The Sweet Story of the Conversation Heart Office for Science and Society - McGill University
By A Mystery Man Writer
Last updated 06 Jun 2024
Everybody celebrates Valentine’s Day differently. Whether you plan to pick up a bouquet of roses or wear purple in protest of the gushy holiday, there’s no wrong way to spend February 14th. Personally, I picked up some “conversation hearts” to share a sweet treat (and message) with my friends. Also called “Sweethearts” or “Love Hearts,” these cute confectionaries are almost synonymous with Valentine’s Day. In fact, they’re one of the most popular candies sold for this holiday, second only to chocolates, of course. Here in North America, they were primarily produced by Necco up until 2018, when the company was bought out by Spangler Candy Company (also home of Dum-Dums, Candy Canes, and Canada Mints). But let’s back up a bit. The production of conversation hearts actually originates in a pharmacy! Back in 1847, Oliver R. Chase created a medication-cutting machine to increase production speed at his Apothecary. Medicinal and binding ingredients were pressed together and sliced into round discs, forming lozenges. When these ingredients were swapped out for sugar and flavouring, we got the first candy-making machine. These round discs of pressed sugar were the original Necco wafers, which are still sold to this day! Soon after, Oliver’s brother, Daniel Chase added to this design by creating a machine that stamped red vegetable dye on the surface of the discs, printing messages on the candy. By 1901, these had evolved into the conversation hearts we know and love today: love heart-shaped pastel-coloured candies with short sayings of affection. From Oliver’s iteration of the candy machine to today, the overall process for making conversation hearts remains pretty much the same. Sugar is crushed into a fine powder, combined with binding and flavouring agents, shaped, stamped, then enjoyed! Once they’ve been stamped, the candies are placed under heaters to dry, and then the different coloured hearts are mixed together before being packaged. And of course, today’s factories are much bigger, with Necco churning out 8 billion of these treats per year at their peak production. Because of the switch from Necco to Spangler in 2018, we went a whole year without conversation hearts! Even in 2020, when the factories came back into operation, other shipping issues resulted in a year of blank conversation hearts (I guess they’re silent hearts?). But thank goodness, with Valentine’s 2023 coming up, the candies will be rolling out! When I watched the production process through Martha Stewart's tour of Necco’s factories, I noticed some parallels with the modern production process for pills, caplets, and tablets. These solid forms of medications are made using a very similar process: the active ingredient(s) is/are crushed into a dry, powdered form, combined with excipients, then pressed into shape! The formulation, in this case, is much more complicated. Excipients, which are additional components aside from the drug’s active ingredient, include diluents, binders to hold shape, and disintegrants so that the pill can break down and disperse once swallowed. Other add-ons include pigments and flavourings just to make the medication more appealing! Colours have nothing to do with the function of the medication — they’re just there for identification or branding purposes. Think Viagra, for example, which has been nicknamed the “little blue pill” for its classic appearance: diamond-shaped, blue pill, often imprinted with the brand name “Pfizer”. Or with birth control pills, the placebo/reminder pills are often a different colour than the usual hormonal ones. Pills can come in a number of different shapes, but most often they’re round or oval. That’s because rounded edges allow for easy swallowing, and the least vulnerability to chipping or breaking. The shape will also alter the way the pills are broken down in your body! So, pharmaceutical companies have to do all kinds of research when deciding on the shape of the pill and developing the moulds/punches that are used to form the tablets. Another additional step that you won’t see in candy assembly is the addition of a coating to make these pills easy to swallow, regulate the release rate of the active ingredient, and lengthen the shelf life. Finally, pills are usually imprinted/stamped with text, numbers, or shapes giving certain medications their signature look, although none of them are as recognizable as a conversation heart. @CatWang
Tuck Class Notes Winter 2020 by Tuck School of Business at
Field Notes - Volume I by Field Notes - Issuu
The Right Chemistry: Aspartame's complicated reputation
The History of Sweetheart Candies, Arts & Culture
LifeLong Learning Society 2024 Spring Program by Christopher
CMC Magazine Spring 2022 by Claremont McKenna College - Issuu
A Book About Love: Lehrer, Jonah: 9781476761398: : Books
Sweethearts Candy Hearts Missing This Valentine's Day; At, 48% OFF
Office for Science and Society - McGill University
History Of The Conversation Heart - MY WEATHERED HOME
PROSPECT THEORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Jonathan Mercer
Sweethearts Candy Hearts Missing This Valentine's Day; At, 48% OFF
Experts: COVID-19 Newsroom - McGill University
Stuff You Missed in History Class - Podcast
Recommended for you
-
Brach's FRIENDS Valentine's Day Conversation Hearts Candy, 6 oz Bag06 Jun 2024
-
Southern Conversation Heart Candies06 Jun 2024
-
The History of the Conversation Heart06 Jun 2024
-
Brach's Candy, Conversation Hearts, Large - 10 oz06 Jun 2024
-
Conversation Hearts Large - Candy Store06 Jun 2024
-
Valentine's Day Conversation Heart Cookies – www06 Jun 2024
-
6 Conversation Heart Ornaments – The Wreath Shop06 Jun 2024
-
Conversation Hearts Valentine's Day Candy Bar Wrappers - Announce It!06 Jun 2024
-
Brach's Releases Friends Candy Hearts for Valentine's Day06 Jun 2024
-
Brach's Valentine's Tiny Conversation Hearts - 10oz : Target06 Jun 2024
You may also like
-
Gembom Laundry Detergent Cup Holder, Drip Catcher Pack of 2 with Upgraded Drip Tray - Yahoo Shopping06 Jun 2024
-
Glidden One Coat Interior Paint and Primer, Thin Ice / Gray, 1-Quart, Eggshell06 Jun 2024
-
Razor Crazy Cart Review and Giveaway06 Jun 2024
-
Fantastic Beasts Book Set for Sale in Grandville, MI - OfferUp06 Jun 2024
-
12 14 Hybrid Mattres Memory Foam Spring Twin Full Queen King Bed in a Box06 Jun 2024
-
Small Stars-Pack of 20 – Made To Shine Confetti06 Jun 2024
-
Alocane Maximum Strength Emergency Room Burn Gel- 2.5oz06 Jun 2024
-
Stretched Canvases for Painting 2 Pack 24x36 Inch, 100% Cotton 12.3 oz Triple Primed Painting Canvas, 3/4 Profile Acid-Free Large Paint Canvas Blank Canvas for Acrylic Pouring Oil Watercolor Painting06 Jun 2024
-
Resin Colors- Home of Art Tree Creations Pigment Paste, Pearls and Metal powders to Color Epoxy Resin. High Quality Pigments and Strong Colors For Epoxy Resin. A little Will go a Long06 Jun 2024
-
12 YA Fantasy Ocean-Adventure Books to Take You to the Sea This Summer - Rachel A. Greco06 Jun 2024