Valentine's Day is a long three months away, but what would you rather have: the American classic Hershey's Kiss or the Swedish treat, a Lindt chocolate truffle?

For my money, I'd rather have a chocolate truffle. But if price is an issue, then a Hershey's Kiss chocolate will still satisfy my sweet tooth.

But in an experiment on consumer psychology, a group called Research and Markets in Dublin, Ireland, found that more people wanted a free Kiss over a discounted truffle, but chose the truffle over the Kiss when the Hershey chocolate cost a penny and the Lindt truffle cost 14 cents. In other words, they took free stuff over a more costly item, but when both items cost some amount of money, even 1 cent vs. 14 cents, they picked the more expensive item.

Late last week, Hershey hiked its prices, saying that it had to do so because of significant increases in the cost of cocoa, corn sweeteners, sugar, and peanuts. The wholesale prices are an average of 10% higher, and it's almost inevitable that consumers will pay the toll soon when they buy candy at the grocery store.

The prices on the ingredients responsible for the hike have gone up between 20% and 45% since the beginning of 2008, says a company representative. That is huge. Imagine running a business and having your cost to produce your good or service increase that dramatically, almost overnight!

One of the sacred memories of an American childhood is going upscale. M&Ms, those much-loved candy-coated bits of chocolate that could salve any ouchie, are now going premium, which means fancier coatings, fancier flavors, fancier packaging...all at a much fancier price. Why? Blame it on the fancy chocolate market.

My wife is a premium chocolate junkie, which means that, in the eight or so years that we've been together, I've learned more than I ever thought possible about chocolate. I have absorbed information about chocolate liqueur, cacao percentage, cocoa mass, cocoa solids, country of origin, and all the other variables that separate the Dagoba from the Valhrona, the Scharffen-Berger from the Hershey's and the top-of-the-line from the bottom of the barrel.

Personally, though, my tastes have always tended toward the more proletarian. While I appreciate the occasional bar of 72% cocoa solids, dark Belgian chocolate, I still get a big kick out of a couple of Reese's cups, a packet of Kit-Kats, or a handful of kisses. Most of all, like millions of other Americans, I have a big, warm, candy-coated spot in my heart for M&Ms.

Over the years, M&Ms have gone through quite a few transformations. Originally given to soldiers in World War II, the peanut and chocolate candies with a hard shell were later joined by solid chocolate, almond (1988), peanut butter (1990), dark chocolate (2005), and crisped-rice (1998-2005) candies. They have been mixed with a variety of flavorings, super-sized, and even shrunk to miniatures.

I am frugal or as my wife calls me, cheap. Because I can't bear to spend more money on something I can fix or save it really irks me when we have to pitch something because of a stain. While some of us view stain removal as a chore which accompanied by a trusty spray bottle form the supermarket, others tackle stain removal with the same passion as a chemist.

It seems pretty simple to remove a stain, we all have secrets passed down from our mothers but did you know that you get baby formula stains out with meat tenderizer? Common baking soda can even be used to get marker off of wood furniture in the event that your kid decides to draw a caricature of you on your coffee table. If you have a specific offender you are trying to remove you can easily check out the "New Zealand Stain Guide".

If I could have saved all of the clothes that got stained with chocolate when I left a piece of chocolate in my pants pocket I would have been a very happy blogger. I ended up having to pitch a bunch of dress shirts and khakis as well as many of my wife's good clothes. We ended up spending a significant amount of time and money at the local shopping center replacing the clothes after none of our attempts salvaged the clothing.

Do you have any stain removal tips? How long do you fight with a stain before breaking down and replacing the item?

This post is part of our series ranking the top 25 bygone products and trends we'd like to see return.

Some candies strike the public fancy by flavor (Snickers) or price. Other gain fame for a clever name (Bit O' Honey) or iconic marketing (the Reggie Bar). The Marathon Bar came oh so close to the latter, thanks to its pitchman, Mini-Duke.

The chocolate and caramel confection was introduced by Mars in 1973. A ruler was printed on its red wrapper to emphasize the generous proportions of the treat (which weren't greater than other candy bars, just further extruded).

What most people remember best about the treat, though, which was discontinued in 1981, were the commercials featuring John Wayne's son Patrick. Dressed as a cowboy, Mini-Duke portrayed Marathon John, whose arch-rival, Quick Carl, 'did everything fast'. Marathon John challenged him to eat a Marathon bar fast. Carl had to, of course, admit defeat.

These and many other discontinued candies are now imported or reproduced by boutique providers. But no-one can fill Mini-Duke's shoes, pilgrim.

What candies were an essential part of your childhood?