Ever hear anyone exclaim, “Oh, fudge!” when they’ve screwed something up? Like the Slinky, the Post-It note, potato chips, and penicillin, the dense candy-like treat known as fudge is believed to have been a mistake. According to legend, a confectioner flubbed while trying to make caramel, but ended up creating something just as tasty. We celebrate this happy accident on June 16, which is National Fudge Day. Fudge also has historical ties to female scholars in the late 19th and early 20th century, when recipes for it spread like wildfire among students at women’s colleges such as Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith. One student made 30 pounds of the stuff for the Vassar Senior Auction in 1890!