Sugar is usually a dentist's worst nightmare. So, there is a deep irony in the fact that the inventor of cotton candy, William Morrison, was a prominent dentist and the president of the Tennessee State Dental Association. It sounds like a bad joke or a cynical business strategy to keep himself in patients, but the reality is much weirder. Morrison wasn't trying to rot teeth. He was a tinkerer. He was a guy who loved gadgets and civic leadership. In 1897, he teamed up with a candy maker named John C. Wharton to file a patent for something that sounded like science fiction at the time: an electric candy machine.
They called their creation "Fairy Floss." It wasn't "cotton candy" yet—that name didn't stick until the 1920s—but the chemistry was identical to what you buy at a baseball game today.
The Nashville Origins of Sugar Clouds
Before the late 19th century, spun sugar was a luxury for the ultra-wealthy. If you wanted it, you had to have a chef melt sugar and then manually fling it off a fork over a rolling pin. It was labor-intensive. It was messy. It was expensive. Morrison and Wharton changed everything by applying centrifugal force to the process. Their machine used a heating element to melt the sugar and then spun it at high speeds, forcing the liquid through tiny holes in a central bowl. As the sugar hit the air, it solidified into those gossamer-thin threads we know today.
Basically, they turned a gourmet delicacy into a mass-market miracle.
The debut of Fairy Floss at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair is the stuff of legend. You have to imagine the scene: over 19 million people descended on St. Louis. It was the same fair that popularized the ice cream cone and puffed cereal. Morrison and Wharton sold their spun sugar in small wooden boxes for 25 cents each. That sounds cheap, but back then, it was half the price of admission to the fair itself. It was an absolute fortune for a box of air and sugar.
They sold 68,655 boxes.
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That is over $17,000 in 1904 money, which roughly translates to over half a million dollars in today's purchasing power. All in six months. From sugar.
Why a Dentist?
People always ask why a guy dedicated to oral hygiene would create a sugar bomb. Honestly, Morrison was just a classic Victorian polymath. He didn't just invent candy machines; he was a songwriter, he was involved in Nashville politics, and he even worked on methods for purifying the city’s water supply. He was a "progress" guy. To him, the electric candy machine was a marvel of engineering.
The health aspect is actually surprisingly nuanced. Because cotton candy is mostly air, a standard serving actually contains less sugar than a can of soda. A typical cone of the stuff uses about an ounce of sugar. When you spread that out into a giant cloud, it looks massive, but you're consuming less mass than you would eating a large candy bar. Morrison probably didn't see it as a betrayal of his profession. Or, maybe he just really liked the engineering challenge of a spinning centrifugal heater.
The Competition and the Rebrand
Morrison and Wharton didn't have the market to themselves for long. By 1921, another dentist—yes, another one—named Josef Lascaux from New Orleans tried to improve the machine. Lascaux is the one we have to thank (or blame) for the name change. He felt "Fairy Floss" was too dainty and started calling it "cotton candy" because it looked like the cotton stalks growing in the South.
Lascaux's machine actually failed. It was finicky and broke down constantly. But the name he coined was a marketing masterpiece. Eventually, the Morrison-Wharton patent expired, and the floodgates opened. In the 1940s, Gold Medal Products launched a new model with a spring-loaded base that stopped the machine from vibrating itself to death. That’s the version that turned cotton candy into a staple of every carnival on the planet.
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The Physics of the Floss
If you've ever watched a machine work, you've seen the "floss sugar" being poured in. This is usually just granulated sugar mixed with "Flossine," which is the coloring and flavoring agent. The secret is the heat. The sugar has to reach its melting point, but if it gets too hot, it carmelizes and turns into a sticky, brown mess.
The machine relies on a very specific physical transition called "glass transition." When the liquid sugar is flung out of the tiny holes, it cools so rapidly that the molecules don't have time to reorganize into a crystal structure. Instead, they stay in a disordered, "glassy" state. That is why cotton candy is so sensitive to humidity. If a single drop of water hits those threads, the sugar dissolves and immediately tries to recrystallize, collapsing your fluffy cloud into a hard, sticky bead.
The Evolution of the Business
The inventor of cotton candy sparked a global industry that has moved far beyond the paper cone. In 2026, the technology has pivoted toward automated vending machines. You might have seen these in malls—massive robotic arms that spin elaborate, multi-colored flowers out of sugar in about sixty seconds. It’s the same basic physics Morrison used in 1897, just with a lot more microchips.
Modern gourmet brands are also trying to "de-carnivalize" the treat. You see flavors like organic maple, habanero lime, and even champagne. It’s a full-circle moment. What started as an elite confection, was turned into a populist treat by a dentist, and is now being reclaimed by high-end pastry chefs.
What We Get Wrong About the History
Many people assume cotton candy was an ancient invention. It wasn't. While "spun sugar" existed in 15th-century Italy, it bore little resemblance to the ethereal fluff we have now. The 1897 patent was the true birth of the texture.
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Another misconception is that it was always pink. The "Pink Vanilla" flavor is the industry standard because of its high visibility, but the original Fairy Floss was often uncolored or lightly tinted. Pink became the default because it stood out against the dark, muddy grounds of early 20th-century traveling circuses.
How to Experience Cotton Candy Like a Pro
If you want to appreciate what Morrison and Wharton built, you have to eat it immediately. The second that sugar hits the air, it begins to degrade.
- Avoid Humidity: Never buy cotton candy on a rainy day. It will be "heavy" and chewy rather than melting on your tongue.
- Check the Machine: Look for a "ribbon" heating element. These are more consistent than the old-school "tubular" heaters and produce a finer, more delicate thread.
- The Pinch Test: High-quality spun sugar should dissolve instantly. If you have to chew it, the machine was likely running too hot, or the sugar was packed too tightly.
The Actionable Legacy
William Morrison died in 1926. He left behind a legacy of dental excellence and a sugary treat that has become a universal symbol of childhood. If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of historical confections or even start a side hustle (cotton candy has one of the highest profit margins in the food world, often exceeding 90%), here are your next steps:
- Research the Patent: Look up U.S. Patent No. 604,884. It is a fascinating look at how 19th-century inventors thought about thermodynamics and mechanical force.
- Attend a State Fair: Many fairs now feature "historical" demonstrations of early 20th-century candy making.
- Experiment with Flavors: If you own a small machine, try using crushed hard candies (like sugar-free options) to see how different chemical compositions affect the "glass transition" phase.
The story of the inventor of cotton candy isn't just a trivia fact. It's a reminder that innovation often comes from the most unlikely places—like a dentist's office in Nashville. Morrison saw a way to use modern electricity to bring a luxury to the masses. He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, creating a snack that remains virtually unchanged over a century later.