All posts tagged: candy

Why Whimsical Heists Are Taking Over Your Feed

Why Whimsical Heists Are Taking Over Your Feed

Published by Sam Flores

March, 2026: They (allegedly) stole your (luxury designer) wallet in El Segundo Is the Bling Ring alive and well in the LA country suburb of El Segundo? While that crew of teen thieves is out of the game, they’ve spawned their fair share of imitators. Suspects arrested last month in Southern California allegedly lifted at least $6 million in luxury goods, including “over 100 designer handbags (Hermès Birkin, Louis Vuitton, Chanel), 22 high-end timepieces (Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Rolex), gold coins, jewelry, 20 firearms, and over $800,000 in cash,” El Segundo police say via statement. In addition to the bags and watches, police say they found collectable cards and firearms in his possession, photos of which the agency has shared. The alleged thieves were tracked to a home in Temecula following a January 10 burglary in which $600,000 worth of “designer handbags and jewelry” went missing. Police are currently seeking other victims of what they say is “an organized residential burglary crew operating across multiple jurisdictions,” including LA and San Diego counties. If you’re a …

Candy now tastes different. It’s not just you.

Candy now tastes different. It’s not just you.

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Brad Reese, grandson of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups inventor H.B. Reese, caused a stir this year with his claims that The Hershey Company had changed his grandfather’s recipes beyond recognition. In a public post on LinkedIn, Reese called out “formulation decisions that replace milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanutbutterstyle crèmes.”  In response, Hershey stated that the famous Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they’ve always been, but when it comes to other candies, “we make product recipe adjustments that allow us to make new shapes, sizes, and innovations.” Hershey has been careful not to say specifically which recipes they have changed, but consumers have noticed differences between ingredients listed for the U.S. and European versions of the same products, as well as wording changes to ingredient labels.  Under FDA regulations, products must have specific percentages of base ingredients to be legally labeled as “peanut butter” or “chocolate.” Companies may circumvent these with …

Smallest royal ‘cottages’ – including Kate Middleton’s candy pink home

Smallest royal ‘cottages’ – including Kate Middleton’s candy pink home

Published by Daniella Wilson

The royals own many lavish residences across the UK, but some are much more modest than you might expect. From the Prince and Princess of Wales’ first Windsor home to the humble two-bedroom home where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle once lived, what these homes lack in size they make up for with their pretty exteriors and period features. While some of these are home to senior royals to this day, others stand empty or are used as accommodation for visitors or employees, thanks to their convenient locations close to residences like Windsor Castle and Sandringham House. Let’s explore some of the prettiest royal cottages and the history of who has lived there. This cottage is home to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank Ivy Cottage Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank currently split their time between Portugal and the UK with their two sons August and Ernest. When in England, the family are based at Ivy Cottage on the Kensington Palace grounds.  The property has three bedrooms and a picture-perfect exterior including a white picket fence. …

Tad Smith Agrees to Buy Candy Digital, a Collectibles Platform

Tad Smith Agrees to Buy Candy Digital, a Collectibles Platform

Published by Jenni Sidey

Tad Smith, chairman of Doodles and former CEO of Sotheby’s, has agreed to buy most of the assets of digital collectibles platform Candy Digital. He wrote on X that he’s “doubling down” on his “commitment to digital collectibles, adding that “when the transaction closes in a week or two, I will also serve as CEO.” The acquisition comes at a pivotal moment for Candy Digital, which launched in 2021 amid heightened interest in NFTs and blockchain-based collectibles. Backed by investors including Michael Rubin, Mike Novogratz, and Gary Vaynerchuk, the platform quickly secured partnerships with major entertainment and sports entities, including Major League Baseball, DC Comics, and Netflix. Related Articles At its peak, Candy Digital reported around 1.5 million users. However, the NFT bubble burst in 2022, leading to operational changes, and the platform entered a maintenance phase in 2024, prompting speculation about its long-term viability. It’s therefore a bold move by Smith. A 2023 report published by dappGambl, a blockchain and finance research community, revealed the extent of the NFT market’s collapse. After analyzing 73,257 …

Rachael Ray’s transformation over the years, from Macy’s candy counter to 0M culinary icon

Rachael Ray’s transformation over the years, from Macy’s candy counter to $100M culinary icon

Published by Daniella Wilson

Rachael Ray is one of America’s most well known chefs. She’s hosted over 10 shows, from her long-running daytime talk show, Rachael Ray, to her Emmy-winning cooking show, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael is a staple of television. But, she didn’t become a household name worth some $100 million out of nowhere. Rachael comes from humble beginnings, has experienced her fair share of heartbreak, and has remained solid through it all. So, how did Rachael go from a Macy’s Marketplace candy counter employee to one of the most recognizable faces in American television? Here’s everything we know about the chef’s transformation over the years. © Getty Images Rachael was born in Upstate New York Rachael was born on August 25, 1968 to parents Elsa Providenza Scuderi and James Claude Ray in Upstate New York. When she was eight, her family moved to Lake George, New York – a cute tourist town located near an amusement park.  Growing up, Rachael’s mom worked in the restaurant business, bringing her daughter along. She even worked at a marketplace and …

Meet the Irish potato that’s actually candy

Meet the Irish potato that’s actually candy

Published by Sam Flores

In most places, “Irish potatoes” means exactly what you think: starchy, dirt-covered tubers. In Philadelphia, it means something else entirely — a sweet, sugary confection that looks like a tiny potato but tastes like a coconut-cream dream. If you grew up around Philly, you probably know them well. If you didn’t, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of them — a cultural divide I didn’t fully understand until I left home. For me, Irish potatoes were a sure sign that spring — and St. Patrick’s Day — had arrived. As a kid wandering the grocery store aisles with my mom, spotting the shiny green foil on the white O’Ryan’s boxes felt almost as exciting as presents from Santa on Christmas morning. The candies themselves looked like tiny, dusty potatoes: irregular little lumps of sweet cream with bits of coconut rolled in cinnamon, dusty and warm-smelling, tucked into a plastic tray. Before I knew I could make a career out of food, I was fascinated by taste, texture and surprise. I loved when a dish …

Food stamp recipients sue USDA over restrictions on candy, energy drinks

Food stamp recipients sue USDA over restrictions on candy, energy drinks

Published by Sam Flores

Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday, challenging its food restriction waivers that reduce the types of foods that can be purchased with benefits. Represented by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), a nonprofit focused on advancing justice for… Source link

The Real-Life Diet of Jordan Stolz, Who Runs on Sour Candy and Coke

The Real-Life Diet of Jordan Stolz, Who Runs on Sour Candy and Coke

Published by Jenni Sidey

Jordan Stolz, 21, left the Milano-Cortina Winter Games as a bona fide global star. The American speedskating phenom has been on a tear since winning the Speedskating World Championships in 2023, but he carries his fortitude quietly; he’s more matter-of-fact than some of his Team USA breakout peers. (In Italy, that new guard included figure skaters Alysa Liu and Ilia Malinin, and—if you were new to hockey, perhaps given, you know, this—Jack Hughes.) Which is why you might have missed it: Stolz was the winningest American at these past games. He walked away with three medals (two golds and a silver), and narrowly missed a fourth. This alone is remarkable. And the way he won two of them is something else entirely. Stolz set Olympic records in both the 500-meter and 1000-meter summits, staking his claim as the best sprinter in the world at present. His 33.77-second finish in the 500 trimmed nearly half a second off the previous threshold, held by China’s Gao Tingyu at 34.32. In a sport decided by hundredths of a …

The candy heir vs. chocolate skimpflation : Planet Money : NPR

The candy heir vs. chocolate skimpflation : Planet Money : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

A few years back, the Planet Money newsletter spotted a trend of companies skimping on the quality of their goods and services in response to inflationary pressures, and we coined a new word to describe it: skimpflation. Well, the concept has been getting some renewed attention due to a chocolatey but not-so-sweet story. Last month, as Valentine’s Day approached, Brad Reese bought a bag of Reese’s Mini Hearts. And his big heart was broken after he realized those little hearts weren’t made with the classic combo of milk chocolate and peanut butter that Reese’s is known for. Instead, Reese learned, these mini hearts were made with “chocolate candy” and “peanut butter creme,” cheaper concoctions that he felt were far inferior to the real deal. “It was not edible,” Reese told The Associated Press. “You have to understand. I used to eat a Reese’s product every day. This is very devastating for me.” Disgusted, Brad Reese threw the whole bag of candy in the trash. And he launched a campaign against The Hershey Company, the owner …