The Nostalgic Candy You Shouldn't Hand Out To Trick-Or-Treaters This Year

This October, tiny vampires, ghosts and kitty cats will roam from house to house in search of the best Halloween candies like Reese's, M&M's and Snickers. Against their better judgement, there will be houses that hand out things no child could possibly want, like toothbrushes, change and raisins. But there's one bizarre so-called candy that shows up in plastic pumpkins and pillowcases every year, and we can't for the life of us understand why. Yes, we are talking about wax lips.

The Most Popular Halloween Candy When You Were a Kid

You might remember this retro novelty candy. When you were a kid, you probably had them plopped in your knapsack time and time again. Then you'd go home, maybe stick them in your mouth and giggle in the mirror. Sometimes the wax lips came with fangs or buck teeth, but after a few silly poses, the fun was over. All that was left to do was to take the drool-filled fangs out of your mouth and toss them in the trash.

But did you know you could actually eat wax lips? Not sure why anyone would want to, but you can. They're only 20 calories. A light dessert, if you will.

The old-timey confection was created by the American Candy Company in the early 1900s. The company is now owned by Tootsie Roll Industries under the Wack-O-Wax brand. The treat is made using paraffin wax, the same kind used to make candles and crayons. Surfers put this stuff on their surfboards, and skaters use it to slick park pipes and shred the gnar.

To some, wax lips might evoke feelings of nostalgia, but there's nothing actually enjoyable about them. They were originally intended to be used as cherry-flavored chewing gum but fail to both taste like cherry or be, you know, chewable. Would you eat a candle? Better yet, would you chew gum with the consistency of a candle?

Another popular wax candy are Nik-L-Nips, or wax bottles. To consume these, you have to first bite off the top, and then suck out the syrup. Similar to Wax Lips, the wax part is meant to be used as gum. While there's a market out there for people who like eating these things, just don't subject the children to it. They deserve better than the worst things you can hand out to trick or treaters on Halloween.