A/N: Hey guys! Hope you people are in your best! I am really, really sorry for late update! This chapter’s on ‘CHOCOLATE!’ Hope you guys enjoy!
*The word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec word, “cacahuatl” or “xocolatl”, which means “bitter water”. Chocolate is extracted from Cocoa Beans. It was Cacao originally but changed to Cocoa as a result of constant misspelling. The scientific name for Cocoa tree is “Theobroma Cacao”, which is a Greek term meaning, “foods for the gods”. Cocoa trees require warm and moist climates to grow and are largely found in West Africa, Ghana and The ivory Coast, Nigeria and Brazil. They are evergreen and never stop blooming.
1. As Hard Cash. Once, money grew on trees in the form of cocoa beans. The Mayans (who are thought to have first discovered chocolate) used cocoa beans as a form of currency. The Aztecs did the same, even levying in precious cacao…and of course producing the famous and no doubt expensive drink Xocolatl.
2. When scientists were testing devices called magnetrons after World War 2, in one lab, a scientist named Percy Spencer got near a magnetron. It just so happened that he discovered the bar of chocolate in his pocket had melted from standing so close to the device. Spencer started suspecting the magnetrons were responsible, which, quite frankly, would have been fourth on our list of suspects in the situation, below our body temperature, cloth temperature and fart temperature.
3. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, chocolate can help in prolonging life after one has suffered from acute myocardial infarction, which our translators say is Medical-Gibberish for “heart attack.”The link above mentions that in a study, heart attack survivors who eat chocolate two or more times every week end up reducing the risk of death from heart disease by about three fold when compared to survivors who have never touched the stuff. And according to the link, those who ate more chocolate saw more benefits, suggesting that Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory may have turned immortal at some point.
Basically, the way this works is through the chocolate releasing antioxidants, which are compounds that protect against molecules thought to play a role in heart diseases, cancer and aging. Think of antioxidants as tiny X-Men protecting you, the pathetic human.
4. The first recorded “Death by Chocolate” case occurred in the 17th Century in Chiapas, Mexico. Upper class Spaniards were so addicted to chocolate that they refused to adhere to a church dictated chocolate ban that forbade them from eating or drinking any food during the church services. As a result, the people of the town refused not only listen to the ban but chose to attend worship services in convents instead. The Bishop who passed the law was later found dead due to poison being mixed into his daily cup of chocolate.
5. The biggest bar of chocolate ever made was created in 2000 and weighed 5,000 pounds. Turin is the city in Italy that can be proud of this accomplishment.
6. Americans eat an average of 22 pounds of candy each year, or approximately 2.8 billion pounds annually which is split almost equally between chocolate and candy. Most Europeans consume far less than this.
7. Besides the obvious cheese and ice cream industries, American chocolate manufacturers use about 1.5 billion pounds of milk and consume approximately 3.5 million pounds of whole milk yearly.
8. More than twice as many women than men eat and crave chocolate.
9. Allergies to chocolate are uncommon! (Isn’t that good to know!)
10. Almost half the world's chocolate is consumed in America.
11. It is observed that chocolate cravings cannot be satisfied by any sweet/candy other than chocolate itself (no surprises there).
12. 17,000 people in Belgium work in the chocolate industry
13. Napoleon always carried chocolate with him, which he ate as a pick-me-up whenever he needed an energy boost.
14. Chocolate- The Food That Melts In Your Mouth
15. Have you ever wondered why chocolate, other than M&M candies, that is, always melts in your mouth? It's because the lowest melting point of cocoa butter is 93 degrees Fahrenheit. That's why it melts in your mouth, which has a temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
16. Chocolate contains a chemical known as phenyl ethylamine. The phenyl ethylamine, in addition to the sugar, fat and caffeine that's found in chocolate has been shown to release serotonin and endorphins- two known chemicals that make us feel happy!
17. Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than green tea and just as many as blueberries.
18. White chocolate really isn't chocolate. It's made from cocoa butter, the substance you get by pressing cocoa beans. Cocoa butter is absent of the cocoa solids used to make chocolate.
19. People spent more than $7 billion last year on chocolate alone!
20. Think those calories are bad? Think of it like this: one single chocolate chip gives you enough energy to walk 150 feet.
21. Milk chocolate is the world’s favorite chocolate; dark chocolate is popular amongst men.
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