10 Wild-but-True Facts about Thanksgiving Dinner

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Sweet potato pie was invented by...

A marshmallow company that also invented Cracker Jacks, according to Vice.com. Although Angelus Marshmallows introduced mass-made marshmallows to Americans in 1907,  it wasn't until 10 years later that the sweet treat really took off. With the help of Janet McKenzie Hill, founder of the Boston Cooking School Magazine, the company released a recipe booklet based around their marshmallows, to incorporate the product into everyday cooking.

Lesley Porcelli of Saveur wrote that one of the recipes was "the first documented appearance of mashed sweet potatoes baked with a marshmallow topping." Glazed or candied sweet potatoes preceded this strangely delicious dish, which remains a prominent fixture on Americans' Thanksgiving tables to this day.