M&M's originated in the United States in 1941, and are now sold in as many as 100 countries. They are produced in different colors, some of which have changed over the years. Forrest Mars, Sr., son of the founder of the Mars Company Frank C. Mars, invented the idea for the candy in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell of tempered chocolate surrounding the inside, preventing the candies from melting. Mars received a patent for his own process on March 3, 1941.[3] Production began in 1941 in a factory located at 285 Badger Avenue in Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey. When the company was originally founded it was M&M Limited. The two "M's" represent the names of Forrest E. Mars Sr., the founder of Newark Company and Bruce Murrie (son of Hershey's Chocolate president William F. R. Murrie)who had a 20 percent share in the product. The arrangement allowed the candies to be made with Hershey chocolate which had control of the rationed chocolate at the time.