Cotton candy was created in 1893 when William Morrison and John C. Wharton invented a machine to spin sugar.
The machine heated granulated sugar and forced it through tiny holes by centrifugal force. The resulting strands cooled almost instantly, forming a light, fluffy confection. Morrison was a dentist, while Wharton was a confectioner and inventor.
The pair presented the product at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, where it was sold as “Fairy Floss.” The name cotton candy became dominant in the United States, while fairy floss remains common in Australia and New Zealand.
Cotton candy is sometimes confused with spun sugar used in pastry decoration. Both are made from melted sugar, but cotton candy is designed to be collected as a cloud of fine threads and eaten immediately.