chocolate facts

The cacao beans were used as currency. 10 beans would buy you a rabbit or a prostitute. 100 beans would buy you a slave. Some clever person even came up with a way to counterfeit beans - by carving them out of clay. The beans were still used as currency in parts of Latin America until the 19th century!

The Maya also used chocolate in religious rituals; it sometimes took the place of blood. Chocolate was used in marriage ceremonies, where it was exchanged by the bride and groom, and in baptisms. They even had a cacao god. But the Maya prepared chocolate strictly for drinking.

American and Russian space flights have always included chocolate. Chocolate has been part of the rations for every manned spaceflight for both American and Russian astronauts because of its popularity and nearly universal appeal.

Chocolate has always played an important role in the armed forces. Napoleon used to carry chocolate for his energy lapses and the famous Hershey Bar came into being at the request of the American military. They would often receive chocolate bars in their rations during wartime.

Chocolate has many healthy properties, and in fact one plain bar of milk chocolate has more protein than a banana. However, chocolate has far more calories.

According to the Guinness World Book of Records, the largest chocolate bar ever made tipped the scales at 5,026 pounds. It was produced by Elah-Dufour United Food Companies at Turin, Italy, in March 2000.

Chocolate contains a chemical known as phenylethylamine. The phenylethylamine, in addition to the sugar, fat and caffiene that's found in chocolate has been shown to release serotonin and endorphins- two known chemicals that make us feel happy!

An interesting fact about chocolate is that Americans choose this flavor over vanilla. In fact, Americans are having a love affair with chocolate. And not just on Valentine's Day either. In the year 2000 alone, 3.3 billion pounds of chocolate were eaten in the U.S.!

The proper name of the cacao tree is “Theobroma.” This translates into "food of the gods".

White chocolate is technically not chocolate at all (depending on your definition). It is made from cocoa beans like chocolate. But instead of containing chocolate liquor like your typical chocolate does, white chocolate is made from cocoa butter and contains no liqueur or cocoa solids.

Chocolate truffles are named for their resemblance to the round, rich black truffle mushroom, and gourmet truffles can be nearly as expensive as those exotic mushrooms. Truffles come in many flavors, from nuts and liqueurs to creams, fruits, and unusual gourmet blends.

Eleanor Roosevelt ate three chocolate covered garlic balls a day.  It was her doctor’s advice that eating this would improve her memory.

Chocolate is not laced with caffeine. The average serving of chocolate contains between five and ten milligrams of caffeine. Compare that with a cup of coffee, which has about 150!

One chocolate chip gives the average adult enough energy to walk 150 feet. That means that to fuel yourself for a hike around the world, you’d need almost 900,000 chocolate chips!