Gummy bears are one of the most favorite snacks all over the world and equally popular in kids and adults. These are gelatin-based, fruit gum candies, somewhat similar to jelly baby in some European countries. The main ingredients of these chewy, flavorful and delectable snacks are sugar, glucose syrup, starch, flavoring, citric acid, some food coloring and of course gelatin. Gummy bears come in different shapes, sizes and flavors. Here are some amazing gummy bear fun facts that you probably didn’t know before:

10 exciting gummy bear fun facts you should not miss!

Let’s start:

1. Gummy bears have an exciting history!

The history of gummy bears traces back to 1950’s. The person behind this addicting snack was Hans Riegel. Hans Riegel was a candy seller in Bonn, Germany. In 1920, he started his own candy company “Haribo”; the name of company was combination of his name letters and city letters. The company manufactured and sold candies for several years. However, the major breakthrough was during the year 1922 when Hans Riegel introduced “dancing bears” in a festival. Those were a major hit. Later in 1950’s, inspired by the idea; Riegal introduced the flavorsome gelatinous snack that we now know as gummy bears. The Haribo Company is now working in 100+ countries, offering more than 1000 sweet treat and products.

2. Gummy bears were not originally named so!

The candy is roughly 2 cm (about 0.8 inches) long and has this unique shape of bear. Interestingly, gummy bears were originally named as “golden bears”. However, the name “gummy bear” became popular among people. You can assume the popularity of gummy bears by the fact that the Haribo claims that a chain of their annual gummy bears production would circle the earth four times. Amazing!

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3. Americans were introduced to this chewy delight in 1982!

For a long time, Americans didn't get a taste of gummy bears. It was until 1982, when Haribo decided to open its factory in Baltimore. The Americans loved golden bears. However, another German confectioner Trolli beat the Haribo in America.

4. What are the best gummy bears in the world?

Gummy bears are equally popular in kids and young. Among the best manufacturers of gummy bears are Albanese World's Best 12 Flavor Gummy Bears, Haribo Gold Bears Gummy Bears, Happy Yummies, Black Forest, Smart Sweets and Yum Earth are top rated.

5. Haribo golden bears come in just five colors and flavors!

Haribo’s gummy bears come in five colors and respective flavors. These include red (raspberry flavor), orange (orange), and green (strawberry), colorless (pineapple) and yellow (lemon flavor). Trolli’s gummy bears have similar colored gummy bears. However, their red bear is strawberry-flavored, while the green is lemon and the colorless bears are grape-flavored. These chewy snacks also come in pineapple-coconut, and peach flavors.

6. The fabulous art works of Gummy bears!

Gummy bears are not only a popular snack, but also used in jewelry such as bracelets, necklace and earrings. You will be amazed to know that these cute bears have been used for creating fabulous artwork. YaYa Chou, a Los Angeles based artist, skillfully use the gummy bears for creating wonderful art pieces. YaYa believes that the bright colors and soft texture of these chewy and delectable snacks create a romantic scenario ideal for artwork. One of her internally acclaimed art works is gummy bear chandelier. For this masterpiece, she used about thirty pounds of gummy bears, beads, monofilament, plastic, metal and a low-watt energy efficient bulb and of course lots of passion and creativity. Another of her art work features a child-size mannequin covered with the candies that she named as “joy coated”. This art work is her take on childhood obesity and kids struggling to reduce sugar intake. YaYa’s gummy bear artwork has another interesting fact. The gelatinous gummy bears used in sculpture would get soft in summer and harden again in winter; but never actually melted. Amazing!

7. Fun facts about Haribo gummy bears – there is no blue gummy bears, here is why!

Haribo’s golden bear are of five colors and flavors; but there are no blue bears. Blue bears would be definitely a delight to have but the reason is that there is no suitable food color for this. The colors of other gummy bears are extracted from fruit and plants. But, there is no suitable bright blue fruit or plant extract color for making blue gummy bears.

8. World’s largest gummy bear!

The lion of the candy world is the world’s largest gummy bear. You can guess the size of this largest gummy bear by the fact that it’s a whopping five-pound beast. This size is the equivalent of 1,400 regular sized gummy bears. Not to be surprised, this big bear is packed with approximate 6,120 calories.

9. The weird German term for gummy bears!

The Haribo also introduced “arsch mit Ohren gummy bears”. In German language this literally means “Ass with Ears”. Germans use “arsch mit Ohren” as an insult referring to a stupid person. That is why Haribo's “Arsch mit Ohren” were a limited edition and weren’t received well.

10. Drunken gummies – the adult version of gummies?

An alternate use of gummy candies is to use infuse them in vodka. This is, we can say, the advanced version of gummies for adults. When you soak gummy candies in vodka for considerable length of time, it absorbs the liquor and thus becomes a happy pill.

11. The Guinness World Record of largest gummy bear!

The Guinness World Record of largest gummy bear was made on 3 February, 2014 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The record was achieved by Elisabeth Windisch. World’s largest gummy bear candy took six days to set in cold storage and the final gummy bear candy was whopping 512 kg (1,128 lb 12 oz).

12. Why gummy bears are good for you!

Gummy bears essentially contain natural and organic ingredients. These are fat free and gluten free. Most importantly, they contain fast-digesting carbohydrates. Therefore, these are good as instant source of sugar. However, being rich in sugar means you have to set a limit for eating gummy candies. Especially for kids, eating too much sugar often causes cavities. On the other hand, testing is underway to add xylitol in gummy candies formula. Xylitol helps fight cavities; so gummy bears might be good for your teeth if it works out.

Also read: Interesting facts about rainbow

13. You should eat gummy bears after workout, here is why!

There is a legit reason to eat gummy bear candy after a good workout. Study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition suggests that eating gummy bears post-workout is great to replenish body glycogen. Gummy bears contain fast- digesting carbohydrates; thus good replenish glycogen post workout.

14. The gummy bears explode when react with Potassium chlorate!

In 2008, a science teacher did this attention-grabbing experiment in Washington, D.C. he used red gummy bears and potassium chlorate that is a strong oxidizing agent. When in same tube, gummy bears explode, creating a light show. This happens due to the fact that gummy candies contain sucrose that is oxidized by potassium chlorate. However, never try such experiment a home. These were some interesting gummy bear facts. Stay tuned for more exciting content.