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Mary's Inventors Blog

By Mary Bellis, About.com Guide to Inventors since 1997

Cracker Jack

Tuesday June 29, 2004
Cracker Jack was first mass-produced and sold at the first Chicago World's Fair in 1893. The treat was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts and the initial name was "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts." Legend has it that the name "Cracker Jack" came from a customer who upon trying the treat exclaimed "That really a cracker - Jack!" and the name stuck. However, "crackerjack" was also a slang expression at that time that meant "something very pleasing or excellent" and that is more likely to have been the origin of the name.

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