Circus Peanuts are a peanut-shape marshmallow candy invented in the 1800s. Although the most popular variety of mass-produced Circus Peanuts today is orange-colored with an artificial banana flavor, confectioners originally distributed an orange-flavored variety that was only available seasonally due to a lack of packaging capable of preserving the candy; in the spring, five-and-dimes sold Circus Peanuts as penny candy. In the 1940s Circus Peanuts became one of the many foods to become available year-round owing to the industrial proliferation of polyethylene packaging.