Since their introduction in 1912, Nabisco estimates that more than 362 billion Oreo cookies have been consumed. AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.

Since their introduction on March 6, 1912, Nabisco's Oreo cookies have become the most popular commercial cookie product in the United States. More than 362 billion of them have been consumed over the years. According to their manufacturer, that number is equivalent to a pile that would stretch between the Earth and the moon five times over. Known officially as Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, a single Oreo consists of two intricately patterned chocolate-colored wafers, with a cream filling in between.

Nabisco does not offer a definitive conclusion about the origins of the name "Oreo," but cites several theories: it might have been suggested by or, the French word for gold, the most prominent color on the original packaging; it might have come from a Greek word for...