As American as 100 Grand

In the 1950's, $100,000 was a lot of money; so much that it was the Grand Prize for a popular game show called, The Big Surprise. Even in 1966, when the $100,000 Bar was introduced by Nestle, it was still a nice chunk of change. Unfortunately, these days it won't buy you much, especially for those of us in California. Yes, in California, $100,000 will buy you a decent a car and a down-payment on a modest home. But on to happier things - like candy! 

The $100,000 Bar hit the scene in 1966, and was inspired by the above-mentioned games show. Mysteriously, the name was changed in 1985 to the 100 Grand Bar. Why? Well, as is quickly becoming my habit, I decided to go directly to the source for information. I sent off a quick email to Nestle, and the folks there responded right away, saying,

Thank you for contacting Nestlé® 100 Grand® Bar.

The name for the 100 Grand® Bar came from a 1957 quiz show called The Big Surprise. On this program, the contestant chose a subject area and was then asked to answer ten questions, ranging in value from $100 to $100,000. This sparked the idea for a new Nestle product named the $100,000 Bar. It was first introduced in 1966.

Then in 1984, the bar was changed from a one–piece bar into a 2–piece bar. The name was changed in 1985 to "100 Grand bar" because it was a popular term in the 1980's.

We appreciate your interest and hope you will visit our website often for the latest information on our products and promotions.

Um, OK. Let's see, in 1985, I was a freshman in Point Loma High. I don't remember "100 Grand" being a popular term. I must have been too busy studying Emily Dickenson to keep up on the latest trends (yea, right). But I will trust the folks at Nestle, and believe that this was, in fact, a very popular term in the 80's.

But the real fun with the 100 Grand Bar is yet to come. Besides being delicious, it has been the subject of many a radio show prank. On the Opie & Anthony show at WAAF -FM in Boston, MA, the hosts offered "100 Grand" to the 107th caller. Unfortunately, the winner's response to this little practical joke is unfit to post here, but I have to admit, it's pretty darn funny. Well, funny because it happened to somebody else... 

Perhaps more than any other candy bar, the 100 Grand has implanted itself in our popular culture. Remember this little gem?

And here's something a little more contemporary for all you fans of "The Office" from the Episode, "Business School":

Yea, that one may be showing up again in another post. OK, just one more, to prove my point. This comes to us from a "Seinfeld" episode, "The Dealership". Granted, the 100 Grand Bar isn't the star here, but it's still darn funny!

Yes, the 100 Grand Bar not only gives us chocolately , caramely, crunchy goodness, it also gives us hours of entertainment! Hopefully it will continue to do so for many years to come. In fact, I'm running down to the store right now to get one. Maybe I can use it to buy a new car.

Credit where credit is due: The $100,000 Grand ad at the top of this post comes to us courtesy of Old Time Candy.

UPDATE: Oh! One more thing! I mentioned before that this is not a blog dedicated to tasting and rating candy, but if you would like to see a good review of the 100 Grand Bar, you can visit CandyAddict.