Cotton Candy Quiz

Though forms of spun sugar have been around since the Middle Ages, the first true batch of cotton candy wasn't concocted until 1897, when James C. Wharton and William Morrison invented a machine that spun crystallized sugar on a heated plate, then pushed the confection through small holes to create the sticky treat we all know and love.

Ironically enough, William Morrison, the co-inventor of cotton candy, was a dentist. In fact, he was also the president of the Tennessee State Dental Association.

Cotton candy made its public debut at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Mo., and it was a sweet success. Wharton and Morrison sold 68,655 boxes of the stuff for the then shockingly high price of 25 cents. That was half the price of admission into the fair!

Morrison was a dentist, so it's no big surprise that his legacy would have something to do with flossing (though we're pretty sure no one has ever avoided cavities eating this sweet treat).

Yes, cotton candy is primarily a summertime treat, but its national day occurs on Dec. 7, which is much better known as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

As far as calories are concerned, cotton candy isn't the worst sweet treat you could choose. There are only about 100 calories in an average serving, but don't assume you've stumbled into the next diet-food fad. Cotton candy is made up of almost entirely of sugar, which isn't exactly good for your waistline.

Most sodas contain more sugar than a serving of cotton candy. That's really saying something, considering that cotton candy is essentially nothing but sugar.

Which color of cotton candy is your favorite? The truth is that if you closed your eyes, they'd all taste the same. Cotton candy makers almost always use tasteless food dyes to color their products.

Wharton and Morrison's original title for their sweet invention partially lives on in the U.K., where cotton candy is known as "candy floss."

Anyone who's been to a county fair or an amusement park has seen a child walking around with sweet candy cloud on a stick, but it's also possible to buy cotton candy in bags. The bag option is convenient anytime you get a hankering for the treat but aren't anywhere near a rodeo or roller coaster.