30 fun facts about chocolate
1/ The first chocolate Easter egg was made by Cadbury in 1875 after the firm developed a pure cocoa butter that could be hollowed out and moulded into smooth shapes. The first egg was made with dark chocolate and was filled with sugar-coated almonds.
2/ Chocolate is the only edible substance to melt at around 32°C (90°F), just below human body temperature. That’s why chocolate melts in your mouth.
3/ In 1947, hundreds of Canadian children went on strike and boycotted chocolate after the price of a bar jumped from five to eight cents.
4/ A thief escaped with $28m worth of gems from an Antwerp bank in 2007 after gaining the guards’ trust by repeatedly offering them chocolate.
5/ Dark chocolate (more than 70% cocoa) is a powerful source of antioxidants. Eaten in moderation, it may improve blood flow, lower blood pressure and improve the function of the brain.
6/ Contrary to popular belief, mice actually prefer chocolate over cheese. Mice love sweet smelling food so they are more tempted by a piece of chocolate than a chunk of cheddar.
7/ During the Second World War, Hitler at one point plotted to assassinate British Prime Minister Winston Churchill with an exploding bar of chocolate.
German bomb makers coated explosive devices within a thin layer of rich dark chocolate and packaged it in expensive looking black and gold paper. The plan was to use secret agents working in Britain to discreetly place the bars among other luxury items taken into the dining room used by the War Cabinet. The plot was foiled by British spies.
8/ Also during World War II, M&Ms were created as a means for soldiers to enjoy chocolate without it melting and Nutella came about when an Italian pastry maker mixed hazelnuts into chocolate to extend his cocoa supply.
9/ In 2013, Belgium issued a limited edition of chocolate flavoured stamps.
10/ April Fool's Day in France is called Poisson d'Avril. The word ‘poisson’ in French translates as fish, so children enjoy a piece of fish-shaped chocolate while playing pranks on one another.
11/ Napoleon always carried chocolate with him. He ate it whenever he needed an energy boost.
12/ Chocolate actually inspired the microwave. American engineer Percy Spencer loved his chocolate. In 1945 while working in a lab testing magnetrons (the high-powered vacuum tubes inside radars), he noticed a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. He realised magnetrons could be used to heat food quickly and invented the microwave oven.
13/ In the original 1960 Psycho film, the blood in the famous shower scene was actually chocolate syrup.
14/ The word chocolate comes from the Aztec word ‘xocoatl’ meaning bitter water and referred to the bitter, spicy drink the Aztecs made from cacao (cocoa) beans in the 15th and early 16th centuries.
15/ In ancient Aztec and Mayan times the cocoa bean (the bean used to make chocolate) was used as currency as it was considered to be worth more than gold dust. During the Aztec reign, some people would go as far as making counterfeit beans with clay and a slave could be bought for 100 cocoa beans.
16/ On 6 December, during the feast of St Nicholas, children in Holland put their clogs outside at night so Santa can fill them with chocolate money.
17/ Chocolate contains tryptophan which makes us very happy. Tryptophan (also found in turkey) affects endorphin levels in the brain and increases serotonin causing euphoria.
18/ American chef Ruth Graves Wakefield invented the chocolate chip cookie by accident during the 1930's while preparing food for guests at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. Ruth mixed chocolate pieces into her cookie dough after running out of baker’s chocolate whilst making cookies. She sold the idea to Nestle in return for a lifetime supply of chocolate.
19/ A 2013 study found that the smell of chocolate in a bookstore made customers 22% more likely to buy books of any genre and a whopping 40% more likely to buy cookbooks or romance novels.
20/ Chocolate milk was invented in Jamaica by Irish botanist Sir Hans Sloane in the early 1700s. Natives gave him straight cocoa to drink, but he could only stomach it when he mixed it with milk.
21/ Darker chocolate can contain as much caffeine as a can of cola.
22/ Chocolate provides a longer lasting brain and body ‘buzz’ than kissing. It also sets your heart pounding at a much more rapid rate than kissing.
23/ One chocolate chip gives an adult enough food energy to walk 150 feet. Around 35 chocolate chips is enough for a mile, or 875,000 chips would take them around the world.
24/ Milky Way bars are not named after the galaxy. The name came from the 1920s malted milkshakes whose flavour they originally intended to mimic.
25/ The 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was financed by Quaker Oats to promote its new Wonka Bar candy. This is why the film is called Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory instead of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory like the book it’s based on.
26/ White chocolate isn’t technically chocolate, as it contains no cocoa solids or cocoa liquor. White ‘chocolate’ contains cocoa butter instead.
27/ Chocolate comes from a fruit tree. The scientific name for the tree, Theobroma cacao, means ‘food of the gods’. Each cacao tree produces approximately 2,500 cocoa beans. It takes 400 beans to make one pound of chocolate
28/ The Guinness World Record for the largest chocolate bar was set by Thornton’s on 7 September 2011. The company created the 5792.50 kg bar to celebrate its 100th birthday. It measured 4m x 4m and was 0.35m thick.
29/ In a survey for her book, Why Women Need Chocolate, nutritionist and author Debra Waterhouse found 50% of women would choose chocolate over sex.
30/ In the 1600s, legend has it that the Bishop of Chiapis in Mexico threatened to excommunicate women if they didn’t stop drinking chocolate during Mass. He died a few weeks later when the women poisoned his chocolate in revenge.