Roses, chocolates, cards to your sweetest... Romance comes alive every February 14,

the second most celebrated day in the United States, after December 25. 

Sure, you know that life is like a box of chocolates, but just how much do you know

about the candies that make this holiday so sweet?

  Take this small quiz and find out! 
 

(Answers appear when you hover over the candy by each question... but NO FAIR PEEKING!

Answers are also given at the end of the questions, in case Father Time ran off with the favors!)

Conversation Hearts

1. The #1 selling Valentine’s Day candy is

A) Sweethearts Conversation Hearts

B) Hershey’s Kisses

C) Whitman’s chocolates

D) Godiva Chocolates

2. For Valentine's Day, early American colonists made homemade candies

A) wrapped in love notes

B) with love notes scratched on the surface

C) from chocolate

D) dipped in paraffin

3. Before 1860, when Caniel Chase, brother of NECCO founder Oliver Chase, invented the process to print motto candies, conversation candies were called

A) "Candy Chats"

B) "Cockles"

C) "Love Notes"

D) "Crunchers"

4. The Sweet Hearts, the name used for candies with mottos inscribed directly on them, were invented in 1900. At one time, conversation candies were made into many shapes including

A) horseshoes

B) baseballs

C) watches

D) postcards

E) all of the above

5. As time went on, the sayings became shorter and more to the point. The familiar heart shape was also produced. Original sayings include “be mine,” “kiss me” and “my man.”  In the early 1990’s NECCO decided to add new sayings each year.  Walter Marshall, who is responsible for developing the sayings on NECCO candy hearts, gets suggestions from

A) the Board of Directors of Necco

B) TV sitcoms

C) his nine grandchildren

D) contests among Necco employees

6. Since 1981, Sweethearts Conversation Hearts have been available in

A) French

B) Spanish

C) German

D) All of the above

7. True or False:  NECCO can custom imprint Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, if you’re willing to buy a full production run – approximately 3,500 pounds of the six-flavored candies or 1.6 million individual hearts.

Hershey's Kisses

8. HERSHEY'S KISSES chocolates, a little product with a big future, were first introduced in

A) 1933

B) 1928

C) 1907

D) 1940

9.  It's rumored that HERSHEY'S KISSES chocolates got their name from

A) Josiah Hershey, who always gave his wife a kiss when he present her with the chocolate bites

B) the machine that makes them

C) a contest among school children to name them

D) Maxwell Kiss, who invented the

10. While the shape of HERSHEY'S KISSES have not changed, there were a few variations produced between 1909 and 1931. These utilized different chocolate formulas which were offered in addition to the standard HERSHEY'S milk chocolate flavor. Names familiar to some long-time chocolate lovers include:

A) Sweethearts

B) Lovers

C) Smooches

D) Canoodles

11. Today’s wrapping machines can wrap up to __________ KISSES per minute.

A) 800

B) 1,300

C) 500

D) 2,000

12. How many KISSES chocolates does Hershey make every day at its chocolate factories in Hershey and California?

A) 4 million

B) 13 million

C) 25 million

D) more than 80 million

13. The street lamps in Hershey, PA are shaped like

A) Hershey’s Kisses

B) hourglasses

C) cocoa mugs

D) flames

14. It takes _____ HERSHEY'S KISSES to equal one pound of chocolate. 

A) 99

B) 153

C) 37

D) 228

15. In 1942, production of HERSHEY'S KISSES was halted

A) to keep electricity costs down

B) to update and replace all candy-making machinery

C) to save foil for the war effort

D) because of a chocolate shortage

16. HERSHEY'S HUGS, introduced in 1993, got their name because

A) the name went well with “kisses” (as in “hugs and kisses”)

B) they look like little KISSES being hugged by white chocolate 

C) it stands for Hershey Union Guard Station, where they were first delivered

D) the owner’s granddaughter hugged him when he gave some of the new candies

17. The World's Largest HERSHEY'S KISSES Chocolate stood

A) 3 feet 8 inches tall

B) 4 feet 10 inches tall

C) 5 feet

D) six feet and nine inches tall

18. True or False: If stranded on a desert island, more than half of Americans surveyed would rather have unlimited supply of HERSHEY'S KISSES Rich Dark Chocolates than their favorite book. 

19. The longest ever consecutive string of HERSHEY'S KISSES was

A) 1.2 miles long

B) .75 miles long

C) more than four miles long

D) 3.8 miles long

20. Hershey has responded to consumers' interest in variety. In 2002, the first ___________ were offered.

A) HERSHEY'S KISSES Limited Editions

B) HERSHEY'S KISSES Varieties

C) HERSHEY'S KISSES Specials

D) HERSHEY'S KISSES Flavorites

Conversation Hearts

1. A) Sweethearts Conversation Hearts - NECCO manufactures eight billion Sweethearts® Conversation Hearts a year (that’s enough candy to stretch from Rome, Italy to Valentine, Ariz. and back again 20 times!).  The majority of these are sold during the six-week period between January 1st and Valentine’s Day. People all over the country love to give them to their valentines and they are especially popular with school children.  During peak periods of production, up to 100,000 pounds of Sweethearts Conversation Hearts are made each day at NECCO’s three locations in Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Louisiana. Since the turn of the 20th century, more than 250 billion Sweethearts Conversation Hearts have rolled off NECCO production lines.

2. B) with love notes scratched on the surface - New England Confectionary Company (NECCO) expanded upon the colonists' idea and created the conversation heart in the mid-1800's.

3. B) "Cockles" - small, crisp, scallop shell-shaped candy wrapped in colored paper with printed sayings.

4, E) all of the above - They allowed for longer sayings to be printed on them, such as

5. C) his nine grandchildren – In addition, hundreds of suggestions are compiled all year long from romantics, candy lovers and school kids around the globe.  Some of the original sayings still used today include “Be Mine,” “Be Good,” “Be True,” “My Man,” “Kiss Me,” and “Sweet Talk.”  Recent additions include "You Go Girl" and "Yeah Right."

6. B) Spanish – these were available within large Hispanic communities in the United States.  In 2002, NECCO launched them nationwide.

7. True

8. C) 1907

9. B) the machine that makes them - it looks (and sounds) like it's kissing the conveyor belt.  While a lot of HERSHEY'S chocolate products are poured into molds, HERSHEY'S KISSES are made a little differently. Special machines drop a precise amount of chocolate onto a moving steel belt and then quickly cool it to form the famous KISS shape.

10. A) Sweethearts – These were produced from 1900 to 1918.  Others were Silvertops (1909 to 1931), and Silverpoints (1918 to 1929). These products have not been produced since 1931.

11. B) 1,300 - Before these automated wrapping machines in 1921, KISSES were individually hand-wrapped. The familiar KISSES flag was added to the product at this time - Milton S. Hershey, the corporation's founder, obtained a registered trademark for the plume extending out of the wrapper in 1924.  HERSHEY'S KISSES were wrapped in colored foil (other than silver) for the first time in 1962. Red, green and silver KISSES were available during the Christmas season in addition to the year-round silver-wrapped ones. Today, KISSES are "dressed-up" for a number of seasonal occasions. In 1968, KISSES were introduced in pastel blue, pink and green foil for the Easter holiday. Hershey also introduced Valentine's KISSES with red and silver foil in 1986 and Fall Harvest KISSES in 1991.

12. D) more than 80 million

13. A) Hershey’s Kisses

14. A) 99

15. C) to save foil for the war effort - The production of HERSHEY'S KISSES has been interrupted only once since its inception in 1907. The bite-size chocolates were not produced from 1942 to 1949 due to the rationing of silver foil during and after World War II. During the war, the ingredient mixing units in the KISSES moulding department were utilized for tempering military ration bar chocolate paste. It is estimated that paste for more than 3 billion ration units was produced during this period.

16. B) they look like little KISSES being hugged by white chocolate – other additions to the KISSES family include  KISSES with almonds (1990).

17. D) six feet and nine inches tall – it was six-and-a-half feet wide, and weighed 6,759 pounds, which is equivalent to 675,900 regular-size KISSES chocolates. The weights and measurements of the oversized HERSHEY'S KISSES Rich Dark Chocolate were submitted to Guinness World Records for inclusion in their official records as the "Largest Chocolate Candy." 

18. True

19. C) more than four miles long - It was laid in the spring of 2003 to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network at Penn State Children's Hospital. The event earned a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records. 

20. A) Limited Editions - Limited Editions are changed every year and have included such flavors as extra creamy chocolate, double fudge and strawberry crème. Chocolate mint is a seasonal item, available only during the holiday season.  In June 2003, HERSHEY'S KISSES Rich Dark Chocolates were launched as a permanent addition to the family. The luscious rich dark chocolate creates a wonderful experience for dark chocolate lovers. In February 2004, the KISSES brand combined the #1 and #2 confectionary ingredients and introduced KISSES filled with Caramel to its permanent collection. The creamy caramel and smooth milk chocolate create a taste combination you'll want to experience again and again!

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