Do you know why Polo mints have a hole in the middle?

People are only just discovering the reason why Polos – dubbed ‘The mint with the hole’ – have their distinctive shape.   

The peppermint-flavoured sweets were first manufactured in the UK in 1948, by a man named John Bargewell at the Rowntree’s Factory in York – and a range of delectable flavours have since followed.

The crunchy sweets have stood the test of time and outlived competition – but why are these refreshing mints punctured in the middle?

According to Nestle, ‘the mint with the hole’ was conceived by confectionery entrepreneur, George Harris, who was the man behind some of Rowntree’s biggest brands in the 1930s including KitKat, Smarties, Aero, Black Magic and Dairy Box.

Before the Second World War, legend had it that George was inspired by US brand Life Savers, an identical sweet brand that too contained a hole – initially created to resemble a life-saving floating device.

The Nestle website explained: ‘Before the war George had been inspired by the US brand Life Savers (a mint with a hole designed to look like a life-saving rubber ring) and had decided to make something similar in the UK.’

‘Company legend has it that he chose the name Polo because it derived from Polar and he thought that this implied the cool freshness of mint.’

Now that we know what inspired the conception of Polo mints, how did the Popular American treat get its shape?

US social forum Quora suggests the unique shape was inspired by a safety precaution to save the lives of young children. 

People have been debating the isssue on discussion forum Quora, but some insist that the idea of the hole being created for safety reasons is a myth 

One user explained that Life Savers were created following an alarming number of child deaths in the US due to choking on bar candies. The candy manufacturer believed that if there was a hole in the candy, even if it became lodged in the throat, a child could still breathe.

He wrote: ‘In the early 20th century, a number of child deaths in the U.S. were reported in the press due to choking on bar candies. An enterprising candy manufacturer came up with the idea that if there was a hole in the candy, even if it became lodged in the throat, a person could still breathe.’

‘The new candy was marketed as a “life saver.” The fact that the candy now resembled the flotation devices on ships served to reinforce the image and attractiveness of the product on the public. And the rest is history.’

However one user hinted at a more economical reason behind the hollow treat, and called the life-saving theory ‘nonsense.’ 

He wrote: ‘The hole increases the volume of the candy in the package saving the company money in candy material. Kind of like putting glue and sand on only one side of a book of matches saving half the cost of doing both sides.’

‘It also quickens the time it takes to melt it in your mouth so you are likely to eat more of them in the same time frame. This makes it likely for you to buy more. 

‘The idea that the hole could save your life if it got stuck in your throat is nonsense. First the item is not large enough to get stuck and second if it did it would have to position itself in just the right way for the hole to do so. Very, very unlikely to occur.’