A collection of 15 facts you may or may not know about the worlds favourite food... chocolate!
Not everyone loves chocolate,
but then, not everyone likes wearing clothes or regular bathing! Some people are just a bit odd like that, and that's fine because it means more chocolate for the rest of us.
But as much as we enjoy eating chocolate, most people don't know a great deal about where it comes from or what is in it. So here are some slightly random chocolate facts to tickle your mental taste buds.
1. In the film Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock used chocolate syrup for blood in the iconic shower scene. The black and white footage didn't distinguish the colour of the brown chocolate as it ran down the drain!
2. The new trend of mixing chocolates with chillies and seemingly strange ingredients isn't modern at all. The ancient aztecs mixed chocolate (cacao in those days) with chillies, cornmeal and a type of magic mushrooms to make one heck of a cocktail!
3. Johnny Depp has appeared in two chocolate themed movies; Chocolat and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but apparently doesn't enjoy high brow chocolates! His preference is the cheap low cocoa chocolate varieties.
4. In the 17th century, the Bishop of Chiapas banned the drinking of xocolatl (early drinking chocolate) during his services. This was so unpopular that his congregation poisoned him with a laced cup of the very same drink!
5. "Giri Choco" is a Japanese tradition which requires employees to give chocolates as gifts to their managers.
6. The world's most expensive chocolate is Amedei Porcelana which at it's peak cost £52 per 450g ($90 at that time). Each box is sold with it's own chocolate identity number.
7. The largest ever chocolate truffle was made by the Halloren Chocolate Museum in Halle, Germany. It weighed 196.3kg.
8. Parts of the cacao bean husk can have an antibacterial effect which can help to fight tooth decay. So chocolate isn't all bad for teeth?
9. Chocolate contains theobromine which in high quantities can be poisonous. It's particularly bad for dogs and smaller animals. One Smartie apparently contains enough to kill a small bird.
10. Chocolate contains many therapeutic components such as serotonin and endorphins. On a romantic note, phenylethylamine (known as the "love chemical") is also present!
11. Due to the relationship between chocolate and the pleasure centres in our brains, sucking on a piece of chocolate can cause the heart to beat faster and for longer than a passionate kiss.
12. The movie "Monster's Ball" was titled Chocolate in Japan.
13. Honeybees don't like chocolate! Cacao trees produce flowers with no odour and no nectar.
14. According to Guinness World Records the record for the most strawberries dipped in chocolate in one minute is held by Collin Gouldin from Plano, Texas (USA). He managed 53 on 26th July 2008. Surely this can be beaten!
15. White chocolate isn't chocolate (officially). True chocolate must not contain any fat other than cocoa butter (5% dairy butter is permitted). White chocolate does not meet this criteria so is not technically chocolate!
