Chocolate Part 6 of 6

Chocolate Part 6 of 6

131. Darker chocolates contain a higher percentage of cacao, whereas ones with lower percentages contain more milk product and sweetener. The average milk chocolate bar can have as little as 10 percent of actual cocoa bean product, which is the minimum requirement for the FDA to consider a food a chocolate product.

132. For one of the most popular episodes of the series, titled "Job Switching," which is when Lucy works in a chocolate factory and things start running amuck on the conveyer belt, Lucille Ball heavily prepared for the episode before filming. She recruited professional chocolate dipper, Amanda Milligan, to play the chocolatier beside her in the episode and taught her how to actually dip chocolate before filming came.

133. According to Smithsonian.com, M&M's are a common treat for astronauts to pack during their space endeavors. This is mainly because they are small, edible, but also fun for the astronauts to use as entertainment in zero gravity, according to the Smithsonian's reports.

134. The average chocolate bar contains insect fragments. The U.S Food and Drug Administration say “Anything more than 60 insect pieces per 100 grams of chocolate is rejected.”

135. A thief took $28 million worth of gems in 2007 after gaining the guards trust at an Antwerp Bank by repeatedly offering them chocolate.

136. 1 in every 200 workers, or around 17,000 people in Belgium work in the production and promotion of chocolate.

137. One chocolate chip gives an adult enough food energy to walk 150 feet. Around 35 chocolate chips are enough for a mile or 875,000 chips would take them around the world.

138. The biggest chocolate sculpture ever made was a 10-foot-high Easter egg weighing 4,484 lbs (2,034 kg) in Melbourne, Australia.

139. In 1991, a chocolate model ship was made in Barcelona measuring approximately 42.5ft long, 28ft tall, and 8ft wide.

140. The largest chocolate ever made was in the Netherlands; the chocolate marzipan took 3 days and weighed 4,078 lbs (1,850 kg).

141. The largest cuckoo clock made of chocolate can be found in Germany

142. Japanese women give chocolate hearts to their loved ones on February 14th. The men a month later return the gesture on “Howaito” white day.

143. In the original Psycho film, the blood in the famous shower scene was actually chocolate syrup.

144. Blue packaged chocolate doesn’t sell in Shanghai or Hong Kong, as the Chinese relate blue with death.

145. Chocolate and chili is a well-known combination, but Firebox took it a step further producing the “instant regret chili chocolate” infused with 6.4 million Scoville chili extract.

146. Napoleon always had chocolate with him; he ate it as whenever he needed an energy boost.

147. When chocolate is covered in a white speckled layer, it has “bloomed”. This is caused by the fat (cocoa butter) molecules inside the chocolate over time rising to the surface and recrystallizing. Bloomed chocolate is still edible but will be dry and less flavorful.

148. More than 7 billion chocolate chips are eaten annually.

149. American author Robert Cormier wrote a novel called The Chocolate War, due to its nature the book appeared in the American Library Associations “Top 100 banned/challenged books in 2000-2009”.

150. Global production of cocoa is currently forecast to decrease for the third year in a row, 2015/16 production is expected at 4.1 million tons vs. 2014/15 production of 4.2 million tons. 2013/14 production was 4.3 million tons.

151. Chocolate producers worldwide use around 20% of the world’s peanut crops and 40% of all almonds grown.

152. Chocolate actually inspired the Microwave. Percy Spence, a scientist working on WWII radar was loved chocolate. When near a magnetron, he noticed a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. He realized magnetrons could be used to heat food quickly and discovered the microwave oven.

153. Gorging on sugar-free chocolate acts a severe laxative. At one producer’s factory there are buckets of defective chocolates. Each bucket has a sign warning employees of the ramifications of over-consumption.

154. Approximately 70% of the nearly $500 million spent on candy during the week leading up to Easter is for chocolate. Approximately 71 million pounds of chocolate candy is sold during the week leading up to Easter.

155. Only 48 million pounds of chocolate is sold during Valentine’s week.

156. In contrast, over 90 million pounds of chocolate candy is sold in the last week of October leading up to Halloween.