
From Necco Wafers To Modern Messages: The Sweet Journey Of Conversation Hearts
You can't have Valentine's Day with these little nuggets of sugar. These pure little sugar blocks are a staple when it comes to sweet treats for your sweetheart. Did you know that they actually originated in a pharmacy?
Back in 1947 a gentleman named Oliver R. Chase created a medication-cutting machine to increase production speed. So, the machine that was meant to make pills turned in a sugar press. They swapped out the medicinal and binding ingredients and pressed sugar and flavoring and Tada we have the first candy-making machine! They started in disc form known as Necco Wafers.

Soon after Oliver's brother Daniel was like hey, I have an idea let's put some words on these little sugar discs and sell them to the people. By 1901 they had evolved into the conversation hearts we have come to know and love today. To be honest I feel like they could have spent a little more time on the flavors. Pepto-Bismol and weird overpowering mint are a little much. Yet despite never really changing up the flavors they still crank out over 8 billion little hearts a year.
Now they have evolved so far that you can actually scan a candy heart with the sweet message on it and it will help you follow through with the message on it. Example "Marry Me". By scanning this heart, it will take you to a site that helps you get married online. The "Move In" heart helps you hire movers. That is handy. And this is where they lost me if you scan a "4Ever" heart helps you buy heart-shaped GRAVESTONES. Nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like picking out matching gravestones.
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Gallery Credit: Jesse James
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