Dale’s Daily Data: Chocolate

I saw plenty of candy over the Christmas holiday, but it ranks only third behind Halloween and Easter for candy sales.  But candy is big business not only in this counry but around the world.  Americans consume over 3-billion pounds of chocolate each year, almost half of the world's total production.

A recent study says that when men crave food, they tend to crave fat and salt. When women crave food, they tend to want chocolate.

The botanical name of the chocolate plant translates into a phrase that means "Food of the Gods."

Chocolate contains a natural substance that stimulates the same reaction in the body as falling in love.

In the United States, an estimated seven billion pounds of chocolate and candy are made each year.

American chocolate makers use about 1 and a half billion pounds of milk each year.  Only the cheese the ice cream industries use more.

40 percent of the world's almonds and 20 percent of the world's peanuts are used in making candy.

Aztec emperor Montezuma drank 50 golden goblets of hot chocolate every day. It was thick, dyed red and flavored with chili peppers.

American and Russian space flights have always included chocolate.

Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho – a scene that took 7 days to shoot.

In Hershey, Pennsylvania, the streetlights along "Chocolate Avenue" are in the shape of Hershey Kisses.

German chocolate cake did not originate in Germany. In 1852, Sam German developed a sweet baking bar for Baker's Chocolate Co. They named it in honor of him -- Baker's German Sweet Chocolate.

Source: Corsinet.com