How to Load a PEZ Dispenser Correctly, According to PEZ

This week saw a viral TikTok by user sonn1c in which a PEZ dispenser is loaded in one simple step. The entire, still-wrapped sleeve of PEZ is slotted into the hole in the bottom of the dispenser and pushed straight up; the PEZ dispenser is then shown stacked with candies, and the empty wrapper falls out of the bottom. The video ignited a wave of comments from PEZ lovers who felt like they wasted precious childhood hours meticulously placing the candies into the dispenser one by one.

But between those comments are others claiming the video was edited and the hack doesn’t work at all. Some YouTube users, like Quill and TheSouthCarolinians, even posted videos to disprove it. Unfortunately, these people are clearly correct. For the viral method to work, the bottom of the plastic column that holds the PEZ would have to be some sort of spring-operated flap that you could push through. It isn’t.

The PEZ company itself also confirmed that the too-good-to-be-true hack is, in fact, too good to be true. Before you trash your PEZ dispenser in dismay, you should know that there is an easier way to load the candy than the one-by-one technique. According to a TikTok posted by PEZ, the “proper way” is to open the wrapper but leave the candies inside—then, you carefully tip the entire stack into your dispenser.

If that’s still too labor-intensive to be worth it, you can always skip the dispenser altogether and just snack right from the wrapper—like people had to do when PEZ first hit the market in the late 1920s. At that point, the candy was not only dispenser-less, but also meant for adults trying to quit smoking. You can read more about its evolution here.