The traditional soft pretzel is a fan favorite at ballgames, amusement parks, fairs, food courts, and more. Here is a collection of facts about the history and little-known trivia about one of our favorite snacks.

• In 610 A.D., Italian monks made the first pretzels from leftover bread-dough scraps. The twisted knot of the traditional pretzel shape is meant to symbolize arms folded in prayer. The basic flour and water pretzel has become an American staple, brought to our shores by European immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries.

• Pretzels, soft and hard, are the third most popular salty snack food in the U.S. by share of total sales. Although potato and tortilla chips outsell pretzels, the annual U.S. pretzel consumption is still more than 2 lbs. per person. In the Mid-Atlantic states, it's double that — annual consumption is 4 lbs. per person, earning the region the title "Pretzel Belt of America." 

• The pretzel recently crossed a billion dollars a year in sales. At an affordable retail price of $2-$3, sellers can still achieve a 50%-60% profit margin.

• The phrase "tying the knot" came from the Swiss, who still incorporate the pretzel in wedding ceremonies. Newlyweds traditionally make a wish and break a pretzel-like people in other cultures break a wishbone or a glass.

• Until the 1930s, pretzels were handmade, and the average worker could twist 40 a minute. In 1935, the Reading Pretzel Machine Company introduced the first automated pretzel machine, which could turn out 245 pretzels per minute, or five tons daily.

• It's estimated that there are at least 45 pretzel companies in Pennsylvania. They produce about 80% of the pretzels sold in the U.S. 

• While Americans, on average, eat around 2 pounds of pretzels annually, Philadelphians eat about 12 pounds each year.   

• The largest pretzel weighed 842 pounds and was 26.8 feet long and 10.2 feet wide. 

• Anne Beiler – more famously known as Auntie Anne – started her fresh pretzel business in 1988 in a Pennsylvania Dutch country farmers market. Today, Auntie Anne has over 1,600 outlets around the world, with regional offerings like a banana pretzel (England), a seaweed pretzel (Singapore), and a date-flavored pretzel (Saudi Arabia). 

• Pretzels have long been thought of as the perfect accompaniment to beer. With the rise of the craft beer movement, artisan pretzel shops are opening up to allow customers to pair creative brews with funky pretzels.

• In 2002, President George W. Bush briefly lost consciousness after he choked on a pretzel while watching a football game on television in the White House. After fainting, the president tumbled to the floor from a couch, bruising his lower lip and suffering an abrasion the size of a half dollar on his left cheek.

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