McKenzie Lange/CPR News Colorado State University food scientist Caitlin Clark holds a piece of candy corn in the Food Innovation Center at CSU’s Spur campus in Denver. Oct. 8, 2026.

Every October, Americans find themselves divided over a Halloween staple found strewn across orange and black tablecloths and mixed in with party favors: candy corn.

The tiny, tricolored triangles have been around since the 1880s, known back then as chicken feed and marketed to the nation’s farming communities. Eventually, candy corn became associated with the harvest and thus the fall, surviving more than a century of changing tastes, candy trends and increasingly passionate public criticism.

Some people eagerly await their annual return, while others would perhaps rather eat the plastic spider rings that come wedged into the frosting on grocery store cupcakes.

Sponsor Message Even the experts have picked sides.

"I hate candy corn.…