http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/weeki ... manny.html
The history of junk food is a largely American tale: It has been around for hundreds of years, in many parts of the world, but no one has done a better job inventing so many varieties of it, branding it, mass-producing it, making people rich off it and, of course, eating it.
Pretty neat article about the history and stories behind the more well know junk foods in the world.