Cotton Candy Machine

The Cotton Candy Machine - A Brief History

A cotton candy machine is one of the first things many of us notice or smell when we are walking through an amusement park or fair type setting. This sweet treat is loved by both children and adults and is often considered the highlight of these types of events for many patrons. Most people though really don't know much about how the machine works or when it was first introduced to the public. It begins with a really simple idea; make a sweet light treat out of every day sugar.

The person who really discovered cotton candy is a bit unknown. There seems to be at least four people that discovered the treat around the same time frame but only three of them applied for patents for the idea and the design of their machines used to create the treat. The first known filing came from a pair of candy makers. They were John Wharton and William Morrison and they came from Tennessee. Their version of the cotton candy machine was official patented in 1899 and is quite similar working to those that we use today.

Once having their patent they decided to take their creation to the World's Fair which was held in St. Louis in 1904. They were completely overwhelmed by the response they received for their tasty treat. To get into the fair at the time cost $.50 and they had decided to charge half of that for their treat. Even being relatively high in price their cotton candy machine worked overtime. They sold over 68,000 boxes for over $17,000 is sales!

Then there was Thomas Patton that used a completely different technique when creating his cotton candy treat. He devised his machine to use gas which rotated a plate. When the plate rotated it spun the sugar and it would then form threads, which in the cotton candy business are often referred to as floss. He was the first known person to be credited with collecting the candy on a stick and forming a ball of it, which looked like cotton, hence the name.

His machine received its patent in 1900 and he went a different way to make money from his cotton candy machine. He decided to sell his machine and approached the Ringling Brothers' Circus who instantly liked the machine and began integrating into their show along with popcorn. It was not long before they saw their investment begin to repay them as the cotton candy was a huge hit.

These first designs of the cotton candy machine however did not fare well. They tended to be very loud and made a rough sounding rattling noise. They also did not seem to last very long and burned up or broke rather quickly. It was not until a company named The Medal Products created a machine that used a different system based on a spring base that these machines really began to take off.

In fact even now you can find at least one at every fair, carnival or circus. It is a treat that many look forward to every time they head to these events. Though there is some debate about who actually came up with the cotton candy concept first there is no mistake about how well their concept has caught on.