Fascinating
facts about the invention of
Life Savers Candy by Clarence Crane in 1912. |
LIFE SAVERS CANDY® |
AT A GLANCE:
Clarence
Crane had been basically a chocolate maker. Chocolates were hard to sell
in summer, however, and so he decided to try to make a mint that would
boost his summertime sales.In 1912, candy maker Clarence Crane
first marketed "Crane’s Peppermint Life Savers". In 1913, Crane sold the
rights to his Life Savers candy to Edward Noble for only $2,900. |
THE
STORY
RELATED INFO
BOOKS
WEB SITES
DID YOU KNOW? |
Invention: |
Life Savers
in 1912 |
|
Definition: |
noun /
trademark |
Function: |
LifeSavers
is a traditional American brand of hard candy. The multi-flavoured
ring shaped candies are packaged in rollsand packages. |
Trademark: |
71068992
(US) issued August 19, 1913 |
|
Inventor: |
Clarence Crane |
|
Criteria; |
First to invent. First
to patent. Entrepreneur. |
|
Milestones:
1912 candy maker Clarence Crane
first marketed "Crane’s Peppermint Life Savers,
1913 Crane sold the rights to his
Life Savers candy to Edward Noble for only $2,900.
2004 LifeSavers was a subsidiary of
Kraft Foods before being purchased by the Wrigley Company
life savers, lifesavers, life savers candy, clarence crane, edward
noble, invention, history,
inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, fascinating
facts. |
Story:
In 1912, when candy maker Clarence Crane first marketed "Crane’s
Peppermint Life Savers," life preservers were just beginning to be used
on ships-the round kind with a hole in the center for tossing to a
passenger fallen overboard. But that is not the whole story.
Crane had been basically a chocolate maker. Chocolates were hard to sell
in summer, however, and so he decided to try to make a mint that would
boost his summertime sales. At that time most of the mints available
came from Europe and they were square in shape.
Crane was buying bottles of flavoring in a drug store one day when he
noticed the druggist using a pill-making machine. It was operated by
hand and made round, flat pills. Crane had his idea. The pill making
machines worked fine for his mints, and he was even able to add the life
preserver touch by punching a tiny hole in the middle.
In 1913, Crane sold the rights to his
Life Savers candy to Edward Noble for only $2,900. Noble then sold Life
Savers in many flavors, including the original peppermint. Clarence
Crane may have
regretted that decision to sell, for "Life Savers" earned the new manufacturer
many millions of dollars. |
|
TO LEARN MORE
RELATED INFORMATION
History of Snacks and
Food from The Great Idea Finder
ON THE BOOKSHELF:
Why Didn't I Think of That?:Bizarre Origins of Ingenious Inventions We
Couldn't Live Without
by Allyn Freeman, Bob Golden / Paperback - 260 pages / John Wiley & Sons;
(September 1997)
Filled with wacky and fascinating facts, awe-inspiring success statistics,
and rags-to-riches stories, Chronicles the odd origins behind 50 famous
inventions and reveals the business side of each product's actual
production, marketing, and distribution.
ON THE SCREEN:
Candy
DVD / 1 Volume Set / 50 Minutes / History Channel / 75814 / Less than $25.00
Americans eat 7 billion tons of candy, and it all has to come from
somewhere. In Hershey, Pennsylvania, see how the cocoa bean is processed
at the candy giant's latest plant. The traditions of the past remain
plain at Schimpff's Confectionary, where they still use small kettles,
natural flavors, and hand-operated equipment. Jelly beans, saltwater
taffy and licorice are also on the menu, as well as exotic creations
like scorpion on a stick!
ON THE WEB:
CandyStand
Official Life Savers Candy Site.
Lots of games, sports, downloads and much more.
(URL: www.candystand.com)
Life Saver History
Flash version timeline from 1912 to today.
(URL: www.candystand.com/lifesavers/ls_flavorfulroll.aspx/)
Life Savers Sparks
Will wintergreen and peppermint varieties, if crunched smartly between
the teeth, will emit a cloud of blue sparks?
(URL: www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_129)
Crane's Chocolate
Sometime between 1910 and 1915 Clarence Crane commissioned Maxfield
Parrish to create a design that could be used on a label for small gift
or sample boxes of chocolates.
(URL: www.ctcinderellas.com/gallery_elite_cranes.html)
Kraft Food
Heritage
For over two hundred years,
many companies have united to make Kraft Foods what it is today. Read
the many "firsts" in the Kraft Heritage
(URL: www.kraftfoods.com/kf/About/Heritage1.htm)
Wm. Wrigley Jr.
Company
One day in 1891, Mr. Wrigley got the idea to offer merchants free chewing
gum with each can of baking powder they purchased. Today, there are about 20 chewing gum manufacturers, with the
Wrigley Company being the largest. The owner of Life Savers brand candy
since 2004.
(URL: www.wrigley.com/wrigley/about/about_story.asp)
Wrigley to Add Life Savers to Its Confectionery Portfolio
The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company announced today that it has entered into an
agreement to purchase certain confectionery assets of Kraft Foods for
$1.48 billion. The transaction includes ownership of well-known, iconic
brand franchises -- such as Life Savers, Creme Savers(R), and Altoids --
as well as production facilities in the United States and Europe.
(URL:
www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=WWY&script=410&layout=0&item_id=643926)
DID YOU KNOW:
- Life Savers drops and mints are available in 12 roll varieties with a
total of 25 flavors:
- Five Flavor comes in (orange, pineapple, cherry, lemon and lime)
- Five Tangy Flavors comes in (watermelon, green apple, strawberry,
tangy tangerine, tangy peach)
- Tropical Fruits comes in (fruit punch, pina colada, mango melon,
tangerine and banana)
- Chill-O-Mints comes in (wintergreen, spearmint, vanilla mint and
peppermint)
- Wild Sour Berries comes in (strawberry, red raspberry, black
raspberry, blackberry and cherry)
- Also available in (Butter Rum, Wild Cherry, Hot Cin-O-Mon,
Wint-O-Green, Pep-O-Mint, Cryst-O-Mint, and Spear-O-MinT)
- The top-selling Life Savers flavors, in order of preference, are
Orange, Pineapple, Cherry, Lemon and Lime, Wint-O-Green, Pep-O-Mint and Butter Rum.
- 54 miles of Life Savers roll candy is produced
on an average day.
- More than 46 billion Life Savers are produced
annually, weighing in at 57.5 million pounds.
- It's estimated that there are a million
locations in the United States where you can buy the famous roll
candy.
|
Reference
Sources in BOLD Type |
This
page revised July 21, 2005. |
|
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