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Happy 71st Birthday to Twinkies!

From the Great Depression to the New Millennium, Hostess Twinkies have done more than satisfy America's sweet tooth. They've become an American icon. 

Twinkie turns 71 years old this month. A Chicago bakery manager named Jimmy Dewar invented the Twinkie in 1930. He named the first creme-filled golden snack cake after a billboard advertising the Twinkle Toe Shoe. Twinkies soon became a cultural legend. During the past 71 years, they have inspired a cartoon character, several offbeat science experiments and countless mentions in books, movies and TV shows. 

"It's amazing how Twinkies have really struck a common chord with kids and adults alike," said Mike Redd, Vice President of Cake Marketing. "People love the product and they love the name." 

Twinkies originally sold two for a nickel and had banana-creme filling. A banana shortage during World War II caused the snack to switch to today's famous vanilla-creme filling. Twinkie the Kid(R) was created in 1971 and introduced the snack to a new generation of children. Today, Hostess produces more than 500 million Twinkies a year. 

In 1999, the White House Millennium Council selected the Twinkie as one of the items to be preserved in the Nation's Millennium Time Capsule, representing "an object of enduring American symbolism." Last year Twinkie fans gathered on Chicago's Navy Pier for the "Twinkies Turn 70 Celebration." The party featured the world's largest Twinkies birthday cake, standing 25 feet tall and containing 20,000 Twinkies. There is more fun and Twinkies trivia at http://www.twinkies.com . 

Interstate Bakeries Corporation, through its operating subsidiary, Interstate Brands Corporation, is the nation's largest wholesale baking company with 67 bread and cake bakeries in strategic markets from coast-to- coast. The Company is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo.

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Copyright 2001-2011 Bryan Eggers