Chocolates! Aren’t they delicious? You will rarely come across a person who is allergic to chocolates but yes, such people exists. This sounds a bit weird but it is true.
Anyway, let’s forget about that for now. Those people are just unfortunate. For the fortunate bunch of folks like you, here are 40 heavenly chocolate facts that you can’t afford to miss.
So, jump in and enjoy!
Interesting Chocolate Facts: 1-5
1. Chocolate helps to relax. How and why? For the ‘how’ part, you don’t even have to eat it. All you have to do is smell. For the ‘why’ part, it happens because smell of a chocolate helps to increase the theta waves in brain, which help to relax.
2. The white chocolate that we eat isn’t really a chocolate. Why so? That’s because a white chocolate has no cocoa liquor or cocoa solids. – Source
3. To make a 450 grams of chocolate (that is 1 pound), you will need 400 cocoa beans. – Source
4. In 1941, M&M’s were created for the first time. The reason for such invention was to allow soldiers to enjoy chocolate without getting melt. – Source
5. 100 pounds of chocolate are eaten every second collectively by all Americans!
Interesting Chocolate Facts: 6-10
6. Ruth Wakefield was the person who invented the chocolate chip cookie. However, she sold the recipe to Nestle. In return, she asked Nestle to provide a steady supply of chocolate to her for her entire lifetime. – Source
7. Milton Hershey – the chocolate magnate was supposed to board Titanic. However, he had to cancel his reservation because some last minute business matters showed up. – Source
8. 12,770 pound or 5,792 kilograms was the weight of the largest chocolate bar ever made in this world. – Source
9. You can actually cut the risk of developing heart diseases by 1/3rd if you happen to eat dark chocolate on a daily basis. – Source
10. You like potato chips and milk chocolate? You can have both at once because Lay’s has come up with potato chips that are dipped in milk chocolate. It goes by the name Lay’s Wavy. – Source
Interesting Chocolate Facts: 11-15
11. Chocolates are not good for dogs. Chocolates contain Theobromine – compound which is known to be poisonous for dogs. Keep chocolates away from your Fido. They can either seriously sicken him or even take his life! – Source
12. Stamps with chocolate flavor. That really sounds out of this world but yes, they exist. Belgium, in 2013, issued a limited edition of such stamps. – Source
13. Believe it or not, chocolate is not the cause of tooth decay. Chocolates actually prevent that from happening because cocoa has something in it that has anti-bacterial properties and prevents tooth decay. It can also help to fight plaque. – Source
14. Chocolates can be deadly for humans too! Thanks to Theobromine (see #11), which stimulates central nervous system. In high concentrations it can lead to dehydration, acute kidney damage, seizures and even heart failure. For this to happen however, you need to eat 22 lbs. of chocolate. That translates into 40 bars of Hershey’s or Dairy Milk. – Source
15. Do you hate insects? Almost everyone does but here is something that might just kill your love for chocolates. On an average, a single chocolate bar will have 8 insect parts! Happy eating! – Source
Interesting Chocolate Facts: 16-20
16. Can’t stand the smell of your own farts? Well, imagine what others feel! Anyway, now you can actually make your fart smell like chocolate. Thanks to a pill! Yes, such a pill exists! It has been invented by a French man!
17. Unlike dogs, cats don’t have any problem with chocolates. Neither will they fall sick and nor will they die of eating chocolates. So, share with your purry-friend! – Source
18. Do you really think German Chocolate Cake came from Germany? Think again! It was made by an American baker whose name was Sam German. – Source
19. World War 2 didn’t just see invention of weapons. It also led to the invention of Nutella. An Italian pastry make gets the credit for his. He wanted to increase his cocoa supply and ended up mixing hazelnut with chocolates. The result was Nutella.
20. Why do chocolates melt in your mouth? That’s because their melting point is about 93 degrees Fahrenheit. This is below the body temperature of humans. In fact, it is the only food item which has such low melting point. – Source
Chocolate Facts: 21-25
21. Vanilla is artificially produced on a large scale in this world. Of the total production, 75% is used for only two purposes – making ice creams and flavoring chocolates. – Source
22. Did you know that codeine is less effective than chocolates when it comes to dealing with cough? – Source
23. The total fat content in a chocolate can be reduced by 20% simply by passing it through an electric field. Scientists have actually done this! – Source
24. What is the most important part of a chocolate? It is cocoa. Now, where does this cocoa come from? It comes from a tree known as Theobroma Cacao. This tree is an evergreen tree that belongs to the family called Malvaceae. This means that cocoa is actually a vegetable and his, most of the chocolate is a vegetable. – Source
25. The Aztecs were terribly in love with cacao beans. That’s the reason why when the Aztecs were at the height of their civilization, they used cacao beans as their currency!
Wondering why we are saying cacao instead of cocoa? That’s because they are the same thing and are used interchangeably.
Chocolate Facts: 26-30
26. Napoleon Bonaparte absolutely loved chocolates. He actually ordered that chocolate and wine should be made available to him as well as senior advisors during military campaigns that were pretty intense! – Source
27. We said that the cocoa or cacao comes from a tree named Theobroma Cacao. The name actually means ‘food of the gods’. – Source
28. The country that eats more chocolates is the country that produces more Nobel Laureates. There is a direct correlation in these two. – Source
29. The Nazis plotted the assassination of Winston Churchill several times. Once they decided to do so by using an exploding chocolate bar. – Source
30. Sometimes chocolate was used for paying soldiers during the Revolutionary War. – Source
Chocolate Facts: 31-35
31. You have heard of Hershey’s Kisses right? That’s quite a famous chocolate from Hershey’s. Do you know where the name Kisses comes from? In the manufacturing process, the company uses a machine that places the chocolates on a conveyer belt. During this process, the machine actually makes a kissing sound. This is where the name comes from. – Source
32. On a daily basis, about 80 million Kisses are produced by Hershey’s. This means that the total production in one year if placed in a single line, it will make a line which is 300,000 miles long! – Source
33. We know of three types of chocolates – the dark chocolate, the white chocolate and milk chocolate. There is another one! It is known as the Blonde Chocolate.
34. You must have eaten the chocolate Milky Way. Do you know where the name comes from? Not the galaxy Milky Way. The chocolate was intended to taste like malted milkshakes and that’s where the name comes from. – Source
35. The first chocolate bar was made in year 1872. It was made by Cadbury.
Chocolate Facts: 36-40
36. According to researchers, dark chocolate helps to increase blood flow into brain. This in turn helps to improve the problem solving skills, attention span and memory of an individual. – Source
37. Italian researchers say that women who eat chocolate regularly have higher levels of sexual arousal and desire and have better sex lives compared to those women who do not eat chocolates.
38. The word chocolate comes from the Aztec word xocolātl. It actually means ‘bitter water’. It was a beverage used by Aztecs and was made specifically for nobles and warriors. – Source
39. There are two types of cocoa beans – the crillo beans and the forastero beans. The latter is used for all modern-day chocolate production. However, crillo beans actually make chocolates taste better. Only reason why forastero beans are used is that they are easier to grow. – Source
40. A cacao tree can live for up to 200 years, but it will produce usable cocoa beans for only 25 years! That’s sad.