Life Savers candies are named for resembling what ring-shaped safety device?

Life Savers candies are named for resembling a traditional ring-shaped life preserver. Their central hole and rounded form gave the candy its distinctive name when the brand was created in 1912.

Candy maker Clarence Crane invented Life Savers in Garrettsville, Ohio. He was looking for a summer candy that would resist melting better than chocolate. The ring shape was produced using machinery similar to equipment used to make pills, and the first flavor was peppermint, sold as Pep-O-Mint.

In 1913, Crane sold the candy rights to Edward Noble for $2,900. Noble helped turn Life Savers into a national brand by packaging the candies in foil rolls that kept them fresh and displaying them near cash registers. The familiar five-flavor roll arrived in 1935.

The name refers to a life preserver, sometimes also called a life saver or lifebuoy—not an anchor chain, steering wheel, or diving ring. The candy’s shape was practical as well as memorable: the hole helped distinguish it from ordinary solid mints and became the defining feature of the brand.