54-428: Pez ( English: / p ɛ z / , German: [peːts] ; stylised as PEZ ) is the brand name of an Austrian candy and associated manual candy dispensers. The candy is a pressed , dry, straight-edged, curved-corner block 15 mm ( 5 ⁄ 8 inch) long, 8 mm ( 5 ⁄ 16 inch) wide and 5 mm ( 3 ⁄ 16 inch) high, with each Pez dispenser holding 12 candy pieces. Pez
108-450: A Minion Pig in a reusable metal gift tin. Some Pez dispensers can sell for large amounts as collectibles. The highest verifiable sale of a Pez dispenser was a private sale of a Mickey Mouse softhead at $ 7,000 between an Austrian dealer and a US collector. This dispenser was never available for sale to the public, and was a factory prototype. The most valuable Pez dispensers are three Political Donkeys, each valued at over $ 13,000, one of which
162-810: A boxed set with dispensers in the likenesses of the Cowardly Lion , the Tin Man , the Scarecrow , Dorothy Gale , Toto , Glinda , the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West . Only 300,000 sets were made. In 2010, Pez released a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs set, featuring a story book. These are the first characters featured on the "Short Stem" body. Only 250,000 sets were made. In 2011,
216-468: A compressed peppermint sweet in Vienna , Austria, in 1927 by Eduard Haas III . The name PEZ is an abbreviation of P feff E rmin Z (German for peppermint). The original product was a round peppermint lozenge called PEZ drops. Over time, a new manufacturing process evolved and the hard pressed brick shape known today was created. The product packaging evolved from wrapped rolls to a small tin to hold
270-437: A disease found in the 19th century to be spread by infected mosquitoes. After two decades of poor health, John Claypoole died in 1817. Ross continued the upholstery business for 10 more years. Upon retirement, she moved in with her daughter Susanna Claypoole (1786–1875), in a section of Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania , while Susanna's older sister Clarissa (1785–1864) took over their mother's business back in
324-520: A factory in Orange, Connecticut , US. In 1983, Scott McWhinnie became the president of the Pez company. He retired in 2003. Joe Vittoria became president of the company in 2004. Around 2005 the size of the original factory was doubled and the Pez dispenser line was expanded. In the mid-1990s the peppermint flavor was reintroduced with remakes of the "regulars". In early 2002 the family of the original founder of
378-400: A long, narrow pennant; and (3) a short, narrow pennant. The ensign was a blue flag with 13 stripes—seven red stripes and six white stripes in the flag's canton (upper-left-hand corner). It was flown from a pole at the rear of the ship. The long pennant had 13 vertical, red-and-white stripes near the mast; the rest was solid red. It flew from the top of the ship's mainmast, the center pole holding
432-447: A peaceful post-war existence, as Philadelphia prospered as the temporary national capital (1790–1800) of the newly independent United States of America, with the first president, George Washington , his vice president, John Adams , and the convening members of the new federal government and the U.S. Congress . In 1793, her mother, father, and sister Deborah Griscom Bolton (1743–1793) all died in another severe epidemic of yellow fever ,
486-537: A research paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in which he claimed that his grandmother had "made with her hands the first flag" of the United States. Canby said he first obtained this information from his aunt Clarissa Sydney (Claypoole) Wilson in 1857, 20 years after Ross's death. Canby dates the historic episode based on Washington's journey to Philadelphia, in the late spring of 1776,
540-567: A single flag, but rather what her story tells us about working women and men during the American Revolution. Betsy Ross School in Mahwah, New Jersey is named for her. On January 1, 1952, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp to honor the 200th anniversary of her birth. It shows her presenting the new 13-striped, 13-starred flag to George Washington , with Robert Morris , and George Ross present. The design
594-522: A superscripted second number which identifies the specific facility in Austria. Early Pez dispensers did not have character heads on them. They were what is known now as "regulars". A regular dispenser is just a rectangular box with a contoured flip top for dispensing the candy. Toy character head dispensers were introduced in 1955, after the candy was introduced in the United States. There are over 550 unique dispenser heads with thousands of variations. In
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#1732791915244648-545: A symbol of women's contributions to American history. American historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich further explored this line of enquiry in a 2007 article, "How Betsy Ross Became Famous: Oral Tradition, Nationalism, and the Invention of History". Ross was merely one of several flag makers in Philadelphia (such as Rebecca Young , who is historically documented to have made the earlier Grand Union Flag of 1775–76, with
702-633: A two-piece limited edition set was released for charity featuring Prince William and his wife-to-be, Kate Middleton . In 2011, an eight-piece limited edition set was released featuring characters from The Lord of the Rings as they appear in Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings films : Bilbo , Frodo , Sam , Gandalf , Aragorn , Legolas , Gimli and Gollum . Only 250,000 sets were made. 150,000 Walmart -exclusive sets were made. The Walmart sets did not have Bilbo . Instead, they came with
756-619: A year before the Second Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act of June 14, 1777 . In the 2008 book The Star-Spangled Banner: the Making of an American Icon , Smithsonian Institution experts point out that Canby's recounting of the event appealed to patriotic Americans then eager for stories about the Revolution and its heroes and heroines. Betsy Ross was promoted as a patriotic role model for young girls and
810-525: Is a popular tourist site in Philadelphia, but it is still a matter of historical academic dispute whether she actually lived there, as evidence indicates she actually lived from 1776 to 1779 in a house next door that was torn down after the remaining house was designated. Ross' body was first interred at the Free Quaker burial grounds on North Fifth Street in Philadelphia. In 1856, the remains of Ross and her third husband John Claypoole were moved from
864-651: The Betsy Ross House . However, cemetery workers found no remains beneath her tombstone. Bones found elsewhere in the family plot were deemed to be hers and were reinterred in the current grave visited by tourists at the Betsy Ross House. The Betsy Ross Bridge , connecting Philadelphia with Pennsauken Township, New Jersey , across the Delaware River is named in her honor. Biographer Marla Miller argues that Ross' legacy should not be about
918-740: The Continental Army . There is speculation that Ross was the "beautiful young widow" who distracted Carl von Donop in Mount Holly, New Jersey , after the Battle of Iron Works Hill , thus keeping his forces out of the crucial "turning-of-the-tide" Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26, 1776, in which Hessian soldiers were defeated after the crossing of the Delaware River . On June 15, 1777, she married her second husband, mariner Joseph Ashburn. In 1780, Ashburn's ship
972-606: The Eye of Sauron . In October 2012, Pez released a limited edition KISS gift set. The Starchild, The Demon, The Catman and The Spaceman are displayed in a reusable metal gift tin. In 2013, Pez released the Monsters University pez. The characters were Mike Wazowski , James P. "Sulley" Sullivan , Scott "Squishy" Squibbles and Randall Boggs . In September 2013, Pez released the Hobbit gift set. Bilbo Baggins , Gandalf
1026-679: The National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. , notes that the story of Betsy Ross making the first U.S. flag for General George Washington entered into the U.S. consciousness about the time of the 1876 centennial celebrations, with the Centennial Exposition then scheduled to be held in Philadelphia. In 1870, Ross's grandson, William J. Canby, presented
1080-895: The Pennsylvania Navy during the American Revolution. After the Revolution, she made U.S. flags for over 50 years, including 50 garrison flags for the U.S. Arsenal on the Schuylkill River during 1811. The flags of the Pennsylvania navy were overseen by the Pennsylvania Navy Board. The board reported to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly's Committee of Safety. In July 1775, the President of the Committee of Safety
1134-471: The 1970s, three historical figures were created: Betsy Ross , Daniel Boone , and Paul Revere , which were released as part of the Bicentennial series. These dispenser heads were not made to actually look like the people they represented, but instead used generic faces with different accessories. Star Wars Pez dispensers have been amongst the most popular collectibles since they were introduced in
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#17327919152441188-454: The 1990s. The company initially had a general rule against creating likenesses of real people, but in 2006 a limited-edition series of three Pez dispensers were made with likenesses of members of the Teutul family from Orange County Choppers . The NASCAR -themed dispensers are based on the helmets of famous drivers, rather than their actual resemblance. In 2007, a limited edition Elvis set
1242-510: The British Union Jack of the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew , in the upper corner canton and 13 alternating red and white stripes for the "United Colonies") for the Continental Army , along with many other ships' colors, banners, and flags which were advertised in local newspapers. Rebecca Young's daughter Mary Young Pickersgill (1776–1857) made the flag of 15 stars and stripes in 1813, begun at her house and finished on
1296-543: The English Old Mill Prison and had informed Ross of her husband's circumstances and death. John Claypoole's diary and family Bible was rediscovered 240 years later in June 2020. The couple had five daughters: Clarissa, Susanna, Jane, Rachel, and Harriet (who died in infancy). With the birth of their second daughter Susanna in 1786, they moved to a larger house on Philadelphia's Second Street, settling down to
1350-565: The Free Quaker Burying Ground to Mount Moriah Cemetery . The practice of cemeteries purchasing the remains of famous historical individuals was common in order to drive additional business. The Daughters of the American Revolution erected a flagpole at the site of her grave in her memory. In 1975, in preparation for the American Bicentennial , city leaders ordered the remains moved to the courtyard of
1404-508: The German "DBP 818.829" (Deutsches Bundes-Patent) and the Mexican "Patent Nr 141,242". Pez dispenser stems will usually also be embossed with several injection mold codes (IMCs). Some, like those found on the bottom of the dispenser feet, will tell which mold position the specific piece came from. One found on the side of the stem indicates the country of origin. The IMC code 4 is followed by
1458-627: The Grey , Thorin Oakenshield , Fimbul the Hunter, Radagast , Kili, Bofur and Dwalin are displayed in a printed cardboard box. In 2013, Pez released a series of 18 wheeler trucks. There were companies like Walgreens , Nice, Wawa , Safeway , Randall's , up market , Havoline and many more. In 2014, Pez released a giant Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . In 2014, Pez released an Angry Birds gift tin. It had Red, Bomb, Stella, and
1512-489: The Pennsylvanian fleet. An entry dated May 29, 1777, in the records of the Pennsylvania Navy Board, includes an order to pay her for her work. It is worded as follows: An order on William Webb to Elizabeth Ross for fourteen pounds twelve shillings and two pence for Making Ships Colours [etc.] put into William Richards store……………………………………….£14.12.2 The Pennsylvania navy's ship color included (1) an ensign; (2)
1566-581: The Pez Box Regular. In 1949 the first dispenser was officially introduced at the Vienna Trade Fair. In 1952 Eduard Haas introduced his product to the United States, and Curtis Allina headed Pez's US business. In 1955, the Pez company placed heads on the dispensers and marketed them for children. Santa Claus , Popeye , Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were among the first character dispensers. Since 1950, over 1500 Pez dispensers, including
1620-520: The Pez dispensers, and usually molds the patent number onto the stem of the design. The patent number cannot be reliably used to determine how old a dispenser is. Collectors refer to the first two digits of a patent number as a shorthand for a given patent number. For example, the 5.9 (5,984,285) patent was granted in 1999, but did not first appear on a Pez item until 2002. By 2007, 4.9 patented items were still regularly appearing on store shelves. Dispensers can also be found with several non-US patents, such as
1674-772: The Rev. Aeneas Ross, a Church of England (later Episcopal ) priest and assistant rector at the historic city parish of Christ Church . Griscom and Ross eloped in 1773, marrying at Hugg's Tavern in Gloucester City, New Jersey . The marriage caused a split from her Griscom family and meant her expulsion from the Quaker congregation. The young couple soon started their own upholstery business and later joined Christ Church, where their fellow congregants occasionally included visiting colony of Virginia militia regimental commander, colonel, and soon-to-be-general George Washington (of
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1728-606: The Rosses had been married for two years. As a member of the local Pennsylvania Provincial Militia and its units from the city of Philadelphia , John Ross was assigned to guard munitions. He died in 1775. According to one legend, he was killed by a gunpowder explosion, but family sources provide doubts about this claim. The 24-year-old Elizabeth ("Betsy") continued working in the upholstery business repairing uniforms and making tents, blankets, and stuffed paper tube cartridges with musket balls for prepared packaged ammunition in 1779 for
1782-512: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 977285561 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 11:05:15 GMT Betsy Ross Elizabeth Griscom Ross (née Griscom ; January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836), also known by her second and third married names, Ashburn and Claypoole ,
1836-685: The city. Ross, by then completely blind, spent her last three years living with her middle Claypoole daughter Jane (1792–1873) in Philadelphia , which was rapidly growing and industrializing. On Saturday, January 30, 1836, 60 years after the Declaration of Independence, Betsy Ross died at age 84. She was survived by one daughter with John Ashburn, Eliza, and four daughters with John Claypoole: Clarissa, Susanna, Jane, and Rachel, and one sister, Hannah Griscom Levering (1755–1836), who herself died about 11 months later. The so-called Betsy Ross House
1890-679: The company bought back 32.5% of the stock from investment company PGH for €18M. They now own 67.5% of the company. The headquarters are in Traun , Austria. The Pez mints are produced in Jánossomorja, Hungary and Orange, Connecticut, while the dispensers are produced in Hungary and China. In 2011, a PEZ Visitor Center was opened in Orange, with over 4,000 square feet dedicated to all things PEZ. Pez, Inc. has applied for and received patents related to
1944-466: The company considers itself to be primarily a candy company, stating that "[t]oday, billions of PEZ candies are consumed annually in the U.S.A. alone". Pez dispensers are a part of popular culture in many nations, an example being "Soul Candy" in the Japanese manga series Bleach . Because of the large number of dispenser designs over the years, they are collected by many. PEZ was first marketed as
1998-545: The early U.S. flag. Hopkinson submitted letters to Congress in 1780 requesting payment for his designs. Hopkinson was the only person to make such a claim in the Revolutionary War era. While Griscom was apprenticed to upholsterer William Webster, she met John Ross, a nephew of George Ross Jr , a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence . John's parents were Sarah Leach and
2052-504: The film. The Pez Card Game is an out-of-print multiplayer collectible card game based on Pez candy. The object of the game is to earn 25 points through playing cards with Pez flavours and dispensers. The core set contained 204 cards. In 2022 a documentary called The Pez Outlaw told the story of a rural farmer who made money smuggling foreign Pez dispensers into the United States. The film streamed on Netflix in 2023. Tableting Too Many Requests If you report this error to
2106-582: The floor of a nearby brewery, delivered to the commander of the fort the year before the British attack of September 12–14, 1814, on Fort McHenry in Baltimore , during the War of 1812 , (receiving a government-issued receipt for the work of two flags, a large 30 by 42 foot (9.1 by 12.8 m) "garrison flag" and a smaller "storm flag"), then seen by Francis Scott Key (1779–1843) and which inspired him to write
2160-614: The frequent smallpox epidemics in the autumn of 1762. Ross grew up in a household where the plain dress and strict discipline of the Quakers dominated. She learned to sew from a great aunt, Sarah Elizabeth Ann Griscom. Ross's great-grandfather, Andrew Griscom, a member of the Quakers and a carpenter , had emigrated in 1680 from England . After her schooling at a Quaker-run state school , Ross's father apprenticed her to an upholsterer named William Webster. Research conducted by
2214-428: The mints, similar to the modern Altoids tins. The first PEZ mint dispensers, known as "regulars", were similar in shape to a cigarette lighter and dispensed an adult breath mint marketed as an alternative to tobacco. They were invented by Oscar Uxa. Haas Food Manufacturing Corporation of Vienna was the first to sell PEZ products. World War II slowed marketing and production. In 1945, manufacturers devised and promoted
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2268-582: The newly organized Continental Army ) and his family from their home Anglican parish of Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia , near his Mount Vernon estate on the Potomac River , along with many other visiting notaries and delegates in future years to the soon-to-be-convened Continental Congress and the political/military leadership of the colonial rebellion. Betsy and John Ross had no children. The American Revolutionary War broke out when
2322-665: The original character dispensers, have been created. Pez vending machines were used in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The first German machines were introduced around 1954 and were produced by DWM ( Deutsche Waggon- und Maschinenfabrik ) and GWS ( Georg Wiegandt und Söhne ), both of Berlin, Germany. Machines were later introduced in Switzerland and then in Austria, in October 1956; these were produced by Glerios / R.Seipel & Co. and Theodor Braun (Vienna). In 1973, Pez built
2376-484: The poem which later became the national anthem , The Star-Spangled Banner . Pickersgill's small 1793 rowhouse is still preserved in East Baltimore's Old Town neighborhood at East Pratt and Albemarle Streets and is known as the " Flag House & Star-Spangled Banner Museum ". Occasionally over the decades, there has been some controversy and disagreement between the relative merits and historical accuracies of
2430-631: The sails. The short pennant was solid red, and flew from the top of the ship's mizzenmast—the pole holding the ship's sails nearest the stern (rear of the ship). Betsy Ross was born on January 1, 1752, to Samuel Griscom (1717–1793) and Rebecca James Griscom (1721–1793) on the Griscom family farm in Gloucester City, New Jersey. Ross was the eighth of seventeen children, of whom only nine survived childhood. A sister, Sarah (1745–1747), and brother, William (1748–1749), died before Elizabeth ("Betsy")
2484-475: The shape of the stars in a sketch of a flag he showed her from six-pointed to five-pointed by demonstrating that it was easier and speedier to cut the latter. However, there is no archival evidence or other recorded verbal tradition to substantiate this story of the first U.S. flag. It appears that the story first surfaced in the writings of her grandson in the 1870s (a century after the fact), with no mention or documentation in earlier decades. Ross made flags for
2538-541: The two flag-making traditions and historical sites in Philadelphia and Baltimore. It is thought that Ross's only contribution to the flag design was to change the 6-pointed stars to the easier 5-pointed stars. Scholars, however, accept the claim by Francis Hopkinson —a member of the Continental Congress who designed most of the elements of the Great Seal of the United States —that he created designs for
2592-537: Was Benjamin Franklin. Its members included Robert Morris and George Ross. At that time, the committee ordered the construction of gunboats that would eventually need flags as part of their equipment. As late as October 1776, Captain William Richards was still writing to the Committee of Safety to request the design that he could use to order flags for the fleet. Ross was one of those hired to make flags for
2646-525: Was an American upholsterer who was credited by her relatives in 1870 with making the second official U.S. flag , accordingly known as the Betsy Ross flag . Though most historians dismiss the story, Ross family tradition holds that General George Washington , commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and two members of a congressional committee— Robert Morris and George Ross —visited Mrs. Ross in 1776. Mrs. Ross convinced George Washington to change
2700-417: Was born (another sister, Sarah Griscom Donaldson (1749–1785), was named after the earlier deceased Sarah). Ross was just five years old when her sister Martha (1754–1757) died, and another sister, Ann (1757–1759), only lived to the age of two. Brothers Samuel I (1753–1756) and Samuel II (1758–1761) both died at age three. Two others, twins, brother Joseph (1759–1762) and sister Abigail (1759–1762), died in one of
2754-591: Was captured by a Royal Navy frigate and he was charged with treason (for being of British ancestry— naturalization to American colonial citizenship was not recognized) and imprisoned at Old Mill Prison in Plymouth , England. During this time, their first daughter, Zilla, died at the age of nine months and their second daughter, Eliza, was born. Ashburn died in the British jail. Three years later, in May 1783, she married John Claypoole, who had earlier met Joseph Ashburn in
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#17327919152442808-409: Was invented in Austria and later exported worldwide. The all-uppercase spelling of the logo echoes the trademark's style on the packaging and the dispensers, with the logo drawn in perspective and giving the appearance that the letters are built out of 44 brick-like Pez mints (14 bricks in the P and 15 in each of the E and Z ). Despite the widespread recognition and popularity of the Pez dispenser,
2862-533: Was owned by John F. Kennedy . The Pez collecting hobby has grown to the point where several conventions are held annually around the world. The oldest convention is Pez-a-Mania, which has been held in Cleveland, Ohio , since 1991. Envision Media Arts are developing an animated film version of Pez with Cameron Fay writing a screenplay, Lee Nelson and David Buelow producing, and Gregg Rossen, Catherine Judit Kaehne, Brian Sawyer and Jonathan Hung executive producing
2916-530: Was released featuring three dispensers from different periods in Presley's life. In 2008, the first Star Trek dispensers were released in a gift set with the seven original series crew and the Starship Enterprise . A second Star Trek gift set, based on The Next Generation series, was released in autumn 2012. In 2009, in honour of the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz , Pez released
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