On October 30, 1858, William Hardaker set up his sweets stall at Green Market in Bradford, England. That afternoon, factory workers lined up to spend their payday wages on his zebra-striped humbugs, a type of hard candy often flavored with peppermint. Hardaker enticed customers with knock-down prices: a discount, to make up for the slight discoloration in the day’s batch. By the time the market shut, Hardaker had sold five pounds of sweets. And by the next morning, two local children, aged eight and 11, were dead. This was a…
