On the bullet train to Kyoto, my guide, Sumiyo, purchased a box of chocolates from the snacks trolley rolling down the aisle. It was labeled "Gentlemen's Pocky."

"Why gentlemen's," I asked.

Sumiyo explained that Japanese men had considered it effeminate to be seen eating sweets, so the Pocky people had created a special variety of their chocolate-dipped pretzel stick just for the stronger sex. Instead of milk chocolate (apparently the word "milk" evokes images of females), they chose bitter chocolate. It was a lovely combination, I thought as I bit into one of the crisp delicacies. Not necessarily manly, but quite delightful.

Pocky's gentlemen's variety was a success, and now it is safe for Japanese men everywhere to eat chocolate-covered pretzels in public.

Last night I brought several boxes into the New Hampshire Union Leader newsroom. The male population was extremely appreciative and nibbled away at the treats as Dice-K and his countryman Hideki Okajima pitched the Red Sox to their second World Series. Cries of "Dice-K" alternated with "Pocky" as we chewed our fingernails and the pretzel sticks.

The candy helped inspire the idea for today's Page One headline about the Sox victory, "How sweet it is."