PEZ heads

I remember PEZ from childhood holidays abroad. I wonder if other people remember PEZ... or maybe you became a PEZ head?

PEZ candy was invented in Vienna, Austria, in 1927. The PEZ name was derived from the German word for peppermint…PfeffErminZ. It was introduced to the United States in 1952. PEZ is available in over 60 countries around the world.

In 1954, PEZ added fruit flavors to PEZ candy and cartoon heads on top of the dispenser. At any given time there are as many as 150 different dispensers available to consumers. PEZ sells more candy per year than there are kids in the U.S. Three billion-plus PEZ are eaten in the U.S. each year. In the 1980's feet were added to the base of the dispensers to give them more stability. The current PEZ candy flavors in the U.S. are lemon, orange, grape, strawberry and peppermint.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, a one-piece, shiny gold elephant; a Mickey Mouse softhead; and a headless dispenser embossed with the words "PEZ-HAAS" were sold for $6,000 each by David Welch.

Pierre Omidyar created eBay.com as a PEZ trading site for his wife. PEZ collectors are commonly referred to as "PEZ heads."