25 Chocolate Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

    Going cuckoo for cocoa.

    1. 3 Musketeers was originally vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry candies together, hence its name.

    2. Chocolate may be a better cough remedy than cough syrup.

    3. Chocolate milk was once sold as a medicine in Ireland.

    4. Nutella was created as a cheap chocolate alternative for families struggling during World War II.

    5. During World War II, Hershey received a contract to make chocolate ration bars for American soldiers. The US government didn't want the bar to be too tempting, so they asked that Hershey make it taste only "a little better than a boiled potato."

    6. M&M's were also invented during WWII as a heat-resistant and easily transportable snack. They weren't available for public consumption until after the war ended.

    7. Snorting chocolate is a trend that has traveled through multiple European nations and made its way to the US.

    8. You can measure the speed of light with just a chocolate bar, a microwave, and a ruler.

    9. Antioxidants in chocolate may help improve brain function in older people and prevent blood clots and strokes.

    10. A British chocolate scientist had her taste buds insured for one million pounds.


    11.
    The Nazis plotted to kill Winston Churchill with a chocolate-covered bomb.

    12. The Mayans used cocoa beans as a form of currency.

    13. A school district in San Francisco has banned chocolate milk from its schools' cafeterias.

    14. Harry Burnett Reese, who created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, worked in Hershey's factory and began creating his own candy in his basement.

    15. Snickers bars are supposedly named after Frank Mars' favorite horse.

    16. Chocolate syrup was frequently used as blood in black-and-white films.

    17. It takes roughly 400 cocoa beans to make a single pound of chocolate.

    18. In the 1700s, many Quakers adopted drinking chocolate as a healthier alternative to alcohol.

    19. In 2010, a study found that there's some science to support the cliché of eating chocolate when you're feeling down. In fact, people who feel depressed eat roughly 55% more chocolate than people who do not feel depressed.

    20. The largest box of chocolates ever was 16 feet, 6 inches tall and 11 feet, 2 inches wide and held more than 220,000 chocolates. It weighed 3,725 pounds.

    21. The world record for the most strawberries dipped in chocolate in one minute is 59.

    22. The world record for the tallest chocolate fountain is held by a fountain constructed at a Las Vegas hotel. It is 26 feet, 3 inches tall and circulates 4,409 pounds of chocolate at a rate of 120 quarts per minute.

    23. Just like dogs, humans can be poisoned by chocolate. About 22 pounds, or roughly 40 chocolate bars, would kill a person.

    24. According to a study performed in Italy, eating chocolate increases levels of desire, arousal, and sexual satisfaction.

    25. At one point, people in New Zealand were so desperate to get Lewis Road Creamery chocolate milk that they were waiting in line for hours. Some grocery stores even hired security guards to monitor the lines.