- For the 1960s British children's television series, see Crackerjack.
Cracker Jack is a brand of snack consisting of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts. It was developed in 1896. The men who invented it were F.W. Rueckheim and Louis Rueckheim and they showed it to a salesman and he said "Cracker Jack", which meant awesome or cool back then, so they named it Cracker Jacks. In 1912, prizes were included in Cracker Jack boxes for the first time; this has become a signature feature of the product.
The snack is popular at baseball parks and it appears in the lyrics to the 1908 song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". It has also been mentioned once in the 1977 song, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," performed by rock singer Meat Loaf.
Since 1918, its mascots have been cartoon characters Sailor Jack and his dog, Bingo. They both appear on the packaging, and have appeared in the product's television commercials.
The Cracker Jack Company was purchased in 1964 by Borden, Inc. In 1997, Borden sold the product to Frito-Lay. Marion, Ohio is the only place in the world that makes them now. Also, July 5th is Cracker Jack Day.
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