It all began with the Ring Pop, that jewel-shaped piece of candy placed on a plastic ring that resembles a pacifier. In fact, Frank Richards, the Topps engineer who invented it in 1979, did so as a way of helping kick his daughter’s thumb-sucking habit.
Since then, Ring Pop has become one of America’s iconic brands, evolving from an ingenuous and convenient way to slurp on a sweet to what Bazooka Candy Brands, the Topps subsidiary that produces the bejeweled bling, calls “edible entertainment.”