Snacks, Salty

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Americans were likely to choose fruit, unsalted nuts, or bread and cheese if they wanted a snack between meals. At the time, few commercial snacks were available. During the 1950s, salty snacks were promoted on television, and sales skyrocketed. By the end of the century, Americans annually consumed almost $22 billion in salted nuts, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, corn chips, cheese snacks, and other salty snacks.