Maybe I should have called this “This That Make You Go Hmmm” Week on Fly&Dine, because yesterday we looked at the right way to ride an escalator and today we’re digging into the reason why gummy bears look more like cartoon bears than real ones.

I was reading about how HARIBO, the German gummy candy company, just announced that they’re building their first American factory in Kenosha County, WI and buried in the story was a fact that I never knew:

In 1922, inspired by a circus, Riegel invented the first gummy bears, or gummibärchen, modeled after dancing bears (in case you were wondering why gummy bears are always upright).

Now, to be honest, I’ve never really wondered why gummy bears just sit there waiting for me to decapitate them. But now that I know, I’m fascinated! Gummy bears are circus animals? By eating them, does this mean we’re supporting animal cruelty? Wait. Now that I’ve written that, I realize that I need to refer back to my earlier statement on decapitation. Gummy bears were literally made to be the object of your gummy animal cruelty. Gummy PETA? Are you listening?!?

So there you have it. Gummy bears are upright because they’re supposed to resemble dancing bears of the 1920s. Share this fact at dinner tonight and you’ll be a hero! Or at least be met with very intense remarks of “That’s kind of interesting, Dad. Pass the ketchup.” Either way, you’re a winner.

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