The junk food everyone was obsessed with the year you were born

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

No matter your age, you probably have a favorite go-to junk food in the snack aisle.

While popular snacks have been discontinued over the years, others remain intergenerational favorites.

Here's the junk food that people couldn't get enough of the year you were born.

1940: Mike and Ikes

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The Just Born candy company launched in 1923, but started making Mike and Ikes in 1940 due to the growing demand for gummy fruit-flavored candies. The original flavors were cherry, orange, lemon, and lime. When the company that made Mike and Ikes acquired another candy company in 1953, they were able to expand their flavor offerings.

1945: DOTS gumdrops

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Black licorice-flavored gum drops became popular in 1890 in the form of Black Crows. Then DOTS introduced a fruit-flavored version of the drops in 1945, following the trend of fruity gummies.

DOTS now produces four billion gumdrops every year and claims the title of America's bestselling gumdrop brand.

1948: M&Ms

Wikipedia Commons

Forrest Mars Sr. patented the manufacturing process of coating chocolate with a heat-resistant shell in 1941. Because of this, they were popular as rations during World War II.

"M&M's were a military hit as the tube they were packaged in (they were originally sold in cardboard tubes) fit perfectly into military issue cargo pockets," confectionery expert Beth Kimmerle told INSIDER. "More importantly, the chocolate didn't melt due to its candy shell. The bright colors of the sugar exterior made a simple candy into whimsical chocolate cheer from home."

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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