The Power of Jelly Beans

This past week I spent a fair amount of time sitting on airplanes, so I had plenty of time to think...and people-watch, which is one of my favorite past-times. From my seat I watched the parade of passengers board the flight and make their way down to the torture device otherwise known as an airline seat. There were all sorts of people, the young and old, the meek and bold, and ranged from chunky to hunky.

But it wasn't until I watched a young dad looking after his young daughter when I found inspiration for this post. The youngster was probably 4 or 5 at most, and was generally well behaved, save for an impending cloud of boredom that hung over her seat 2B. She squirmed and squealed for a few minutes, until the father decided to take action. He brought forth a large bag of jelly beans, with the most stunning array of colors ever known to mankind. His daughter's face brightened at once, as she sat up straight, watching her dad dispense a single jelly bean at a time. I was so impressed with the power these magic beans seemed to hold over the child. As I sat watching over the top of my novel, pretending to read my mind wandered. What is it about jelly beans that people love so much? I've never considered myself a huge jelly bean fan, but as I peered across my book toward the bag of jelly beans my face must have betrayed me. All at once, the young girl said to me: "Would you like a jelly bean, Mister?" Startled, I tensed up and declined but the child must have been psychic, because she then said: "You don't have to worry, my hands are clean, Daddy just washed them for me" Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "Yes I'd love some" and my hand mysteriously drifted across the aisle to retrieve a handful of this confectionery delight. She beamed as I accepted her offer and for the rest of the flight she was an angel.

Back home I started thinking about which flavors I liked best, so naturally I ran out to the store to pick up a bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans for research purposes. Here are my favorites:
Very Cherry

Green Apple

Cotton Candy

Toasted Marshmallow


Grape Jam

Buttered Popcorn


For those of you interested, here is a list of 50 Jelly Belly flavors...which are YOUR FAVORITES?? GO AHEAD, LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR LIST.

* A&W Cream Soda
* A&W Root Beer
* Berry Blue
* Blueberry
* Bubble Gum
* Buttered Popcorn
* Café Latte
* Cantaloupe
* Cappuccino
* Caramel Apple
* Caramel Corn
* Chocolate Pudding
* Cinnamon
* Coconut
* Cotton Candy
* Crushed Pineapple
* Dr. Pepper
* French Vanilla
* Grape Jelly
* Green Apple
* Island Punch
* Jalapeño
* Juicy Pear
* Kiwi
* Lemon
* Lemon Drop
* Lemon Lime
* Licorice
* Mango
* Margarita
* Orange Juice
* Orange Sherbet
* Peach
* Peanut Butter
* Piña Colada
* Pink Grapefruit
* Plum
* Raspberry
* Red Apple
* Sizzling Cinnamon
* Strawberry Cheesecake
* Strawberry Daiquiri
* Strawberry Jam
* Tangerine
* Toasted Marshmallow
* Top Banana
* Tutti-Fruitti
* Very Cherry
* Watermelon
* Wild Blackberry

And this from the world of Harry Potter...

For all you Harry Potter fans, the Jelly Belly Company also makes "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans", which are based on the jelly beans featured in the Harry Potter series of books and movies. They are usually sold by the lady on the Hogwart's Express. They are really gross flavors:

Booger
Black pepper
Dirt
Earthworm
Ear wax
Grass
Vomit
Soap
Sardine
Bacon
Rotten egg
Dill Pickle
Sausage

-Rick Rockhill