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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
COMMEMORATING THE 75th ANNIVERSARY OF M&M CANDIES
WHEREAS, M&M candies, the iconic, colorful, button-shaped candy, is celebrating its 75th anniversary of production; and
WHEREAS, M&M candies is a product of Mars, Incorporated, which was founded in 1911 In Tacoma, Washington, and now is an international company with manufacturing plants throughout the United States, Belgium, Great Britain, Mexico, and 17 other locations in Europe and Asia; and
WHEREAS, Mars Candy has had a presence on the Northwest Side of Chicago in the Galewood neighborhood since 1929; and
WHEREAS, the original candies produced by Mars include Milky Way (1923), Snickers (1930), and Three Musketeers (1932); and
WHEREAS, the first M&M candies were produced in 1941 and were designed to allow soldiers in World War II to carry chocolate that would not melt; and
WHEREAS, the two "M's" stand for "Mars," after the Mars family, and "Murrie," after Bruce Murrie, son of the president of Hershey's, which at the time had a twenty percent stake in M&M's; and
WHEREAS, packaged in cardboard tubes, M&M's were launched to the general public in 1945, and in 1950 the signature "M" was printed on the candies to ensure consumers were getting the real thing; and
WHEREAS, in 1954 the first spinoff, Peanut M&M's, were introduced along with the slogan, "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands." Today M&Ms come in a variety of flavors and forms, including minis, dark chocolate, almond, and pretzel; and
WHEREAS, in 1981 Mars became the first candy in space when M&M's were chosen by the first space shuttle astronauts to be included in their food supply; and
WHEREAS, M&M's are Mars' biggest chocolate brand with more than $1 billion in annual sales; and
WHEREAS, the Mars chocolate factory in Galewood is an active member of the community and is known for having employees dress up in chocolate-themed costumes on Halloween and give out full-size Mars candy bars to neighborhood trick-or-tre...
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