Slap Stix

There are three kinds of people in this world: those that love Slap Stix, those that hate Slap Stix, and those that have never heard of a Slap Stix. For those that have never heard of a Slap Stix, allow me to enlighten you. Slap Stix is a caramel sucker that contains a beautiful, chewy center of swirled yellow, pink, and white nougat. The nougat is said to be banana, cherry, and vanilla flavored, but anyone who has eaten a Slap Stix would confirm that the predominant flavor is banana. Therefore, if you are not a fan of artificial banana flavor, as I have discovered many people aren't, you will probably not enjoy a Slap Stix. But that's okay, there will be more for me.

The origin of the Slap Stix is unknown to me. I do know that they have been around since at least the 1980s because I ate them as a kid. I also know that they are a product of the classic candy company NECCO. In 1920, Howard B. Stark of the Howard B. Stark Candy Company, which was later named Stark Candy Company, created the Snirkle which shares some similarities to the Slap Stix. Snirkle, which is no longer made, was a caramel candy with a vanilla nougat swirl. Very similar to the swirled Slap Stix, minus the banana-cherry bonus. Somewhere along the way, the Stark Candy Company ended up being bought by NECCO, which leads me to go all Nancy Drew and conclude that the retired Snirkle was the predecessor to the Slap Stix.

By the way, I would not recommend actually slapping someone with a "Slap" Stix. It hurts quite a bit, or so I've been told.