by Todd Christian

Created on: March 26, 2009   Last Updated: March 27, 2009

Through their simple but groundbreaking invention in 1897, John C. Wharton and William Morrison took a centuries-old treat, put it in a new, attractive form, and brought it to the hands of the common man for the first time. What had been the "spun sugar" of the elite was now the "cotton candy" of the carnival midway.

The roots of the fluffy treat that millions of sweet-toothed snackers indulge in every year can be traced back hundreds of years - long before twinkling carnival lights - to Italian sugar spinners and the fanciful candy webs and other edible decorations enjoyed by European socialites.

The ancient Italian method of spinning sugar, which became popular in the 1400s, was a tedious and time-consuming process in which the confectioner would melt sugar into a pan and stretch it with a fork into long strands.

It would be laid out to dry as strings and served as a dessert. Because it was such a difficult process, few common men were ever aware that such a sweet treat even existed.

By the 18th century, the process had become more of an art form that was used to entertain and impress wealthy Europeans. The strands were molded into eggs, spun into webs, and stretched in intricate patterns over sweetmeats.

It was still a difficult task to pull off - even for an experienced confectioner - so only the very wealthy were ever able to actually enjoy the spun sugar.

But in 1897, Wharton and Morrison created a machine that melted the sugar, flavoring and coloring and used physics - centrifugal force - to weave the melted concoction through a screen, forming perfect strands of molded sugar. Those strands were then twirled onto a cone into a fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth cloud of cotton candy that they called "Fairy Floss."

It suddenly made the tradition of sugar spinning easy enough that it became accessible to everyone. They began spreading the word by offering their new confection at fairs around the world.

The duo's creation made its debut at the Paris Exposition of 1900, followed by the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. It sold for a quarter a box. Despite this expensive sale price (considering that admission to the St. Louis World's Fair was just 50 cents), they sold an incredible 68,655 boxes - which comes out to more than $17,000.

Around 1920, the name "Fairy Floss" changed to "cotton candy." Major technological advances in 1949 and the mid-1970s revolutionized the way cotton candy was produced and manufactured, but it remains the same fluffy, sweet treat that Morrison and Wharton brought to the masses during the epic turn-of-the-century fairs.

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