In the realm of iconic American products, M&M’S is right there at the top, maybe next to Moxie (not!!). Seriously though, if you’ve ever been into candy, you’ve probably gone through an M&M’S phase. Is there anything better than a peanut M&M?

NPR, that bastion of journalistic integrity and investigative grit was digging deep this morning, when it provided an in-depth piece on why the bag of peanut butter M&M’S is lighter by a fraction than the bag of plain M&M’S. Inquiring minds were waiting for dirt on this one.

An iconic American candy product.

To David Kastenbaum’s credit, his curiosity about his vending machine snack selection actually resulted in a fairly interesting story. Like many of us who have wondered why similar (and sometimes the same) products have slight weight deviations, the truth had more to do with counting something quite common and familiar to weighty (and weight-obsessed) Americans.

Actually, in the midst of our current news cycle of politics, veterans exploitation, and lies on demand, the M&M’S story this morning was about right for me, driving home from my morning swim. Think ear candy.

I was also intrigued to learn about the secrecy and need to protect proprietary information inherent in the confectionary business. The Candy Man don’t tell no secrets!