About a month ago, I went back to my hometown to visit the family. The city celebration was going on, so we went to the parade on Saturday morning.

I don’t know why, but I decided I would be as energetic as possible, waving at people walking in the parade and clapping for well-made floats. It seemed like the people in the parade enjoyed it more than usual because there was actual human interaction, and it almost always resulted in candy being thrown my way.

I’d never realized that people would be more likely to throw candy at me if I made them smile, even though it just seems like common sense.

After a little while, I decided to tweak my method. I decided I would give the people throwing candy a bit of a challenge. As they walked by, I would say, “Hey! Can you throw a piece of candy in my bag?” or, “I dare you to try to get a piece of candy in my bag!”

It. Was. Unbelievable.

I think most people are a bit competitive by nature, so it worked out perfectly. If several people had candy and one of them made it into my bag, I would look at the other people and say, “Hey, he/she made it! Can You?” And then the other people would try, too!

At the end of the parade I had a heavy bag full of candy. It was the biggest haul I’ve ever made in my life!

I taught some friends my method, and they tried it out last weekend, and it worked for them, too, so if you love parade candy, try it at the next one you attend!