Love Peppermint Patties? You Must be a Republican
With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, chances are you’ll be buying, receiving and devouring more candy than usual over next few days. Your choice of indulgence, as a new study by Will Fetus and Mike Shannon shows, may tell you something moderately interesting about your political leanings and your level of political involvement.
I love York Peppermint Patties, so I was surprised to find out they tend to be the treat of high-turnout Republican voters. Airheads and Nerds are the empty-calorie choice of indolent Democrats, which kind of makes sense. More politically active Democrats favor Baby Ruth, Almond Joy and Raisinets (G-d help them), while lethargic GOPsters wallow in Skittles and Rolo.
Who knew Hershey’s Special Dark is such a divisive snack? It seems geared for high-energy conservative Republicans, while Lindt chocolate (crafted in Switzerland) is obviously made for liberals. See if your favorite candy is politically correct on the chart below (a larger version is available at the Washington Post).
It’s encouraging, in the brief break from hyper-partisanship the House of Representatives displayed this week, that some candies seem to unite left and right in bi-partisan insulin rushes. Butterfinger bars and Reese’s Pieces nicely straddle the middle of the continuum, as does the airy, malty, chocolaty, rift-healing Three Musketeers. I hope the person responsible for stocking the vending machines at the Capitol building is paying attention.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com
