Fried Chicken Scented Candle

In news that’ll make Colonel Sanders squeal “Ooh wee!” as he twirls his creepy goatee beard thingy, Kentucky for Kentucky once made a Fried Chicken Scented Candle. And no, this wasn’t actually a KFC product. It was a gloriously weird Kentucky novelty created with candle maker Kathy Werking as part of the company’s Scents of the Commonwealth lineup in 2013.

Yes, It Was Made With Real Fried Chicken

Werking didn’t just dump a bottle of “fried chicken fragrance” into a jar and call it a day. Kentucky for Kentucky said she fried actual chicken in all-natural soy wax, added seasoning and mixed in what the company called an “infusion of family secrets.” Well, damn. Now I’m squealing “Ooh wee!” as I twirl my imaginary goatee beard thingy. Mine’s not nearly as creepy as the Colonel’s, though. Nothing’s as creepy as the Colonel’s. *shudders*

“Let the fresh, fried sizzle of savory golden goodness drift into your hearts and homes with one of our most delectable creations to date.”

Damn yeah, I’ll let that savory golden goodness drift directly into my heart and home or whatever! Plus stomach. You think I’m above eating wax? If you answered yes, then you’d be WRONG. If you answered no, then boy, you know me so well. Or you saw me eating that box of crayons yesterday, didn’t you? Haha! Green’s my favorite.

The First Batch Vanished Almost Immediately

Kentucky for Kentucky initially offered just 25 Fried Chicken candles. That tiny first batch sold out in less than a minute, which is either proof that people will buy absolutely anything or proof that the world had been waiting far too long for a candle made with poultry.

The joke had legs. Kentucky for Kentucky later brought the candle back, and company co-founder Whit Hiler said a 2013 relaunch sold more than 1,300 before the shop shut the sale down. The brand returned to the idea again in later years, including another Fried Chicken run and an even more unhinged Double Down candle layered with fried chicken and bacon.

So yes, the Fried Chicken Scented Candle was real, it really involved fried chicken, and people really did rush to buy it. Somewhere, a normal lavender candle is staring into the middle distance wondering where it all went wrong.