# milky way and three musketeers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2000, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642 "2000-05-05T04:36:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tokamak555](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/96bed5/32.png) [@tokamak555](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tokamak555)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/1 "2000-05-05T04:36:12Z")
i recently heard that when the milky way and three musketeers candy bars were introduced (at the same time), mars somehow mixed up the wrappers, which explains why the candy bar with three main ingredients is called ‘milky way’ and the milky candy bar is called ‘three musketeers.’ apparently they’ve since fixed the ingredient labels but never corrected the original mistake. any truth to this? matt ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/2 "2000-05-05T10:19:18Z")
There may be something to this. [US & UK Confusions](http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/95q4/uk.html) says: US Milky Way = British Mars Bar US 3 Musketeers= British Milky Way (another site says Milky Bar) There’s no mention of by what name the British call what we call a Mars Bar. Could be 3 Musketeers. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/3 "2000-05-05T10:33:30Z")
[Partial explanation](http://www.marketing.haynet.com/feature99/1125/) of the origin of the different US/UK names. > [@](#): > > Forrest Mars, together with his father, also a confectioner, created a successful company making and marketing Milky Way in the US in the 1920s. Forrest claimed he had invented the product, by telling his father he should put a chocolate milk shake in a bar. > > But typically Forrest’s ambitions outstripped his father’s and they fell out. Forrest left for England with the European rights to the Milky Way brand in Europe. He realised that the English tooth was sweeter than that of the US and reformulated and renamed the Milky Way to become the Mars bar. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/4 "2000-05-05T17:00:23Z")
I heard that the origin of “Three Musketeers” was that the original candy bars had two indentations in the middle, so you could easily break it apart and share with a couple of friends. There could be some truth to a mixup of names, too, though. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/5 "2000-05-05T17:24:03Z")
Now I’m hungry for a Milky Way. ---
**Author:** ![LBJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecae2f/32.png) [@LBJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LBJay)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/6 "2000-05-05T19:44:04Z")
I’m with you. How 'bout those ice cream Milky Ways, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/7 "2000-05-05T22:58:27Z")
Nah. Here’s the original basis for the name “Three Musketeers”, according to [Candy USA](http://www.candyusa.org/milleniumlist.html): 1933 M&M Mars debuts the 3 Musketeers Bar, originally made as a three-flavor bar featuring chocolate, vanilla and strawberry nougat. In 1945, it was changed to all chocolate nougat. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/8 "2000-05-05T23:08:46Z")
**Bibliophage** , a Milky Way and a Milky Bar in Britain are different. A Milky Way is the choclolate coated, whipped “fondant”-like bar, whereas a Milky Bar is a thin white chocolate bar. I’d also heard that story you mention regarding the US/UK differences - a family split across the countries. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2000, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/9 "2000-05-06T00:54:29Z")
I just don’t know who came up with the name “Snickers”. Who wants a candy bar that laughs at you. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2000, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milky-way-and-three-musketeers/18642/10 "2000-05-06T04:27:36Z")
**MaxTorque** ’s link above gives the history of the name Snickers. It was named after a favorite horse owned by the Mars family. Truth in labeling?