In 1871 a German immigrant named F. W. Rueckheim came to Chicago with $200 in his pocket. He used all of his money to open a small popcorn shop in the city and started selling a sweet caramel-and molasses-coated popcorn confection. Rueckheims big break came in 1893, when the treat was served at Chicagos first worlds fair. From then on the popcorns popularity grew enormously. In 1896 a salesman tasting the treat for the first time said, "that's a cracker jack," and the name stuck. Shortly after Cracker Jacks debut another customer commented, "The more you eat, the more you want," and that's still the slogan today.

In 1912 the Cracker Jack Company started adding toy surprised, ranging from small books to miniature metal toy trains. To date they have given away more than 17 billion toy surprised. In 1964 Borden, Inc. bought the Cracker Jack Company, and today the Cracker Jack division is the largest user of popcorn in the world, popping more than twenty tons of corn a day.