The word “sinister” refers to something troubling or wicked, but in Latin the word sinister also means “on the left side.” Conversely, the Latin word dextera means “on the right side” and this root is where we get words like dexterous and dexterity. Probably because being left handed is less common than being right handed, there has historically been a consensus that favoring your left is bad. Right is right, left is wrong. Of course, in reality there’s not a real difference between being right handed and left handed, and today we know that. But can the same be said about candy?
Twix, the iconic chocolate from Mars Inc., is a perennial favorite and, dare I say, a slightly more sophisticated choice than your average bar. The cookie crunch makes Twix slightly less sweet and more filling than the sugariest, teeth-hurting treats on the market. The chocolate was introduced in 1967 in the town of Slough, England, and famously comes with two pieces, which can make you feel like you’re getting a little extra bang for your buck. However, ever since its inception there’s always been a cloud of mystery to this product. To wit, are left and right Twix different from each other? The truth is out there—let’s find it.
So, what is the difference between right and left Twix? Or, to put it another way, what is the difference between left and right Twix? According to Twix themselves, the right side is “smooth caramel flowed onto crispy cookie and bathed in chocolate” while the left Twix is “crunchy cookies cascaded with soft caramel and cloaked in milk chocolate.” So, there you go. Pretty different. Actually, if you look closely at these descriptions you may notice that they’re basically saying the same thing. The right is like the left, which is like the right, which is like the left. Got it?
To put it simply: Are left and right Twix different? The simple answer is no. One reason for a perceived difference is the clever ad campaign Twix uses asking if you’re a right Twix or a left Twix. People love grouping themselves into different categories, so why not give people the choice between two identical things? However, this campaign didn’t come out of nowhere. If you want to delve into the world of candy conspiracy theories further, there are some Reddit threads that contend, “The left Twix starts as a cookie, then it’s covered in caramel and dipped in chocolate. The right Twix starts as chocolate and someone carefully pushes the cookie inside, using caramel to prevent the cookie from crumbling.” Make of this what you will.
Whether left and right Twix are different (they’re not) or completely identical (they are), we may never know for sure. But wherever you land on this question, it’s clear that both sides are equally delicious (because they’re the same).
