A statue of esteemed solon William H. Seward stands at the the southeast
corner
of Madison Square Park in New York City. Many remember Seward
as the outspoken abolitionist who
served as Abraham Lincoln's erstwhile
Secretary of State; othes recall him as the man who arranged
for
the purchase of Alaska from Russia for a mere seven million dollars --
the
exceptionally foresighted bargain dismissed by the media wags of
the day as 'Seward's Folly'.
What few people realize, however, is
that Seward was also the inventor of Pop Rocks. 'This remarkable...
confection [that] crackles and flares upon the tongue,' Seward noted
in
his diary in 1864 'shall surely supplant the the popularity of
even such delights [as] the
Three Musketeers bar, and indeed
even Reese's Pieces.' Though Seward's carbonated candy proved
ephemeral,
his fame – and his foresightedness -- endures.
