Nerd's the word

When it comes to Halloween candy, Coloradoans really like to Nerd out. According to a recent survey on Halloween candy preferences, the brightly colored sugary nuggets ranked first among state residents on ways to satisfy their sweet tooths (and horrify their dentists.)

Always the renegade state, Colorado bucked the national trend, which put Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups at the top of the pile (incidentally, Nerds ranked near the bottom of the national pillow case, along with Airheads, SweeTarts, and Gummy Worms.) But Reese’s isn’t the most popular in big cities – that honor goes to M&Ms, which are the ghoulish favorites in New York, San Antonio, San Diego, Fort Worth and Columbus.

The study, which was done by Bid on Equipment (a used machinery bidding site – go figure) was based on Google search volume in each state as well as the country’s 20 largest cities from September 2018 - October 2019. A phone survey was also taken this fall of 2,004 people living in residential neighborhoods.

Other tasty findings include:

• People with children spend an average $35 on Halloween candy

• 48 percent of Americans support moving Halloween to the last Saturday in October

• The ideal hours for trick-or-treating are between 6-9 p.m.

• Children age out of trick-or-treating at age 15

• Three out of four respondents say they choose to stay home to hand out candy.

And if you don’t like Nerds? Take a drive south of the border, where Reese’s still reign supreme or west where Peanut Butter M&Ms fill the bucket.