What would Hostess be without its little yellow, cream-filled cakes? Hostess Twinkies are one of its most popular items, and they were invented right here in Illinois.

The factory these wonderful cakes were invented in was built in the mid-1800s but the Twinkie did not come along until almost 100 years later. Scroll on for more details.

Twinkies were first produced in 1930 in the Continental Baking Company building, which was selling snack cakes under the Hostess brand.
Wikimedia Commons/Bartokie
The Twinkie was invented at this Schiller Park factory by the company's vice president, James Dewar, who was trying to use up inventory and improve efficiency.
Wikimedia Commons/Mitchazenia
Many of the snack cakes being made were seasonal, so these cakes could fulfill the company's distribution throughout any time of the year.
Flickr/Christian Cable

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It is believed that the name "Twinkie" was born from a billboard advertising shoes that Dewar passed while coming up with his invention. It was an add for Twinkle-Toe Shoes.
Flickr/Mike Mozart
The original Hostess Twinkies were made with banana cream filling though vanilla became the tried-and-true favorite. There have since been many different flavors of Twinkie including chocolate, strawberry, and peanut butter.
Wikipedia/Larry D. Moore
Contrary to popular belief, the shelf life of a Twinkie is only about 25 days. This fun fact was uncovered fast by those who stocked up in 2012 when Hostess went out of business for a year.
Pexels/Hugo San
Everyone has their favorite treat from this famous bakery, and the world just wouldn't be the same without any of them.
Wikimedia Commons/Willis Lam

Do you know anything about the story of Hostess Twinkies? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Share your pieces of history with us below in the comments.

For more like this, check out 12 more things that were invented in Illinois.

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