Oddly Enough, a Tennessee Dentist and His Partner Invented This Iconic Sweet Treat

You see it at carnivals, state or county fairs, festivals, and in bags at the store. It's usually pink but sometimes blue or yellow. It is wonderfully simple and quite irresistible. Yes, it is pure sugar.

However, I'm not writing about "pure sugar." I'm writing about what happens when you SPIN "pure sugar." You get the magic that IS cotton candy. I love it so much that I MIGHT buy the bagged kind, even though--like everyone else--I know the best kind comes out one of those machines.

We've had cotton candy our entire lives, and I mean ALL of us...unless you're 128 years old. And if you are, then I'll stop writing about cotton candy and write about YOU. Seriously, though, cotton candy came into being thanks to Nashville residents William Morrison and John C. Wharton who patented a device in 1897 and forever delighted sweet tooths the world over. It looked something like this:

The funny thing is, Morrison was a dentist. Either he wasn't that concerned about his creation--after all, you don't chew cotton candy--or he was drumming up business for himself. 😉

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Here's a mini-doc (VERY mini) about the invention of Fairy Floss, cotton candy's original name. (By the way, I love the narrator's opening rhetorical question.)

Today, you're more likely to find cotton candy FLAVORED items like ice cream, other types of candy, and soda than actual cotton candy at the store. However, they never get the perfect cotton candy taste exactly right.

Besides, wouldn't you rather have the real deal?