Sweet squabble: map of favorite movie candy by US state sparks debate
An “unofficial” map showing the different candy preferences at cinemas for people in different states across the US has gotten some Americans very riled up. Shared by movie podcasters Lights, Action, Pod, the map has caused a stir online between those who are taking the post at face value, and those who see it as one big joke (what are Sixlets, and how could wax bottles possibly be so wildly popular inboth Alaska and Hawaii?).
Some people just can’t believe that Floridians eating Dum Dums lollipops at the movies is real life rather than parody.
Others are confirming the accuracy of the map with some good oldfashioned factchecking, such as this commentator on Reddit:
“Milk Duds is definitely tops in Indiana. Source: Am from Indiana.”
While we might all safely agree that the finding that Wisconsinites eat cheese slices at the movies is a wisecrack, for some the joke about the cheese-loving state was a little too close to home.
A key point of debate is North Dakota’s supposed love of baked beans. Twitter users have been arguing over whether the map creators are referring to the canned legume or a type of sugar-coated peanut.
The Guardian contacted a North Dakota cinema to inquire, and an employee who asked to remain anonymous confirmed that they had seen the map but that they hadn’t seen anyone eating either the candy or the legume at their theater.
“I’m assuming the map is referencing the candy, Boston baked beans. That candy is gross and I don’t know anybody who eats them, though. We don’t sell them, and we have never had a request for them,” she said.
Lights, Camera, Pod say they used used data from Walmart, social media and Target to predict the eating habits of different American movie-going citizens. Whether it is a joke or sincere, we may never know – the creators did not respond to a request for comment. But one Twitter user did pose a telling question, which we will leave you with: