Jimmies-- those little chocolate sprinkles you put on ice cream-- how did they get that name?

Mattster:

Jimmies-- those little chocolate sprinkles you put on ice cream-- how did they get that name?

-- Jimmy, San Diego

It's 1930, the Bronx, New York. James Bartholomew is lucky enough to have a job at Samuel Born's candy company, Just Born, Inc. Bartholomew operates a machine that cranks out Born's newest product, tiny hot-dog shaped sprinkly things. But what to call them? Sam Born ponders that question for maybe a millisecond. They he decides that because Jimmy Bartholomew makes them, he'll call them Jimmies. That's still a trademarked name, but Just Born no longer makes the product. I guess if Bartholomew had shown up late for his job interview, maybe we would now be eating chocolate Wallies or Herbies or Eddies.