Some historians consider Cracker Jack America’s first junk food.
Cracker Jack’s early marketing warned prospective customers about the effects of the product. “Do not taste it,” one 1896 article cautioned. “If you do, you will part with your money easy.” Some historians believe that the caramel-coated popcorn and peanut treat jump-started the American snack food industry around the turn of the 20th century. It may even hold the title of the country’s first junk food, though the types of junk food popular today didn’t make their appearances until the 1950s. It all started with Chicago candy and popcorn peddlers Frederick and Louis Rueckheim, German immigrants who crafted a nonsticky caramelized popcorn as a way to stand out from other popcorn vendors. Their version — with a sweet, crunchy coating that was different from the salted popcorn and kettle corn available at the time — became a hit after it was mass-produced in 1896.
It was a song, however, that helped cement Cracker Jack’s snack status. In 1908, songwriter Jack Norworth — entirely unknown to the Rueckheims — composed “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” after seeing an advertisement for an upcoming game. The song, which mentions the snack by name, led to a surge in sales that forever linked Cracker Jack with sports. Four years later, the Rueckheims sweetened their popcorn business with a marketing gimmick that would eventually be replicated by cereal brands, fast-food restaurants, and candymakers for decades to come: a toy in every box. By 1916, Cracker Jack was the bestselling snack worldwide.
It may feel like popcorn and movies have always gone hand-in-hand — except that at one time, they were a contested combo. Americans experienced a 19th-century popcorn boom; by 1848, it was common fare at circuses and street fairs. But when movie theaters emerged in the early 1900s, they tried to align themselves with upscale stages, creating lavish interiors with fine carpets and furniture that could be messied by patrons’ snacks. Plus, theater owners believed popcorn munching would be too distracting at a time when filmgoers were focused on reading silent film subtitles. (Neither argument seemed to deter theatergoers, who snuck in snacks anyway.) Everything changed when the Great Depression hit; by the 1930s, theaters were seeing as many as 90 million visitors per week, and serving inexpensive popcorn was one way to generate extra money during a rough economy. That change would work in favor of big-screen owners (and popcorn producers): By 1945, more than half of popcorn eaten in the U.S. was sold at movie theaters.
