Trick or Trivia?

1.) In 1985, the candy industry actually lobbied to to move the end of Daylight Saving Time into early November - after Halloween. They hoped that the longer days would increase the time spent trick-or-treating and boost candy sales. The National Confectioners Association reportedly "pleaded with U.S. senators and, according to some reports, left pumpkins full of candy on their chairs." In 2007, more than twenty years later, the candy makers' wish was granted and Congress altered Daylight Saving Time to accommodate.

2.) You may notice that you don't see "high fructose corn syrup" in the ingredient lists of candies anymore. Rest assured that you are still getting your dose - it is just a name change to "corn sugar."

3.) In 2009, Americans consumed 24.3 pounds of candy per capita.

Answers: All trivia. (Sources: Mental Floss, Census Bureau)

Latest HFCS... Err... "Corn Sugar"

Earlier this week, we heard from a reader in St. Thomas regarding the recent HFCS makeover aka name-change and mistakenly thought it was just another one of those cheesy commercials. It turns out this "corn sugar" re-branding effort is as big as the 1988 "canola oil is the new low eurcic acid rapeseed oil" act in advertising. ABC News just launched an eye-opening feature about renaming which even includes some thoughts from JustSaying fave: Michael Pollan. 

For a quicker read, check out Jacob Goldstein's NPR post.

(Thnx, Jonathan)