title: Escaping ampersand in URL
body: <p>I am trying to send a GET message that contains strings with ampersands and can't figure how to escape the ampersand in the URL.</p>
  
  <p>Example:</p>
  
  <pre><code>http://www.example.com?candy_name=M&amp;M
  result =&gt; candy_name = M
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I also tried:</p>
  
  <pre><code>http://www.example.com?candy_name=M\&amp;M
  result =&gt; candy_name = M\\
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I am using URLs manually, so I just need the correct characters.</p>
  
  <p>I can't use any libraries. How can it be done?</p>