Hershey's is best known for their delicious candy bars, but the brand has also had an active part in American history. One example is when America was gearing up to possibly enter World War II, and Hershey made a military-grade chocolate bar with a flavor that was duller than a well-seasoned baked potato.

In 1937, Captain Paul Logan asked Hershey's to make a ration-ready chocolate bar of around four ounces that could withstand hot temperatures without melting and pack the troops with calories. It was essential that the candy only "taste a little better than a boiled potato," per Logan, so soldiers wouldn't be tempted to eat them for pleasure rather than for emergencies.

Made from chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, skim milk powder, and oat flour, Hershey's D Ration Bar was a piece of "candy" with a whopping 600 calories that tasted like pure, bitter, dark chocolate. Because they were so thick, soldiers had to cut up the candy with a knife to eat it, and although many got into the habit of throwing them in the trash, Hershey's still made 3 billion ration bars by the time World War II ended.