The Truth About the Origin of the Name of the Baby Ruth Candy Bar

TL;DR

The Baby Ruth candy bar was not named after Babe Ruth, but rather after Ruth Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland, according to the company's official story. However, there are several inconsistencies with this explanation.

Transcript

hello I'm Simon Westerly you're watching The Today I found our YouTube channel and in the video today we're looking at the truth about the origin of the name of the Baby Ruth candy bar you may have heard a rather persistent idea that Baby Ruth candy bars were not named after Babe Ruth this idea was actually started by the company who made them orig... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤢 The Baby Ruth candy bar was originally claimed to be named after Ruth Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.
• 🤢 There are several inconsistencies with this explanation, such as Ruth Cleveland having died before the candy bar was created and Babe Ruth being a famous baseball player at the time.
• 🍬 The Curtis candy company later tried to associate the candy bar with Babe Ruth in its marketing efforts.
• 🤢 The company used the story of Ruth Cleveland in legal proceedings to defend the name of the candy bar.
• ↘️ Nestle now owns the rights to the Baby Ruth candy bar and acquired the rights to use Babe Ruth's name and likeness in marketing campaigns.
• 🍬 In 1923, the founder of the Curtis candy company had pilots drop thousands of Baby Ruth candy bars over Pittsburgh with little parachutes attached.

Questions & Answers

Q: Who was the Baby Ruth candy bar originally named after?

The Curtis candy company claimed that it was named after Ruth Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.

Q: Why is there doubt about the official story?

There are several issues with the official story, such as Ruth Cleveland having died before the candy bar was created and Babe Ruth being a famous baseball player at the time.

Q: Did the Curtis candy company try to associate the candy bar with Babe Ruth?

Yes, they attempted to get Babe Ruth to endorse their product and even set up an advertising sign near Wrigley Field, where he allegedly hit a home run.

Q: Why did the Curtis candy company use the story of Ruth Cleveland in legal proceedings?

They used the story to defend the name of the candy bar when the makers of the Babe Ruth home run bar challenged it in court, claiming they were using Babe Ruth's name without permission.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Curtis candy company, which originally made the Baby Ruth candy bar, claimed it was named after Ruth Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.

• However, there are several issues with this explanation, such as Ruth Cleveland having died before the candy bar was created and Babe Ruth being a famous baseball player by the time the candy bar was named.

• The company later tried to associate the candy bar with Babe Ruth in its marketing efforts but had to use the story of Ruth Cleveland to defend the name in legal proceedings.