Some trivia, statistics & curiosities

Well, 61% of Japanese seem to like chocolate. That’s good but it could be better. :-)


Did you know…?


1. The average American eats 10-12 pounds (4.5 kg) of chocolate a year. The average Swiss eats 21 pounds a year, making Switzerland the biggest country of chocolate consumers.

2. Chocolates can absorb other flavors and scents, and should be kept away from other household chemicals.

3. Children are more likely to prefer chocolate when they reach 10-11 years old than when they are younger.

4. Cocoa is a misspelling of cacao.

5. In the Pre-Colombian Mesoamerica, you could buy a rabbit with 4 cocoa beans, a prostitute for 10 beans and a wife for a 100.

6. During WWII, American soldiers were given 3 chocolate bars, each one containing 600 Kcal, as part of their daily diet. Hershey was the first company to make chocolates resistant to the hot sun, up to a temperature of 60 C (140 F) .

7. In 1624, chocolate was condemned by Johan Franciscus Rauch in Vienna. It was considered an inflamer of passions and Rauch wanted to ban it among monks.

8. Casanova considered it to be an excellent aphrodisiac and drank it often at Café Florian in Venice.

9. A chocolate bar contains more protein and B2 vitamin than a banana or an orange.

10.Chocolate contains calcium which is good for your teeth!

11. Fiji and Ghana display cacao on their national coat of arms.

12. Annual world consumption of cocoa beans averages about 600,000 tons.

13. It takes about 400 cocoa beans to make a pound of chocolate.

14. Hawaii is the only US state that grows cocoa to produce chocolate.

15. In the 1800s, the Swiss were the first to invent methods to turn cocoa into solid chocolate candy.

The above 15 trivia were compiled with the help of: a) Loedahus Chokladkult at www.chokladkultur.se, b) Criss White at ezinearticles.com , c) A Guide to Chocolate at www.wholefoodsmarket.com