Rosario Monachino
People are only just discovering what the M&M initials stand for – despite it being one of the most popular snacks in the world.
The iconic brand, which has been around for just over 80 years, is recognised for its small, multicoloured button-shaped chocolates.
People on social media are talking about why they didn’t know what the two initials stood for.
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One person on Twitter wrote: “I always thought it just stood for ‘MMMMMM!”
Another person posted: “Knowing that M&M’s were created for soldiers in WW2, I assumed M&M stood for Military Munchies. When you assume…”
“Hahaha, I thought they meant to melt in the mouth! They coincidentally don’t melt in hand,” another wrote.
The American chocolates are inspired by the British chocolate Smarties, which is evident as both brands are known for their colourful chocolate coating.
Forrest Edward Mars Snr and Brucie Murrie discovered the chocolate brand in 1941.
It was during the Spanish Civil War when Mars was helping manufacture sweets for soldiers.
This is where he discovered Smarties and found out the purpose of the chocolate-covered shells.
In an article published by History, it’s explained: “Mars purportedly encountered British volunteers eating small chocolate beads encased in a hard sugar shell, which prevented melting.
“In an age when sales of chocolate typically dropped off during summer months due to the lack of air conditioning, Mars was thrilled by the prospect of developing a product that would be able to resist melting in high temperatures.“
Mars then went back to America and began working on M&Ms with Murrie, who was the son of the founder of Hershey Chocolate.
History’s article goes on to say: “Originally sold in cardboard tubes, M&Ms were covered with a brown, red, orange, yellow, green or violet coating.
“After the US entered the war, the candies were exclusively sold to the military, enabling the heat-resistant and easy-to-transport chocolate to be included in American soldiers’ rations.”
However, the partnership between Mars and Murrie ended in 1945 after World War II, when Mars bought out Murrie and became the sole owner of the company.
The same reasoning as to why they were suitable for soldiers during the war made them great for space travel.
On the NASA ship Columbia, which launched into space in 1981, M&Ms became the first sweet/chocolate to be launched into space.
M&M isn’t the only famous chocolate to come from the Mars family, as his dad, Frank Mars, came up with the Mars bar.
He is also responsible for Milky Way, Snickers, and even Uncle Ben’s rice.
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One fan said: “So… today I found out that M&M’s stand for ‘Mars and Murrie’.”
That’s right, M&M stands for ‘Mars’ and ‘Murrie’, which are the surnames of the company’s two founders.
“Mmmm. So I’ve been eating Mars and Murries?” one person replied, shocked.
Did you know the origins of the M&M name?
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