t give them up for anything.

Circus Peanuts were one of my grandmothers favorite treats so I developed a taste for them myself, because when you stay over at grandmas on the weekend as a kid and all she has is divinity and circus peanuts you're going to eat them.

Circus Peanuts I can do without...i don't really like or dislike them.... but I love licorice and candy corn.... always have. I love your channel. Thank you for the great lessons!

I'm diabetic and haven't eaten candy corn or circus peanuts in over fifteen years but I remember them fondly. The sad truth is the sugar snacks and a Coca-Cola pseudo-addiction was why I am diabetic.

As a kid the only correct way to eat candy corn was to bite off one color at a time, and if you got ahold of the ones with black instead of orange they always tasted the best, even though there was actually no flavoring added to any of the three colors. 😂

Arguing about candy satisfies the desire to argue, without engendering any hard feelings. You argue politics and it gets really nasty really quickly, and not only that but whoever loses gets force-fed the option they don't like for years afterwards. Arguing about candy still ends with everyone eating their favorites, no matter how much they make fun of each other.

Love this! Love Circus Peanuts! Our Grandfather used to but them for us when we we five or six years old. It was a wonderful tasting treat and precious memories. Just like you said, the nostalgia of Circus Peanuts is the answer. I am now 74 years old, my twin brother and I still love these crazy orange colored, banana flavored treats! Yes, they are a sweet part of our childhood. I hope they continue on for another 100 years.

I haven't gotten your videos recommended in a while, and I missed your narration style!

When I was a kid candy was a real treat. Consequently, Halloween was not just fun it was also a job. The purpose was to gather as much candy (in a pillow case) as you could. We ran from house to house and hoped we could get enough to make that candy last for months. In our house, the last candy to be plucked from those pillowcases was always the 3 mentioned here.

Necco wafers is one of my favorites, and I also still like Circus Peanuts - it's probably nostalgia. It was disappointing when the Necco wafers stopped being sold, but they have come back! Recently, the young lady at the counter referred to them as "old people's candy", and asked me why I like them because "they taste like sheetrock". I asked her how she knew.

I did enjoy this episode. I didn’t know these candies were so devisive. I must confess that I like all three and will eagerly pilfer them from my grandchildren s candy bag at Halloween. I rationalize my petty larceny by suggesting they won’t know the difference anyway. And Good N Plenty have always been a favorite. I enjoy eating the candy corn each color separately in tiny bites. Glad to know they are still available.

My grandma usually had circus peanuts for us; they were always soft and delicious. Whenever I see them in the store, I gently squeeze to see if they’re soft. They never are, so I don’t buy

I must have been a weird little kid. I loved black licorice, circus peanuts, super-sour jawbreakers, sponge toffee, horehound candy, and that weirdest of Canadian candies "Thrills", which still sports its proud slogan on the box: "IT STILL TASTES LIKE SOAP!"

Bowl with 2/3 cocktail peanuts and 1/3 candy corn is a fun fall treat! your welcome.

My dad loved circus peanuts and pink lozenge candy. Now he is gone and whenever I see either, it makes me start to cry.

I love all three and hope they keep churning ‘em out!

I absolutely love black licorice too! Wiley wallaby brand from Australia is my favorite. It's nice to know that I am not the only one who loves it.

Man, candy corn became awesome once I stopped getting swamped by it during Halloween: circus peanuts are awesome; and licorice...well, it was an acquired taste, but I did acquire it eventually. May they never die!

I remember these so well, I do not always remember yesterday, but the joys of youth will stay forever.

I'm 62 and remember my Grandfather giving me circus peanuts as a little girl. As a 4 y/o I thought they were wonderful 😂 Nostalgia ❤

When my wife (from Kansas) was pregnant, 14 years ago we were visiting some family in Texas and she had a craving for circus peanuts - enjoying them myself I went in search. My odyssey took me to at least 10 stores and asking numerous people and nobody seemed to even know what I was talking about. It was as if I had traveled to a parallel timeline where the banana oil mistake batch was dumped rather then batched and sold; and I didn't like it one bit. Driving back home, as soon as we made it closer to the Oklahoma border I found 3 bags and we leisurely snacked to the collective dismay of our pancreases. I actually never was able to figure out what the flavor was until watching this video and you're absolutely right, they are indeed banana flavored!

I haven't heard the term "chicken feed" applied to candy corn in many decades. Thanks for reminding me of my childhood!

I did enjoy that bit of history thank you.

English is my second language and I live in an English speaking country now. Years ago, a friend asked me if I liked licorice jellies and offered me one. I was not familiar with the word, but I instantly recognised the black coloured sweet and said "yes, I love these". I bit into the licorice sweet and though I was going to be sick. That was not the sweet I knew and loved from childhood. Turns out, where I'm from we ate aniseed jellies that looked very similar to licorice jellies. In fact, if you look up aniseed jellies, most search resultsthat come up are for licorice jellies. These are not the same though. Aniseed jellies are yum and licorice is yuck 😁