I don't like Oreos - but you probably do.  My dislike for them comes from my dislike for store-bought, commercially-manufactured baked goods (or, food in general for that matter).  Someone must like them as their market share makes them one of America's favorite cookies.  But have you ever wondered how they came to be?

The story is all about money and competition.

The pedigree of the Oreo can be traced back to 1890, when eight New York bakeries merged to create the New York Biscuit Company, and then subsequently merged again with a Chicago firm to make the National Biscuit Company (later called Nabisco). The Oreo was part of their 1912 "highest class biscuit" package (which included also-rans the Mother Goose Biscuit and the Veronese Biscuit) -- of which it is the only survivor -- and was sold in golden tins with glass lids, which kinda puts the resealable sleeve in perspective.

Of course, the Hydrox cookie was invented in 1908, and bore striking resemblance to the Oreo. It was also a chocolate wafer cookie with a cream filling, created by an offshoot of the original New York Biscuit Company (Sunshine Biscuits, which today produces Cheez-Its), and also had an embossed design on top. However, Oreos took off in popularity and most consumers thought that Hydrox was actually the knockoff product.

Both Oreo and Hydrox cookies are still available in the United States, but good luck finding that original Hydrox brand;  The market share of Oreo has all-but eliminated their shelf space.

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