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What's Your Halloween Candy Personality?
BY JOE HEIM  |  OCTOBER 28, 2007

Halloween looms and with it the annual candy-buying frenzy. While dieters stock up on candy they don't like so they won't be tempted by leftovers, the rest of us buy the stuff we do like and hope that only one or two of those pesky little costumed punks comes a-knocking. (And even then, we smack their grabby hands if they dig too deep: "Hey, pal, you're only 5 years old. One Butterfinger for you!")

If you haven't bought your supply yet, the chart below might help you decide what kind of candy to pass out. We not only provide the history and calorie count for 10 brands, we also asked an expert to tell us what the candy you give out says about you. Steve Almond, the author of "Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America" (Harvest, 2005), e-mailed us his analysis of the personality types who might offer these tasty sweets to trick-or-treaters.

"There's something incredibly liberating about a holiday that encourages children to take candy from strangers," Almond writes of Halloween in his book. Indeed. For some reason, Almond asked that we make clear that he is a "professional candyfreak, not a therapist." Well, that's good enough for us. (View the Latest Poll Results)

CANDY ALMOND'S CANDY-GIVER ANALYSIS HISTORY CALORIE COUNT VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE
3 Musketeers		 Does well in groups but is somewhat pompous. Prone to fancy costumes and arcane weapons. Wears hats in public that are ill-advised. Created in 1932 by Mars, the candy bar got its name because it originally had three pieces in one packet: vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. The Fun Size (15 grams) has 63 calories.
Vote for 3 Musketeers
Almond Joy		 I'm going to put aside my aversion to coconut in praising these folks as happy-go-lucky. Introduced in 1946 by the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Co. in New Haven, Conn. It's a companion to the Mounds bar, which arrived in 1920. The snack size (17 grams) has 80 calories.
Vote for Almond Joy
Bit-O-Honey		 They have contradictory personalities, hoping to express generosity but also having the passive-aggressive desire to damage the fillings of trick-or-treaters. The honey-flavored taffy was first manufactured in 1924 by the Schutter-Johnson Co. of Chicago. It is now made by Nestle. One piece (7 grams) has 26 calories.
Vote for Bit-O-Honey
Butterfinger		 Evasive, slippery, not necessarily to be trusted. Invented in 1923 by the Curtiss Candy Co. of Chicago. The crunchy bar wrapped in chocolate is now made by Nestle. The Fun Size (18.5 grams) has 85 calories.
Vote for Butterfinger
Candy Corn		 Purely deluded people. They don't get that candy shouldn't attempt to imitate other food groups, particularly corn. Invented in the 1880s, it was first manufactured commercially by the Wunderle Candy Co. in Philadelphia and by the turn of the century at the Herman Goelitz Candy Co. in Cincinnati. A serving of 22 pieces (40 grams) has 140 calories, or 6.4 calories per piece.
Vote for Candy Corn
Good & Plenty		 Optimistic, perhaps overly so. A little bit of Weimar energy. Strong advocate of gay rights; acquainted with the bitterness at the center of most lives. The licorice candy was first produced in 1893 by the Quaker City Confectionery Co. in Philadelphia and is considered the oldest branded candy in the country. A serving of 33 pieces (39 grams) has 140 calories, or 4.2 calories per piece.
Vote for Good & Plenty
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups		 Generous souls. Those who understand the salty in life, as well as the sweet. Created by Harry Burnett Reese in the 1920s. Reese was a former dairy employee of Milton Hershey, founder of the Hershey Co. In 1963, the Reese candy company was sold to Hershey for $23.5 million. A one-cup package (21 grams) has 110 calories.
Vote for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Snickers		 Just going with the crowd, the safe candy choice, guaranteed to please the masses. Not ambitious, but dependable. Created in 1930 by Mars, Snickers bars sold for a nickel. The Fun Size was introduced in 1968. The Fun Size (17 grams) has 80 calories.
Vote for Snickers
Twix		 Both brittle and supple in social situations; sort of trapped between personality types. A Mars product, caramel-and-cookie Twix bars were created in the United Kingdom in 1967 but weren't sold in the United States until 1979. The Fun Size (16 grams) has 80 calories.
Vote for Twix
Twizzlers		 Sickos. Truly demented. Plastic people living plastic lives. The Twizzlers brand was introduced in 1929. The red licorice strips are manufactured by Y&S Candies, a company established in 1845 that is now a Hershey subsidiary. The snack size (14 grams) has 37 calories.
Vote for Twizzlers

NOTE: This is an unscientific survey of washingtonpost.com readers.; PHOTOS: Julia Ewan - The Washington Post; WEB EDITOR: Amanda McGrath - washingtonpost.com

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