By Billa
We think chocolate is yummy!
You probably agree. But how much do you really know about chocolate?
Take this quiz to find out, and you might even learn some interesting chocolate trivia.
1. Chocolate comes from cocoa beans. Cocoa trees were first cultivated 5,300 years ago
where?
a. In Brazil
b. In China
c. In Ivory Coast
d. In Mexico
2. Cocoa trees can live to be 200 years old. They produce viable cocoa beans for how many
years?
a. 5 years
b. 25 years
c. 100 years
d. 200 years
3. Today, 70% of the world’s cocoa beans are grown in
a. Central America.
b. South America.
c. Southeast Asia.
d. West Africa.
4. Per capita, the most chocolate is consumed in which country:
a. England
b. France
c. Switzerland
d. US
5. Which of the following is TRUE about Montezuma, the Aztec emperor:
a. He died young.
b. He drank 50 cups of cocoa a day.
c. He insisted on carrying a silver cup filled with cocoa to battles.
d. He forbade his soldiers from consuming chocolate.
6. Ben Franklin owned a business in Philadelphia where he sold chocolate drinks and
a. alcohol.
b. bedding.
c. gourmet foods.
d. stationary.
7. Which of the following is TRUE about the chocolate chip cookie:
a. It was invented by a scientist working at the Nestle’s Chocolate factory in Switzerland.
b. Its inventor became very wealthy.
c. It was developed in England after 8 years of experimentation.
d. It was invented by an innkeeper in Massachusetts.
8. Which appliance was developed by Percy Spence after he noticed that a chocolate bar
that he carried in his pocket melted?
a. The air fryer
b. The blast chiller
c. The microwave
d. The pressure cooker
9. More chocolate is sold in this airport (800 tons a year) than in any other place in the world.
Where is this airport?
a. Belgium
b. England
c. New York
d. Switzerland
10. Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine which are very toxic to some animals, but
not others. Which of the following is TRUE:
a. Dogs are much more sensitive to chocolate than cats.
b. White chocolate is as toxic to animals as milk chocolate or dark chocolate.
c. Mice and rats are able to metabolize chocolate as well as humans.
d. Chickens are not sensitive to chocolate at all.
11. In the morning, Steve, the owner of a bookstore, is piping the scent of chocolate into his
store. What can he expect when he opens up for the day?
a. Customers will buy fewer books than usual.
b. Customers will buy more romance novels than usual.
c. Customers will complain that the scent is distracting.
d. Customers will behave no differently than they usually do.
12. Which of the following is TRUE about the effect of chocolate on humans:
a. It causes the brain to suppress the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
b. It is cancer causing.
c. It prevents tooth decay.
d. It tends to raise blood pressure.
ANSWERS
1. d. Chocolate was first cultivated in Mexico.
2. b. Cocoa trees produce viable beans for 25 years - from age 5 to 30.
3. d. Today, 70 percent of cocoa beans are grown in West Africa, with 40 percent coming
from Ivory Coast.
4. c. Per capita, the most chocolate is consumed in Switzerland. The average Swiss citizen
consumes 19.8 pounds of chocolate per year. Germany is number 2 with 17.8 pounds.
Ireland is number 3 with 17.4 pounds.
5. b. Montezuma drank 50 cups of cocoa a day from a golden cup. He lived to be 54, when
life expectancy in his country was 40. He had his generals give their soldiers cocoa to
increase their stamina in battles.
6. d. Ben Franklin had a stationary store, where, in addition to pens and parchment, he sold
chocolate drinks..
7. d. The chocolate chip cookie was accidentally stumbled on when the Toll House Inn
owner, Ruth Wakefield, added chocolate chunks to her cookie batter in an attempt to
create a chocolate cookie. She sold her recipe to Nestle in exchange for a lifetime
supply of chocolate.
8. c. The microwave. Percy Spence, a scientist working on WWII radar, loved chocolate.
When near a magnetron, he noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. He
realized then that magnetrons could be used to heat food quickly and discovered the
microwave oven.
9. a. The Brussels Airport in Belgium is where more chocolate is sold than in any other place
in the world.
10. c. Rats and mice can metabolize those chemicals as efficiently as humans, and actually
prefer the scent of chocolate to that of cheese. However, due to their small size, a large
amount of chocolate can hurt them. Cats are more sensitive than dogs, as are chickens.
But cats cannot taste sweets, so are less likely to indulge. Cocoa contains the
theobromine chemical, so, the more of it, the more toxic. Therefore, dark and baking
chocolates are more toxic than white or milk chocolate.
11. b. Research has shown that customers buy more books, especially more romantic
books, when smelling chocolate in a bookstore.
12. c. Chocolate has an antibacterial effect, which prevents tooth decay. It also reduces blood
pressure, is an antioxidant that protects against cell damage, and it causes the brain to
release serotonin, leading to euphoric feelings.