So what are Cracker Jacks?

An old Cracker Jack box with Sailor Jack and his dog, Bingo on it

'That's Crackerjack!' -- said one of the first samplers of the first Cracker Jack lot, naming the snack with this remark

Cracker Jacks are a snack made of peanuts and popcorn coated with caramel made in the U.S. The peanut content of Cracker Jacks used to be very high, but is almost non-existent in today's Cracker Jacks. They are sold in bags and boxes, except for the very first Cracker Jacks, which were sold in large tubs. The very first Cracker Jacks also had molasses in them.

The mass-production of Cracker Jacks begun around the very late 19th century. Cracker Jacks used to be made by Cracker Jack Co., but were later acquired by Borden Inc. and Frito Lay in 1964 and 1997 respectively.

The old 1908 song 'Take me out to the Ballgame' briefly mentions Cracker Jacks in the line "Buy me some peanut & Cracker Jacks" and is perhaps one of the main contributors to the on-going popularity of the snack.

A box or bag of Cracker Jacks always has a prize of some kind inside. The prizes used to be things like rings, metal whistles, baseball cards, miniature American flags, mazes and small plastic animals, but nowadays are little more than small pieces of paper. Also, check out this old 60's commercial of Cracker Jack. Seems the prizes weren't too great even back then.

Supposedly, over 23 billion toys have been distributed in the packaging of Cracker Jacks since 1912. 1912 is when prizes were first added into Cracker Jacks.

Some of the old prizes in Cracker Jack have become serious collector's items selling for over $7,000.

Why not try making your own Cracker Jacks? Cracker Jacks are in fact not that hard to make at home. This article shows you how to make them and there's also this article with more pictures and steps.