Invented by James Dewar

Twinkies are invented in Schiller Park, Illinois by James Alexander Dewar, a baker for the Continental Baking Company. Dewar started his career driving a horse-drawn pound cake wagon.

Realizing that several machines used to make cream-filled strawberry shortcake sat idle when strawberries were out of season, Dewar conceived a snack cake filled with banana cream, which he dubbed the Twinkie. Dewar said he came up with the name when he saw a billboard in St. Louis for “Twinkle Toe Shoes”. During World War II, bananas were rationed and the company was forced to switch to vanilla cream. This change proved popular, and banana-cream Twinkies were not widely re-introduced. The original flavor was occasionally found in limited-time promotions, but the company used vanilla cream for most Twinkies.