Cocoa Rush

20 chocolate facts that you might not know! (copied this from www.mtvasia.com)


1. The Swiss consume chocolate at roughly 22 lbs (almost 10kg) per person each year, and lead the world inchocolate consumption per capita.

2. Mozart made a reference to chocolate in his Italian opera, Cosi fan tutte, loosely translated as "Women areall like that". In one scene, the delicious wonders of chocolate are extolled.

3. Research indicates that dark chocolate, like red wine, contains substantial amounts of flavonoid phenolics,which may lower the risk of heart disease.

4. The number one selling chocolate candy bar in theUnited States is Snickers.

5. The word "chocolate" is derived from the language of the Mayan& Aztec Indians; the beans we use today for chocolate productsused to be called "chocolatl."

6. The first "chocolate box" was introduced by Richard Cadburyin 1868, when he decorated a candy box with a painting of his young daughter holding a kitten in her arms.

7. One plain milk chocolate candy bar has more protein than a banana.

8. Chocolate's scientific name, Theobroma, means "food of the gods."

9. In the 16th century, monks and nuns particularly enjoyed drinking chocolate as a treat while they were fasting from meals.

10. In Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA, the streetlights along "Chocolate Avenue" are in the shape of Hershey Kisses.

11. White chocolate isn't really chocolate because it contains nochocolate liqueur.

12. An Internet search for "chocolate" can turn up more than1 million results!

13. Today, chocolate is an ingredient found in everything from shampoos to cellulite creams to spa products.

14. A single chocolate chip provides sufficient food energy for an adult to walk 150 feet.In other words, it would take about 35 chocolate chips to go a mile, or 875,000 for an around-the-world hike!

15. French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was said to have carried chocolate with him on his military campaigns, as a source of quick energy.

16. Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45-second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho. The unforgettable scene took seven days to shoot!

17. Eating chocolate began in 1674 when the first chocolate cake was baked.

18. Doctors have reported that people who eat chocolate three times a month couldadd a year to their lives, because chocolate is filled with cell-protecting antioxidants.

19. Chocolate's first role in a major motion picture was in 1933's Dinner At Eight starring screen goddess Jean Harlow.

20. Dental studies report that contrary to widespread belief, eating chocolate does not cause cavities.