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 Pez
Candies - Pez candy was invented in Vienna, Austria in
1927 by Eduard Haas III (a.k.a. "Wilbur Wright of Peppermint")
when Haas combined peppermint oil and sugar to make a black
breath lozenge which he called Pez (from the German word "Phefferminz").
In 1948 the Pez-Haas Company created the Pez dispenser which
ejected small brick shaped Pez candies from a flip top Pez
device. In 1952 when the company moved to New York City, it
merchandised the Pez candies to children, by manufacturing the
dispensers adorned with the heads of popular cartoon and comic
book characters.
The first novelty dispensers featured the head of Mickey
Mouse. Pez candy appeared in the Steven Spielberg movie E.T.
The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and in Rob Reiner's movie Stand
By Me (1986) when one boy said: "If I could only have one food
to eat for the rest of my life? That's easy. Pez.
Cherry-flavored Pez."
Vintage Pez Ad
Today, Pez candy dispensers are worth big bucks and are bought
and sold at conventions around the country, through
collectors' magazines and even on the Internet.
On episode No. 31 "The Pez Dispenser" on the sitcom
SEINFELD/NBC/1990-98 standup comedian Jerry Seinfeld placed
his Tweety Pie Pez candy dispenser on the leg of his friend
Elaine at a classical piano recital and made her burst out
laughing.
On the drama THE PRETENDER/NBC/1996-2000, Michael T. Weiss
played a genius named Jarod who carried a Pez candy dispenser
as a recurring reminder of his lost youth...a youth he spent
locked in a think-tank called The Centre that exploited his
extraordinary cerebral talents.
On the sitcom MAD ABOUT YOU/NBC/1992-99 Ira Buchman (John
Pankow) calls his cousin, Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) "Pez-Head."
(Ira calls Paul "Splinky.")
When visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, visit the Burlingame
Museum of Pez Memorabilia at 214 California Drive, Burlingame,
CA 94010.
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