On March 6th, 1912, Nabisco produced the first ever Oreo biscuit at its factory in Chelsea. The cookie has since changed childhood, sandwiches, and sweets forever. We salute you Oreo, on your 100th birthday. Thank you for everything you've done.
The oft-imitated Oreo formula by now seems part and parcel with our knowledge of the world: Two decorated, chocolate-flavored biscuits on the outside, delicious cream filling on the inside. How could the geniuses at Nabisco have known the impact of their creation down the line? It was nothing short of a cognitive revolution.
I refuse to believe that childhood even existed before Oreos. People were young, sure, and they loitered with partially-developed brains pestering older people with fully-formed brains for sweets. But they weren't children. Not in the way we understand childhood. Before Oreos there were cookies, and there was fun. Two distinct silos of enjoyment. Oreos married them, advancing the process of eating cookies beyond the humdrum activity of chewing, tasting, and swallowing.
The Oreo turned the cookie into something you not only tasted but did. The possibilities are endless: You can twist the cookie apart, lick the insides and put it back together. You can take a bite of the cookie and then rip it apart. And if you have eye on a certain special someone across the playground, you can twist apart your cookie, and combine it with half of their cookie and seal your love forever in a delicious sandwich of chocolate wafers and cream filling.