Initially

M&M's candies got their name from the last initial of their inventor,Frank Mars (of Snickers fame) and Bruce Murrie (son of a Hershey executive). The new candy went into production in 1941 in Newark,NJ. Originally there were five colors and they were packaged in a cardboard tube. During the war only the military was allowed M&M's. After the war the public fell in love with M&M's and in 1948 the packaging became the classic brown bag. In 1950 the first black M was printed on the candies. The M was changed to white in 1954. Peanut M&M's were introduced in 1954 but only in tan,other colors were not added until 1960. 1954 also brought the television debut and the famous "melts in your mouth,not in your hand" tagline. In 1976 red M&M's were taken out of the line-up due to consumer concerns that the dye contained a carcinogen,even though they didn't contain that type of dye. In 1980 M&M's were introduced internationally. In 1982 the candy was sent into space for the first time. Today there are several additional varieties of M&M's available in various colors and flavors.