It's Adam Sandler's Birthday Today—Here's the Candy He's Celebrating With

Adam Sandler just turned 58, and he's most certainly ready to celebrate. So what does a celebrity—who can ask for anything he wants—wish for on his birthday? Turns out, it's a pretty "sweet" request. He simply wants a discontinued candy bar from the '80s.

At the premiere of his movie last spring, comedian Adam Sandler was asked about taking on a dramatic role, working with his daughters on screen, and—what we really wanted to know—his favorite snack. 

Given the plot of the featured film (titled "Spaceman"), one reporter asked him what junk food he would bring to space, and his answer was totally unexpected. Not because it was a niche treat, but because it hasn’t been on the market for over 40 years.

Adam Sandler’s Favorite Discontinued Candy 

So, what is Sandler’s space snack of choice? "I guess right now a Marathon Bar. You ever have one of those? They don’t make them anymore. Maybe they make only a few," Sandler told reporters, according to People.

He’s right—the candy bar remembered as a “long chewy piece of heaven” was discontinued back in 1981. So, how does Sandler get his hands on the sought-after sweet?

One reporter asked if he had a "secret factory" making the chocolatey treat for him, to which he replied, "That’s good. No, I don’t. Maybe I do. I’m Sandler for God’s sake, I can get a Marathon bar, all right."

What Is a Marathon Bar? 

The U.S. Marathon Bar (not to be confused with the U.K. Marathon Bar, now known as Snickers) was introduced by Mars, Inc. in 1973 and quickly became a staple candy of the decade.

The Marathon Bar looked like no other candy bar you’ve ever seen, featuring ropes of chewy caramel encased in creamy milk chocolate, woven to make a shape almost like a double helix. Its braided shape, bright red wrapper, and whopping 8-inch length all helped it stand out at the candy counter (the packaging even had ruler marks to emphasize just how big it was).

The retro candy became famous for its tasty chocolate caramel flavor and its long-lasting chew, marketed with the slogan, "Lasts a good long time!" (proving it would probably be a suitable space snack after all). But, after sales didn’t meet expectations in the early '80s, Mars pulled the bars from production.

Considering the candy only stayed on shelves for eight years, the treat made a pretty impressive impact on the market—after all, it still remains Adam Sandler's favorite sweet.

How to Try a Marathon Bar

Unfortunately, because we can’t all be Sandlers, the Marathon bar is still out of reach for most of us. However, there is a copycat candy that stole the Marathon bar’s style, and some say it’s an almost identical dupe.

The Cadbury Curly Wurly chocolate bar is a “swirly ladder of Cadbury milk chocolate” with a chewy caramel center. The bars are only six inches in length but still have the irresistible chew of the original candy.

Now, because Cadbury is an England-based candy company, all the Curly Wurly bars in the U.S. are imported, making them slightly pricier than the average candy bar. But, many trusted sources agree, if you share Sandler’s old-fashioned candy craving, the adapted version won’t disappoint. Besides, birthdays are meant for splurging, after all.