Thursday, January 20, 2011

M&Ms: Is There Anything They Can't Do?

Back in 1941 when Forrest Mars, Sr. started producing M&M candy he probably didn't expect that 70 years later I would be writing this post about his magical treats.  In fact he probably didn't foresee the coming of the internet at all. He was a smart dude, but I think this whole thing would have probably blown his mind.

Anyway, Mr. Mars got the idea for M&Ms from soldiers in the Spanish Civil War. These soldiers carried chocolate candy with a hard shell that kept the candy from melting. You know the whole, "melts in your mouth, not in your hand" thing. After getting a patent for his own process of making chocolate with a thin candy shell Mr. Mars brought the world M&Ms.

The candy was introduced to American troops serving in WWII during 1941. And today they are still fighting the good fight inside our home.

These magical candies are serving a two fold purpose in the Life of a New Dad home. First they are Braden's reward for using the toilet rather than his pants for disposing of bodily waste.

Second they are teaching him the colors. We don't just hand over the chocolate for a properly placed pee. The kid has to tell us the color too. He has known most of his colors for some time, but for some reason he doesn't like to tell us. Braden just says any color in hopes of moving on. Now, with the M&Ms, Braden is finally starting to play the color game rather than trying to drive me crazy. That is the magic of these little chocolate candies.

They fed the US troops in WWII.

They are teaching my son to poop in the toilet.

They are teaching my son his colors.

I don't think there is anything that M&Ms can't do. They can probably teach basic math skills and help kids learn to read. They may even be qualified as driver's ed instructors. These candies are special.

It is because of all these things that I would like to take time today to say thank you to the Mars Candy Company. Keep up the good work and don't let those so called health experts get you down. America needs its candy and we're counting on you.

9 comments:

Brandy@YDK said...

Sounds like potty training is goof well

Jack Steiner said...

They should send you a crate for the good PR you are providing for them.

Rob said...

LOL. Sounds like M&M's are essential in your house. I love peanut M&M's. I could eat a whole bag in 1 sitting. Thanks, now I need to get a bag on the way home from work.

Brian Miller said...

nice...m&ms rock...have not tried any of the new flavors...coconut kinda scares me...but if it gets poop in the toilet...nice.

triles said...

Love this post-educational and entertaining! Glad to hear you're throwing your support GB's way. Super Bowl would be pretty cool this year.

Tom said...

M&Ms are a parent's best friend. Particularly when potty training. Oh, and they're good for learning to count, and for making shapes as well. And I hear they taste good too.

Diplo_Daddy said...

As a former military man, I do recall eating many packages of M&M's in my MRE's. They sure hit the spot.

Anonymous said...

That's funny, my son learned his colors from M&Ms as well. Still working on the potty thing.

SurprisedMom said...

It's a great thing when you can use candy for other things than eating! Sounds like potty training is going well. Kudos to you, Arica and Braden!