On this day in history, February 19, 1912, Cracker Jack’s “Price in Every Box” debuts.

Cracker Jack launched its “Price in Every Box” promotion on this day in history, February 19, 1912.

German immigrant FW Rückheim first invented the now-ubiquitous baseball treat in the late 19th century.

It was originally started in his small candy and popcorn shop FW Rueckheim & Bro. sold, according to the website SnackHistory.com.

The caramel-covered popcorn made its official debut at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the website says.

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Three years later, Rueckheim began marketing the snack as “cracker jack,” as the Encyclopedia of Chicago pointed out.

It would be nearly a decade before another innovation would further increase the product’s popularity.

A German immigrant named FW Rueckheim invented Cracker Jack in the late 1800s and sold it at his popcorn and candy store. (AP Newsroom)

By 1912, FW Rückheim & Bro. employed about 700 people at its Chicago factory, notes the Encyclopedia of Chicago.

It was February 19th of that year when someone came up with the idea of ​​putting a small “prize” in each box as a promotion – and sales boomed.

Previously, prizes or coupons were only included in random boxes, said the Cracker Jack recognition website, known as The Art is Cracker Jack.

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The “price in every box” strategy worked.

Cracker Jack has given away about 17 billion toys in over a century, according to website The Art is Cracker Jack.

“Cracker Jack wasn’t the first company to use free rewards to promote their product. As its longevity has proven, it just made it better,” the website said.

Cracker Jack began putting toys and coupons in random boxes before deciding to put a “prize in every box” on this day in history, February 19, 1912. (AP Newsroom)

Ten years after the debut of the Prize in Every Box promotion, the company name was officially changed to The Cracker Jack Co.

The first prizes in Cracker Jack boxes were mostly made of paper, metal or wood – and mixed with the food product, according to website The Art is Cracker Jack.

Cracker Jack “wisely started giving out certain prizes in a set or series.”

“It wasn’t until decades later in 1948 that Cracker Jack began handing out prizes in wax paper,” the website said.

In an appeal to collectors – and to boost sales – Cracker Jack “wisely began giving out specific prizes in a set or series,” according to The Art is Cracker Jack.

First, toys and prizes were unwrapped in Cracker Jack boxes and mixed in with the grocery product. (AP Newsroom)

“Cracker Jack’s slogan might have been ‘The more you eat, the more you want,’ but for Cracker Jack price hoarders, the slogan might as well have been ‘The more you collect, the more you want to collect,'” the website said .

In 1946, Cracker Jack began handing out plastic prizes in its boxes, thanks in part to “innovations in plastic injection molding,” said The Art is Cracker Jack.

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These innovations “enabled the mass production of inexpensive items and ushered in a new era for the Cracker Jack prize”.

The Cracker Jack Co. was sold to Borden Inc. in 1964.

The “Arcade” features classic games, including a version of Connect Four.

Then Frito-Lay Inc. bought Cracker Jack in 1997.

Nineteen years later, the “prize” inside a Cracker Jack box or bag was replaced by an app that “ended an era,” says The Art is Cracker Jack.

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Today, Cracker Jack buyers will find a sticker on the Cracker Jack website that grants them access to the online game, Prize Inside Arcade.

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The “Arcade” features classic games, including a version of Connect Four.