Answer: Smarties

Smarties, those tiny tablet-shaped candies that tend to linger at the bottom of children’s Halloween bags until the rest of the loot has been picked over, were originally created using World War II-era machinery.

The tiny little candies were manufactured using a machine that, during the height of the war, had turned out tens of thousands of little compressed gunpowder pellets a day. With some serious cleaning and decontamination, a hopper filled with flavored sugar instead of gunpowder, and a translucent wrapper to show off the colorful and compact candy within, a veritable candy institution was created.

Bonus Trivia: Smarties are called “Rockets” in Canada to avoid confusion and trademark conflict with Nestle’s chocolate M&M-like candy “Smarties” marketed throughout the country.

Image courtesy of Evan-Amos.