Fifteen Fun Facts About Chocolate

The internet is a treasure trove of fun facts about chocolate. We’ve curated 15 of our favorites to arm you with one-liners the next time you’re making chocolate small talk with a fellow chocolate lover.

Fun Fact #1: Americans eat some 1.4 billion pounds of chocolate each year.

Fun Fact #2: Fifty percent of American adults prefer chocolate over any other flavor.

Fun Fact #3: Hershey, the famous American chocolate company, makes more than 80 million chocolate kisses every day.

Fun Fact #4: The founder of Hershey Chocolate, Milton Hershey, would have been on the ill-fated Titanic when it sank, but business issues caused him to cancel his reservation at the last minute.

Fun Fact #5: The inventor of the chocolate chip cookie sold the recipe to Nestle Toll House … for a lifetime supply of chocolate!

Fun Fact #6: About 40 percent of the world’s annual almond production is used in chocolate products.

Fun Fact #7: Supporting the dairy industry, American chocolate manufacturers use 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make milk chocolate.

Fun Fact #8: The west African nation of Ivory Coast produces 37% of the world’s cacao supply – more than any other country.

Fun Fact #9: It’s said that chocolate melting in one’s mouth can induce a more intense pleasure than kissing.

Fun Fact #10: The word chocolate comes from ‘Xocolatl,’ the Aztec word that means ‘bitter water.’ The Mayans and Aztecs drank their chocolate – and since sugar was a product of the future, they took the edge off the bitter cacao with ingredients such as peppers and wild mushrooms.

Fun Fact #11: White chocolate really isn’t chocolate. To be chocolate it would have to contain cocoa solids or cocoa liquor. It’s simply a sweet concoction of cocoa butter, sugar and flavorings.

Fun Fact #12: Cacao was called ‘food of the gods’ by the ancient Mayans.

Fun Fact #13: Eating chocolate is better for your teeth than hard candy.

Fun Fact #14: Chocolate is rich in cancer-fighting anti-oxidants.

Fun Fact #15: The invention of the microwave oven is credited to chocolate.

ChezSlaughter Chocolate of Shreveport-Bossier City, LA is a roving artisan chocolate company. We make chocolate confections from premium Belgian chocolate and handcraft artisan caramels and cookies such as Biscotti. We also offer chocolate workshops and chocolate-themed parties.