Everything about the marshmallow candy called circus peanuts seems counter-intuitive to the idea of a peanut: they're fruity, fluffy, and bright orange rather than brown. Given these qualities, plus the classic sweet's old age, many are mystified by Circus Peanuts and wonder how such an odd and divisive candy came to be.

Circus peanuts are usually banana-flavored, but old-fashioned candy company Spangler Candy now makes them in vanilla and cherry as well. As America’s largest producer of the treat, Spangler uses a basic marshmallow base made with sugar, gelatin, corn syrup, food flavoring, and coloring to make these love-it-or-hate-it candies.

We don't know who invented circus peanuts, but we do know that they were first made in the 1800s and remained popular until the 1960s. John Flanyak of Brach & Brock Confections says that the candy may have gotten its banana flavoring because it was less expensive than peanut oil, but the peanut shape has no definitive origin.