The misguided war on fat and meat fueled the triumph of the sugar and cereal industry over the dairy and meat industries. Studies have long shown that cholesterol is associated with reduced mortality, excepted only by increased risk of heart failure. A consequence has been obesity and related health challenges.
My era included "mischief night" the night before Halloween when windows were soaped and trees toilet papered. Never connected to the trick part of trick or treating. Going out on halloween was an important rite of passage where little kids were allowed out without parents at night under the supposed protection of older kids who promptly left them alone to be frightened and deal with it.
The candy count was how you kept score. A lot was consumed by older kids who disdained going out. My 50's memories.
There's actually a very famous example of candy poisoning in the 19th century, the 1858 Bradford Sweets poisoning. 21 people, mostly children, died as a result of a mixup in a pharmacy. The event loomed large in the English public mind for a long time afterward. The parliament passed several laws about the handling of poisons and food adulteration. I suspect that some of the fear around candy in the English-speaking world comes from that.
The misguided war on fat and meat fueled the triumph of the sugar and cereal industry over the dairy and meat industries. Studies have long shown that cholesterol is associated with reduced mortality, excepted only by increased risk of heart failure. A consequence has been obesity and related health challenges.
My era included "mischief night" the night before Halloween when windows were soaped and trees toilet papered. Never connected to the trick part of trick or treating. Going out on halloween was an important rite of passage where little kids were allowed out without parents at night under the supposed protection of older kids who promptly left them alone to be frightened and deal with it.
The candy count was how you kept score. A lot was consumed by older kids who disdained going out. My 50's memories.
There's actually a very famous example of candy poisoning in the 19th century, the 1858 Bradford Sweets poisoning. 21 people, mostly children, died as a result of a mixup in a pharmacy. The event loomed large in the English public mind for a long time afterward. The parliament passed several laws about the handling of poisons and food adulteration. I suspect that some of the fear around candy in the English-speaking world comes from that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1858_Bradford_sweets_poisoning