Mini history & walkthrough of the making of PEZ [SLYT: 4 min10sec]
January 4, 2019 8:30 AM   Subscribe

PfeffErminZ aka PEZ (the sweet micro bricks) and thier holders, are older than you think. Every time someone eats a PEZ, you might be surprised to know that creation of the confectionery (and it's holders) involves at least seven different US Patents.

The most expensive ever PEZ dispenser was valued at a reported $13,000 (thirteen thousand dollars), and several styles of dispenser are considered high value collectibles.

There is a PEZ museum in Burlingame, California, and the tiny sweet has several conventions dedicated to it in several different countries.

Enjoy
posted by Faintdreams (13 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
There is also a PEZ Visitor Center in Milford, CT where PEZ are made. It's a lot of fun.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 9:00 AM on January 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


The orange ones are the best.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:18 AM on January 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


The LEGO of Candy.

In fact, if they ever come up with interlocking PEZ, the rest of the hard candy industry might as well close up shop.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:26 AM on January 4, 2019 [5 favorites]


PEZ taste best on Christmas morning just pulled from your stocking and freshly loaded into a crisp new Darth Vader dispenser.

However, I never made it all the way through a full multi-pack of PEZ before the candies had gone stale.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:39 AM on January 4, 2019 [3 favorites]


Only place I've run into PEZ for sale in the last decade is a diner in California. Walking around on Halloween nowadays, the only candy people give out is the standard stuff you can find at a Walgreens (M&M, Skittles, Butterfingers, Snickers, etc). People have got to mix it up with PEZ and whatnot.
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 10:08 AM on January 4, 2019


“The PEZ that don't pass quality control are sent to farms, as a special treat for these guys!” [footage of grazing cattle]

...wait, what?
posted by D.Billy at 10:37 AM on January 4, 2019 [3 favorites]


Technically their distribution center is in Milford, and the visitor center is in Orange. However, the visitor center didn't exist until almost 2010 - many lost fieldtrip opportunities for schoolkids from surrounding towns.
posted by batter_my_heart at 10:52 AM on January 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


“The PEZ that don't pass quality control are sent to farms, as a special treat for these guys!” [footage of grazing cattle]

...wait, what?


This is incredibly common. Turns out the empty calories in reject candy works well for augmenting cattle feed.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:49 AM on January 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm surprised they can work the dispensers with their hoofs.
posted by ryanrs at 3:08 PM on January 4, 2019 [17 favorites]


I once heard Nancy Reagan described as a human PEZ dispenser and I've never been able to get the image of tilting that giant head back on that tiny body to get candy ever since.

Just say NO to Nancy PEZ.
posted by hippybear at 4:42 PM on January 4, 2019


I always ended up just unwrapping the whole stack and eating it in one go. Je suis un monstre.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:17 PM on January 4, 2019 [3 favorites]


I looked into making homemade Pez candy awhile back (so I could do fun flavors), but man, that just looked like a Whole Thing.
posted by duffell at 6:00 PM on January 4, 2019 [3 favorites]


yeah. compacting sugar and making moulds is hard. I'm sure someone has tried something 3d printed, but the strength and tolerances aren't there (cf people who try to 3d-print Lego …)
posted by scruss at 12:01 PM on January 5, 2019


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