A Sweet Treat and a Surprising “Best-Selling” Author

Do you have a favorite candy? I do. Conversation Hearts are my favorite and this is their season. To celebrate, I’ve opened a bag of sweet treats and – to pass along the good times – I’d like to share 13 of the sayings that caught my eye.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Before trying to melt your heart, here are few facts I’ve discovered about those candy hearts. Until 2000 or so, Walter Marshall worked at NECCO, a New England Confectionery Company and one of his duties was to select the sayings that adorn the 8 billion candy hearts NECCO sells each year.

Just think, his words were read by billions of people. Amazing!

Actually, candy conversation hearts have been around much longer than Mr. Marshall. The sayings: “Be Mine,” “Be Good,” “Be True,” “Kiss Me” and “Sweet Talk” have appeared on candy hearts for better than a century -- since 1902.
Newer sayings have joined their ranks, including “Tweet Me,” “Girl Power,” “Top Dog” and, of course, “Melt My Heart.”
And, guess what? There are candy companies that will put your comments on those precious hearts. If you go to http://acme.com/heartmaker/ you can put your words on a virtual heart. (A less fattening and fun way to convey your messages.) I drew up a few comments of my own before I munched on my bag of Brach’s Conversation Hearts.
Well, you’ve waited long enough. Here are 13 of the messages found in that bag:

1. “You Rule”
2. “Cupcake”
3. “Dare Ya”
4. “First Kiss”
5. “Mad 4 U”
6. “Be True”
7. “E-Mail Me”
8. “My Cutie”
9. “See Ya”
10. “Good Bye”
11. “My Boy”
12. “My Girl”
13. “Be Mine”

Have a great Valentine’s Day! And if you have a favorite candy, please share it with me. It’s always fun to try something new.

Sources
http://gonewengland.about.com/library/weekly/aa012700a.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/candyhearts1.html