Happy cotton candy holiday

Happy National Cotton Candy Day! Or we could say happy day of candy floss, tooth floss, fairy floss and sugar clouds.

Cotton candy could be in the running for one of the sugariest candies on Earth. It’s made of almost 99.999 percent sugar, according to The New York Times – save for a dash of flavoring and food dye.

This sweet treat is made by heating and liquefying sugar, then spinning it out through small holes, where it re-solidifies into thin strands of “sugar glass.”

It’s unclear when cotton candy was first invented, but it was originally a labor-intensive process and largely unavailable to average people. But thank goodness, William Morrison, a dentist, and John Wharton, a confectioner, invented machine-spun cotton candy in 1897. Now all of us can enjoy it with little hassle and optimal enjoyment.

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 8:08 AM with the headline "Happy cotton candy holiday."