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Celebrate National Cotton Candy Day With Trivia

Celebrate with trivia -- and a big bag of the pink confection.

We are a cotton-candy loving nation. What's not to love, really? Cotton candy's a big, bright, colorful ball of sugar served straight up on a stick. We love cotton candy so much that we've given it not one, but two national holidays. That's double the chances for us to celebrate its existence and, of course, to eat bucket loads of this pillowy sugar miracle.

Cotton candy hasn't changed a lot since it first exploded in popularity at the beginning of the 20th century, but that's because it's perfect just as it is. And, it's mysterious. How sugar comes to become cotton candy will always feel more like a magic trick than cooking science. It makes one wonder. If you've ever wanted to answer your cotton-candy questions, read on. We've got you covered.

Everything you ever needed to know about cotton candy:

  • Cotton candy was originally called fairy floss, and in some parts of the world it still is.

  • Tootsie Roll is the largest cotton candy manufacturer.

  • Cotton candy is a fat-free food. But, of course, it's loaded with sugar.

  • Cotton candy was co-invented by a dentist. That's right, dentist William Morrison is partly responsible for the invention of machine-spun cotton candy created in 1897.

  • Cotton candy was first introduced to the general public at the 1904 World's Fair. They reportedly sold 68,655 boxes at 25¢ per box (the equivalent of $6 today.)

  • To make cotton candy sugar is melted, spun in a liquid state and pulled through tiny holes where it cools and becomes solid again. The threads are then wound around a stick.

  • Cotton candy machines use centrifugal force to spin and melt sugar through small holes.

  • There's less sugar in cotton candy than in soda. While cotton candy is made of only sugar, it's also fluffed up with a bunch of air.

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