Making Humbugs

Filmed in Bury, Lancashire (1967)
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[@nejojohnson]

One of these facts are not like the other. xD

[@angrydragonslayer]

"laced with what?"

[@roberthegwood3528]

The arsenic was laced with humbugs.

[@katto2558]

I had to rewind, lol!

[@clairedeluna]

So in the past, people used to adulterate the sweets with plaster, different dusts, and stuff from the pharmacy. The price of sugar was too high, due to taxes and manufacturing prices. The pharmacy mixed up the arsenic with the normal adulterants for sweets. It was sold on Halloween in 1858, about 200 people were poisoned, but because it was similar to cholera, people at first didn't think it was the sweets till about a day later. It wasn't until 1860 an adulterant law was passed and 1878 a sugar tax was repealed that the adulterated sweets stopped.

[@micktuber]

​@@katto2558same!

[@roberthegwood3528]

I was concerned when dude was putting his hand down in the roller, then you hit me with, "1858 arsenic laced humbugs kill 20" ☠

[@brandonellis8111]

Facts! I was like that looks dangerous then 😳 oh my

[@SamuelBlack84]

Not the best advert for your company

[@qwerty30013]

@@SamuelBlack84health and safety standards are a bit different today than 57 years ago

[@SamuelBlack84]

@@qwerty30013 Not for mental health

[@simony2801]

Those machines looked dangerous to me 😢

[@MrPSaun]

Those gloves around all that rotating machinery is giving me the willies.

[@PhilJonesIII]

That would explain the protein-enriched batches they turned out from time to time. But yea, bad news working on that machine.

[@annedejong1040]

even without em, I mean typical ow wait I dropped something in the...krggggg

[@PaulRudd1941]

Same, as a sheet metal worker, gloves and rollers are a massive *NOPE* from me.

[@PiXie232]

@@PaulRudd1941it’s *extremely* hot, unfortunately they have to wear gloves when making this type of candy- either with machines or handmade.

[@kona702]

Same! 😮😮

[@SaltyRat05]

"Suckable size and good looong chew". A man of class I see.

[@peterm1826]

Lol

[@andygozzo72]

@@peterm1826 oo, matron! 😜

[@jordancambridge4106]

I am Werther's chokable size.

[@mjrussell414]

That was just a very odd comment - maybe it was an attempt at humour, but it really wasn’t that funny nor clever.

[@localreviewking134]

He was a very happy man

[@chrismingay6005]

Fun fact, the music wasnt added, thats just what plays at the Humbug factory

[@captaindookey]

I wouldn't mind listening to KPM production music while making hard candy.

[@akapple3538]

@@captaindookeyI see you know your music libraries

[@bushcrafty7274]

Very American

[@markscott6414]

@@bushcrafty7274 British, Sir!

[@The_Robbing_Narrator]

​@@akapple3538 KPM always makes those long work shifts go by fast

[@rionrace]

What in the OSHA violation is that machine?!!!!

[@NineSeptims]

Hope those gloves are loose

[@barnehurs]

😂 exactly what I was thinking when I saw that! How they used to do in the old days huh!?🙈

[@user-ul1xq2db4f]

Back in these days it was survival of the fittest

[@notreal9521]

It seems that the rollers all rotate in the same direction, so things probably wouldn't get caught in it

[@mildlydispleased3221]

OSHA doesn't have jurisdiction in the UK.

[@cynicalshows1789]

Then you take the dinglebop and push it through the grumbo, where the fleeb is rubbed against it. It's important that the fleeb is rubbed, because the fleeb has all of the fleeb juice.

[@kabochaVA]

I always wondered how Plumbuses got made...

[@juliancisco3624]

😂

[@stevengray4595]

And a good licking of the snozberrie to release the thick milky goodness 😊

[@finddeniro]

Indubitably...!

[@ghomeishy]

Thank you! I thought I was the only one

[@dennyii5292]

The phrase *Suckable Size* bout knocked me out my chair 😂😂😂😂

[@mikegrace]

Or even a soft spot for a good long tube

[@charlesrhodes1089]

​@@mikegracefor those with a soft spot for a good long chew

[@huangec]

You have very dirty mind... I like it! 😏

[@gonkdroid9325]

Grow up

[@localreviewking134]

Where sweet meat becomes a sausage?

[@sn1667]

The visual and auditory innuendos in this video are breathtaking 😂

[@JohnDoe-qv1kg]

I thought i was alone

[@erkl8823]

The visual _wrestling match_ ...?

[@toddsmith8608]

Good job, Margaret!

[@spacecentergames]

The film quality of the time has a unique look that is so satisfying ☺️

[@Chad-Giga.]

Because they actually used film

[@DenkyManner]

​@@Chad-Giga.I think they mean the specific type of film stock gave a particular look.

[@memati7199]

@@DenkyMannerExactly, the one above is totally oblivious to the meaning.

[@dsandoval9396]

Almost like it was from a different era. 🤔 I'm just kidding. 😅 This type of footage is very interesting.

[@memati7199]

@@dsandoval9396 It is indeed, and i guess only the Brits were masters at it.

[@muttman325]

Think that factory burned down in the early 70's Lived near by. The smell was lovely.

[@sami_got_vibes]

Lmao fr?

[@kwamz28]

The smell of a burning building smelt lovely??? You monster! 😳

[@rinibarwoto6419]

How lucky you are.... Smell the candy everyday....

[@barrycasey5171]

Don't think it did. It was definitely there in 88 as I worked bout 500 yards from it. You're right though. Great smell.

[@ScrimmyBingus42]

Something about these old British documentaries is such a V I B E

[@michaelbolland9212]

This single piece has funded the dental industry in England for the past 24 years

[@molliemae6855]

As an American I’ve never heard of a candy called Humbugs. I’ve only heard of bah humbug!

[@joshuaevans5943]

Because it's a sweet mate

[@atomictraveller]

in the 1970s i remember picking sweets out of jars priced by the half penny and fresh napoleons. we moved to arizona in 1980, christ there's a lot of things you haven't ever heard of. eg. in u.k. "maltesers" are like u.s. "whoppers" but they're made out of sugar and taste nice instead of out of old sneakers and make you grow nine inches taller than normal.

[@meagain3876]

A humbug is a hard candy with a chewy centre.

[@meagain3876]

​@@atomictravellerI remember when you could buy 4 teddy bear gummy sweets for 1p. Do you remember buying sweets in the 1970s with sixpences? In those days, there were far more florins and shillings than new 10ps and 5ps. Our local shopkeeper used to make her own ice lollies and sell them for 3p each. Blackcurrant or orange. I don't know what cordial/syrup she used, but they were far better than what we could make at home.

[@be.A.b]

@@atomictravellerit’s not the whoppers it’s the growth hormone in all Our dairy

[@LikeAGentlemanPlease]

That fact about arsenic came out of nowhere and threw me all the way off.

[@Freakinawesome333]

This sounds like something your dad would make up when you were a kid: "They make one really big sweet that's so heavy it takes two men to lift it! Then they put it into a machine that stretches it until it's really long and thin, and then they cut it into little pieces!"

[@jamestaylor5341]

No one cares Dad!!!

[@edopronk1303]

Roald Dahl stuff indeed.

[@theghostofteddyperkins3687]

I have fond memories of this candy. Our Uncle Tickle Bug used to always have some in his pants pockets, and we'd sit on his lap and reach in to get some. Good memories

[@davidcattin7006]

Uh.... really!

[@theghostofteddyperkins3687]

@davidcattin7006 yes, why? His real name was Jack, but the kids in the family all called him Uncle Tickle Bug.

[@adewhite731]

I just looked this up. The arsenic was added by mistake. At the time it was common to add random ingredients to bulk out the product, in this case it should have been powdered gypsum (basically plaster), but the supplier mistakenly supplied poison! 😮 There was reportedly enough arsenic in each sweet to kill 2 adults. 200 people were poisoned & 20 died. There was us thinking we had it bad with mirco-plastics!

[@bendingspring]

Yes, it’s sad, I read the original police report that’s online. Lots of young children died, a heartbreaking read 😥

[@robertgift]

Thank you. Was anyone prosecuted?

[@Rich-fr2yv]

I wonder how many of those bags ended up with severed fingers in them from all those exposed moving parts

[@Schwarzadler-w3e]

10 per employee

[@hulapineapple]

Any more info about the arsenic poisoning that killed twenty people?

[@user-ul1xq2db4f]

Legend has it 20 people died that day

[@Jesse__H]

They say is was arsenic in the candy

[@Daggett1122]

It happened in 1858

[@maynardtrendle820]

It was long ago. Around 1858. As well, arsenic was the cause.

[@jimoconnor6382]

Now it's aspartame 😮

[@wodekkuczynski9038]

Just a few years ago, humbugs were manufactured in exactly the same way. It's hard work, the shaft from which the candies are made is very heavy, hot and slippery, in addition it deforms easily and you have to move it from the table to the machine, it was a challenge every time!

[@lmoore3rd]

The Hammond organ Mod music crowns this film.

[@sunilzala3909]

Oa Margaret is a 10❤

[@melvynwalker7952]

First machine is called a batch roller, second one is called sizer machine with 4 different sizers, worked at a sweet factory for 20 years a suger boiler, miss those days.

[@JR-lo2ei]

Those loose gloves near that roller got me puckering.

[@misterdinkly]

Sounds like my honeymoon

[@MrRobarino]

The rotation of those rollers are all in the same direction, so even if you tried to get your hand stuck, it won't.

[@JR-lo2ei]

@@MrRobarino I mean, I hope you're right. I just don't trust powerful motors doing anything near my fragile appendages.

[@H.M.SKingGeorgeV]

Margaret knew what she was doing, the way she was stroking that roll.

[@chrishultgren777]

grandpa was a lucky man

[@Quinnaka]

Great blunt rolling.

[@H.M.SKingGeorgeV]

@@Quinnaka, what??

[@Quinnaka]

@@H.M.SKingGeorgeV the way the lady was touching the candy reminded me of rolling a blunt.

[@H.M.SKingGeorgeV]

@@Quinnaka, do you jerk your blunts off??

[@ugurunver2403]

"Suckable size" you say? Interesting. What a creative and efficient way to excuse for the, uhm, really small candies.

[@misterdinkly]

grow up.

[@figboi]

grow up.

[@misterdinkly]

@figboi get real.

[@alexanderkvitrovn9828]

Hilarious 😂 never let your inner child die

[@misterdinkly]

@alexanderkvitrovn9828 get serious.

[@tomsoden1738]

Proper teeth breakers. Chocolate eclairs are perfect for pulling out fillings.

[@Laluan]

Those machines look so dangerous 😂

[@iffgc5826]

Back when men were men and lost an arm

[@finddeniro]

...So am I ..

[@heckingbamboozled8097]

​@iffgc5826 this is a joke, right? There's literally nothing manly about losing an arm to a workplace accident

[@BananaHace]

​@@iffgc5826 go lose yours then pal

[@Garf_malarf]

“They say a woman’s work is never done” lmao

[@mikethomas6051]

😂 That line got me too 😂 I guess Margaret is still there😅😅

[@bendingspring]

That’s why they don’t get paid as much..... Joke

[@ontopoftheroof]

If you find any body parts inside this bag, please return to Bensons Sweets Inc., Bury, Lancashire.

[@stationlightyears1532]

Strangely satisfying, on so many levels.

[@user-kt4gl3kv1e]

Why does nobody sound like this anymore. Like after the 60's people with this voice just vanished

[@CDN1975]

Now I need Humbugs.

[@JonySmith-bb4gx]

I don't

[@luke14946]

What about BumHugs?

[@razarmedia382]

Big up Bury 💪

[@D0ctorf0ster]

I love humbugs 😁 my grandad used to always have them in his pocket.

[@donbateman4660]

This entire time i had no idea they were called humbugs.

[@JohnyG29]

So what did you call these sweets?

[@Secretgeek2012]

They were chocolate eclair bags! 1950's disinformation! Also, my great grandad always had a jar of humbugs by his chair. It was a rare honour when he let you have one. 😊

[@ashraf2661]

Well spotted !!

[@willmfrank]

This is a short clip from a rather longer film. The chocolate eclair bags shot is the tail end of the previous segment. It's included because of the narration.

[@ashraf2661]

@@willmfrank a lovely clip anyway !!

[@bendingspring]

The 60s were even worse!...........

[@BlokeJuice]

"suckable size for those with a soft spot for a good long chew" I can't take that part seriously 😂

[@Redbird4912]

My Granddad loved these Humbugs and my Grandmother loved Devon Toffees 🍬🍬🍬

[@bosupremo]

Interesting how they are referred to as old fashioned mint humbugs , back when this was filmed

[@nicolab2075]

But they put them in bags labelled 'chocolate eclairs' 😊

[@mareksicinski3726]

They were from the 19th century at least

[@LethallyReptarded]

'A familiar suckable size' god if I had a penny for every time I've heard that

[@weseleyhansen2341]

"Suckable size just right for those with a soft spot for a good long chew" 😂😂 that phrase and the way he said it was perfect

[@Julian.watchingyt]

Gosh, I remember these sweets 🍬 at my Grandparents house.

[@rogerscottcathey]

I suppose Brits know what the hell "humbugs" are

[@shadooku4427]

Yeah, it's what scrooge says when he's being humbuggy

[@rogerscottcathey]

@@shadooku4427 : bah!

[@bear1245]

Well of course we do 😂 Charles Dickens was English too… Do yanks have candy we don’t know then name of..

[@Turnipstalk]

You went independent in 1776, now it's none of your business.

[@seanivan5421]

They’re minty sugar mixed with toffee and they’re great

[@rubberneckinc.8937]

Love these older films

[@andrearamsdall2657]

Omg the language I forgot we used to say things without thinking about the double meaning 😂

[@jasonward9429]

Oh I think he knew EXACTLY what he was saying.. The script was probably written by the "Carry On" team🤣🤣

[@mareksicinski3726]

It’s contextual and abt urself

[@meagain3876]

I wanted some mint humbugs last week, but they were out of stock. Disappointing..... Our family had a tour of a rock factory and watched them use a pulling machine. They then assembled the striped rock, very much like the humbugs were assembled, then stretched it out. However the resulting thin stripy rock was cut into sticks about a foot long, rather than the humbugs (which are cut into pieces about an inch long). To anyone who's not British, kids used to bring back sticks of rock for their friends whenever they had a holiday at the seaside. The rock had the name of the resort written through the middle.

[@caprise-music6722]

I was so worried his hands would be shredded 😮

[@Abtastix]

Don’t worry he got done in by the arsenic poisoning😅

[@eliasdeleone7059]

That looks like a soul crushing career

[@aBusybee]

Gotta wonder how often a glove got pulled in. I don't see any deadman switches or emergency shutoffs near any of the equipment.

[@scottnyc6572]

Stewie commentating

[@gerhaldlaubscher8321]

Loved those sweets growing up!

[@AndyMorris-ix1yz]

used to watch this at Bridlington its absolutly brill

[@Kunta-d8u]

Margaret and her subtle 1950’s “Hawk-Tou!”

[@Francine5522]

It looked like a head of hair and a limb to me at the beginning 😂😂😂

[@petra5843]

I thought it was a blonde wig!😂🤦

[@julietellsthetruth4811]

See, this is why I like watching the company's that make it by hand and put it on video. You watch them add everything, so if somebody adds arsenic, there will be a record of it.

[@bdullhe]

Look closely behind that big machine. That Oompa Loompa was so cute.

[@ricofournier2540]

I loved those after dinner very nice candy😮

[@sjTHEfirst]

Oh, oh, now do Jelly Babies!

[@Czeslaw9426]

My dyslexic brain read humbug as hamburgre and i was very concerned for a wee moment

[@jastermereel6949]

Now I get what Trevor Phillips meant when he said he was going to “eat your sweetmeats!”😂

[@SirBork]

No ones ever had a work place accident here

[@Mainyehc]

Except for that one time they added arsenic to the mix 😂

[@bipolarbear7325]

That dude must have voiced a thousand films like this in the 1960's.

[@damshek]

Ooh there's Bridget!

[@MsBamafanatic]

Humbugs are usually made from a mixture of sugar and glycerin (sometimes gum replaces glycerin) and a flavoring agent, such as peppermint oil, which is then heated in a pan until the sugar melts and becomes sticky. The mixture is then poured out, and stretched and folded many times. A little color is added to the mixture, and during the folding process the colored parts separate out in layers. The mixture is finally rolled into a long, thin cylinder and sliced, and the lozenges take on a stripped appearance. Joseph Neal probably followed a recipe similar to the one described above, except for one notable difference-he didn’t use pure, unadulterated sugar. Back in the 19th century, when this story takes place, sugar was an expensive commodity, so it was not uncommon for confectioners to replace some of the sugar with ‘daff’-powdered limestone and plaster of Paris-to keep the cost of production low. Daff didn’t add to the sweetness of the finished product, but it kept the bulk intact enabling sweet sellers to keep their prices high. On 30 October 1858, Joseph Neal sent one his employee, James Archer, to collect daff from his druggist Charles Hodgson, whose pharmacy was 3 miles away at Baildon Bridge in Shipley. On arriving, Neal’s assistant discovered that Hodgson was ill in bed. The shop was instead staffed by an inexperienced apprentice named William Goddard. On receiving Archer’s request for daff, Goddard nipped out back to check with Hodgson, and was told that the daff was “in a cask in a corner of the attic.” Goddard found the cask and dutifully scooped out 12 pounds of the white powder and handed it to Archer. Unfortunately, there was more than one cask in the corner, and one of them contained arsenic trioxide, a toxic chemical used to treat cancer, psoriasis and syphilis. Goddard chose the wrong cask, and since both daff and arsenic trioxide looked somewhat alike, neither Goddard nor Archer was aware of the deadly sale they just made. James Archer handed the lethal package to James Appleton, another one of Neal’s employee, who actually made the sweets. Appleton mixed all twelve pounds of arsenic trioxide with sugar and gum to create at least forty pounds of peppermint humbugs. Exposure to the poison caused Appleton to fall sick with vomiting and pain in his hands and arms for several days after. At the time, he merely presumed he had caught a stomach bug. However, Appleton did notice that the humbugs looked different, an observation that Hardaker shared when the finished product was brought to him. Hardaker popped one into his mouth, probably to see whether they tasted different, and promptly fell ill. Surprisingly, like Appleton, Hardaker put the blame for his sudden illness to something else that he had eaten. That night, Hardaker sold five pounds of the sweets. By the next morning, two local children, aged eight and 11, were dead. Initially, the deaths were attributed to cholera, a disease that was rampant in Europe. But when more and more people began to take ill, a police investigation began. Suspicion eventually fell upon Hardaker’s humbugs. A chemical analysis of the sweets revealed each contained enough poison to kill two grown men. Officers and bell ringers spent the next day and night rushing around the district trying to warn as many people as possible about the danger. The alert likely saved countless lives. However, by then already seven adults and 13 children were dead and at least two hundred others were seriously ill. The youngest child to die was just 17 months old. Charges were brought against Goddard, Neal and Hodgson, but all three were acquitted of manslaughter because the prosecution were unable to prove if any law had been broken. Hardaker returned to the confectionery business after recovering from his own illness.

[@fridaythe13thpartx]

I want a mid 20th century advert guy to narrate my every day life.

[@baedanbutler5995]

My dad use to fix them machines in the 2000s along with coating pans and stuff amazing the amount of stuff he modernised but had been in continuous use for the last 50 60 years 😅

[@poepflater]

Used to be a favourite of mine. Never see it in the shops anymore.

[@johnconnell4231]

“Cor ‘orace how your” “Well all I did see, was pull, jet and wrestle me sweetmeat until it were a small reasonable size.”

[@RabbitBusters]

Arsenic-laced humbugs? That is scary AF.

[@Kakascrot]

Love humbugs, got a big jar of them in the kitchen, often needs refilled

[@charliesimpson3658]

Bro wrestling the humbug into the machine looking like Piper Perri

[@boxcatgames537]

this one of the many old candies that are still around today altough the machine parts are rare

[@avindersingh5296]

genius and innovator

[@nicadair7700]

The 35mm film of yesteryear making today's digital efforts look absolute 💩🤣

[@RustyShacklefordsGribble-lw5dc]

Humbug's? We used to get these on Halloween as kids. Took nearly 4 decades but I finally figured out what they were called!

[@ProductBasement]

"Suckable size" is a genius marketing term. I can't wait to try it out on my wife

[@awesomeperson3624]

67 still cleaner than todays india

[@medano]

I believe that’s what killed Scrooge McDuck. Bah-Humbug!

[@Carstuff111]

As an American, it is so very awesome to see vintage British "how its made" videos! Also, now I want to try these.....

[@82MLPGTS]

I was wondering how Tiny Tim got the way he was, that machine looks like it would mince your spine for a laugh

[@lukeharris2826]

Love these videos!

[@zjktz7782]

My great grandmothers favourite

[@InternetJosh]

No matter if modern machines, old craftsmanship or a mix of the two: I will never not be amazed by candy making processes

[@dclas1]

OSHA considers this a horror film.

[@genebohannon8820]

I didn't read it but then realized, its a Humbug! I have to go to a store Verdun, QC Canada to get these at Stillwaters

[@Redford97]

Ayyyy down the road from me bury is! Awesome to see historical vids of local areas 😅

[@mcsquigly3342]

That rolling machine, while appearing dangerous, seems rather safe. The heated drums are spinning in opposite directions. Their supposed pinch-points are actually pushing instead of pulling, thats why the candy isn't being fed through the machine and instead is simply rolling atop. I'd say if your hand is caught, you were probably trying to make it that way.

[@erkl8823]

Thsts exactly what i tell the ladies when i see the disappointment in their eyes...

[@Derelictos]

I'll bet those are asbestos gloves. Because why the hell not.

[@joshuagraham3854]

The video intro to Fallout London hits different.

[@letteringsunlight]

Thats still how they make them..

[@SuperHeaphy]

'This is when sweet meat becomes a saussage' 😂

[@harrys1848]

Can tell its old school. Zero gaurding around all the moving components.

[@stealthpro123]

I love how these sweets were old fashioned back in 1967

[@AleksandarIvanov69]

I see where that one Rick and Morty joke came from 😂

[@sandler800]

I thought oompa loompas did this job. Also really appreciated the fact about the arsenic poisoning.

[@norbertsteinkamp9380]

Lucy would have loved this!!

[@Vergil904Gaming]

Heh the pulling machine, that’s what they called me in high school