....Conversation hearts! Really?! One of our adoring listeners left boxes of Sweethearts on our desks over the weekend. I hadn't had one in years, so I thought, "Why not?" and popped one in my mouth. And then, I immediately remembered why it had been so long since I'd eaten them. Because they taste like Tums. And they leave an awful aftertaste. Apparently, my mixed feelings about this particular candy is not shared by the masses.The maker of conversation hearts, also known as Sweet Hearts, Necco, manufactures 8 billion Sweethearts a year. Approximately 100,000 pounds of hearts are made per day from late February to mid January. And all those little hearts sell out in about 6 weeks.
It all started with a guy named Oliver Chase. Ollie invented a machine in 1847 to cut lozenges from wafer candy, just like what would become Necco Wafers, and started a candy factory. Oliver's bro Daniel, began printing sayings on these candies in 1866. Today, conversations hearts have saying like "LOL", "Text Me" and "Luv U"...what could they have possibly said in 1866? Anyway, Danny designed a machine that was able to press on the candy, similar to a stamp.
Heart shaped conversation candies, what we now know as Sweethearts, got their start in 1901. Other styles had been produced, like lozenges, postcards, horseshoes, watches and baseballs.
Sayings on the hearts are constantly being revised for young Americans. You don't see "Fax me" or "Email me" any more! Necco receives hundreds of suggestions a year on new sayings. If you want to suggest a saying, go to necco.com.
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