Back-in-the day, they were the junk of the bird. Skin, bones, gristle ... but no meat. In grocery store meat cases, 1960s, seem to recall they'd be on sale for 19cents per lb. Today it seems they're right behind pizza in the comfort food category.
That's called marketing. Put a fancy name on them and increase the price. People will buy them. There's a sucker born every minute.
Remember when "potato skins" was popular bar food. Not long before, you threw the skins out and ate the potato.
When I was a kid, we would buy wings and necks to use as crab bait. Now entire restaurant chains are built around wings. As Shirley said, it's all about marketing.
The same as chicken fingers. Who knew that pealing the tenderloin portion out of the breast would turn into a multi-billion dollar proposition.