The 405 Aired Mar 11th, 2026

0:00I want to get and welcome out of the 405 coffee break guys get you a cup of coffee glass iced tea bottle of water You know the routine. Let's see what's happening spring. Wait $5.88 cents a bushel $550. Steercaf $5.00 and a nickel 505 But your hog and Iowa 59 cents a pound and a hundred pound Lamb that's fat in buildings $2.72 cents a pound but guys there's more much more I Remember when a candy bar was a nickel a nickel Now some of you remember just as well as I I was stocking with Jeff Hool Jeff reminded me that down at butt trees that snow Albert sends right here in Multimondanna Used to be the butt trees star. They would have a special going on often where you could get six candy bars for a quarter

1:01That's by five get one free Jeff remembers over there at St. Mary's you were told for Christmas Just spend a dollar on the gift for your friend you drew names, right? And a Christmas present don't spend more than a dollar. Well, Jeff said go to butt trees with that dollar and get 24 full-size candy bars for your friend and that made a wonderful Christmas present and you only spend a dollar a candy bar for a nickel and don't forget six for a quarter at butt trees Let's look at the nickel candy bar today right after our Bible verse. Listen They're sweeter than honey than honey from the honeycomb Psalm 1910 oh wait since butt trees would give you a six for the price of one I'll give you two Bible verses for the price of one in Proverbs 25 16 it says if you find honey

2:05Eat just enough too much of it and you will vomit Good advice So remember if your friend gets you 24 candy bars from butt trees don't eat them all at once. Now listen to what I found Americans once measured childhood not by birthdays, but by Nichols five bright Sense clutched in a small hand enough for a trolley ride enough for a newspaper or the finest treasure in the corner drug store case a chocolate candy bar And for an astounding stretch of American history that treasure cost exactly the same amount a nickel Now here's the curious part of the story the standard American chocolate bar, especially those made by companies like Hershey's Was deliberately priced at five cents beginning around the year 1900. Can you believe it?

3:09A price that quickly became the industry standard across the United States By the time 1910 rolled around the nickel candy bar was just common It was expected drugs drug stores five and dime counters and a school corner candy shop all stocked them For a nickel a boy or girl could buy up bar a chocolate Sometimes larger than the one sold today Well Think about this between 1910 and the late 1960s American and America endured two world wars the great depression rationing labor shortage just and inflation yet yet the price of a standard candy bar and many stores remained incredibly five cents four decades how could that be

4:09well Manufacturers had a trick instead of raising the price they quietly reduced the size of the bar Okay, end of quote for now But even though they shrunk at a little it still stayed a nickel. It is a remarkable piece of history okay The kids of today can hardly believe that that was possible, but you and I well Believe it. We remember it Listen as I continue to read store owners loved the simplicity of the nickel price Children understood it instantly and the coin itself the sturdy American five cent piece became almost synonymous with candy But not everywhere Not everywhere travel north of the border to Canada In the year 1947 And you'll find something remarkable candy bars there suddenly jumped from five cents to eight cents about you didn't know that

5:15A price increase of more than 60% are you kidding? And the customers most outraged were not businessmen. They were children Students in Lady Smith British Columbia organized protests and boycott In what newspapers called the chocolate candy bar strike in 1947 guys It's true pull up the pictures. There's those kids are standing with posters. It's a real thing They marched with signs that read don't be a sucker and they demanded the return of the nickel candy bar For a few spirited weeks youngsters across Canada joined the protest But guess what guess who won the manufacturers held firm the price stayed at eight cents Meanwhile in the United States the nickel candy bar

6:18stubbornly survived and to quote Interesting history and many of us lived it. We saw it. We ate it and we enjoyed it Then as you know all good things let's come to an end and finally In 1969 while the arches were second sugar sugar and every rough neck out there was saying it just doesn't get any better than this Right like that the price went to a dime Double overnight. Oh, yeah, it's fun to remember So until next time as you go out there remember now Don't be better