1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,160 Speaker 1: I guess what, well, what's that mango? So you know 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:05,480 Speaker 1: I love spicy food, right, and I love chocolate, but 3 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: I don't really love this trend of spicy and chocolate. 4 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: I am with you on this because I love spicy 5 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: food and I love chocolate too, but I don't want 6 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: any chili powder like in my hot chocolate or chocolate 7 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: or any of that stuff. I know, why why are 8 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: people always mixing those flavors? But I was looking into 9 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 1: it and I found possibly the worst example of super 10 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: spicy chocolate. There's a company that's sparred up in two 11 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: thousands sixteen called pepper Bomb your mom. Yeah, I mean 12 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: it was I guess a joke that you could play 13 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,519 Speaker 1: on people where you'd buy a chocolate coated Carolina reaper 14 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 1: for and then send it to a loved one, or 15 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: I guess the opposite. I was going to say, that 16 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: is not something you want to send to a loved one. 17 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: I know, Carolina roopers are so spicy. Actually, we've talked 18 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,160 Speaker 1: about these before. Aren't they even spicier than like ghost peppers? Yeah? 19 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: They are. So. I'm not sure if it's like the 20 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: threat of lawsuits that close this business or the fact 21 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: that too many moms complained about it, but pepper bomb 22 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: your mom sadly doesn't send out pepper bombs anymore. Like 23 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: I do want to get into the more tempting part 24 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: of that recipe, which is the chocolate, why humans are 25 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: so obsessed with it, whether it's really as healthy as 26 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: all these reports would have us believe, and why doesn't 27 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: taste more like tropical custard the way the beans do. 28 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: Let's dig in either. Podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. 29 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: I'm Will Pearson, and as always I'm joined by my 30 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: good friend Mangut show ticketer and on the other side 31 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: of the soundproof glass, munching his way through a Whitman's sampler, 32 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: that's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Actually, by the way, 33 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: that sampler looks like it's meant for more than one person, 34 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: wouldn't you say? Mango? Yeah, yeah, definitely, it's gotta be 35 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: like thirty forty oce a chocolate sitting there. I know. 36 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: I actually tried to grab a piece earlier and Tristan 37 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: slapped my hand away. Apparently he's busy branking all the 38 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 1: different chocolates for his blog. Oh really, his blog, well, 39 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: that's at least that's something to look forward to, so 40 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: I'll leave it be there. So you know what's funny 41 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: is right before a hurricane Sandy, the night before the 42 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: storm hit, like Lizzie sent me to a convenience store 43 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: to get some last minute supplies, and we were pretty 44 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,639 Speaker 1: stocked up, but just in case, I went to pick 45 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: up some like extra toilet paper and water and I 46 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: think batteries. But the weather was bad, so like there 47 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: were only two other guys in the store inline and 48 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: the first guy had the shopping cart filled with beer 49 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: and condom that's all, yeah, and uh. And then I 50 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: was there with like TP and and water in my 51 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,519 Speaker 1: hands and uh. And then this other guy had the 52 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: shopping cart that was just filled with chocolate, just like 53 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: bags and bags of candy. And I remember like glancing 54 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: around and like being a little confused and thinking, well, 55 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: we all have different definitions of being prepared. Sounds like 56 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: everybody was ready for very different nights. That's pretty great, 57 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: all right. Well, I know we're going to get into 58 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: the ancient history of chocolate, but it is kind of 59 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: amazing that chocolate is the world's favorite candy. In fact, 60 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: chocolate based candies far out sell fruit based candies and 61 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: almost every country on the planet. Now, Denmark's love of 62 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: Harribo gummies makes it one of the few exceptions to 63 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:18,959 Speaker 1: the rule. And and I have to respect that they're 64 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,119 Speaker 1: pretty good. But this year alone, nearly eight million tons 65 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: of chocolate is expected to be sold and consumed worldwide. Now, 66 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,079 Speaker 1: that amounts to over a hundred billion dollars in revenue 67 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: for one year. That's crazy. So how much of that 68 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: is thanks to like American chocoholics. Actually not as much 69 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: as you might think. So even though the average American 70 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: eats about ten pounds of chocolate every year, actually only 71 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 1: ranked twentie in terms of national chocolate consumption. And that's 72 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: according to data released by euro Monitor. You know euro Monitor, Yeah, 73 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: I get the newsletter. So we are we consume our 74 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: own body weight and chocolate every ten years or so, 75 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: and that's still only good enough for twentieth place. That's 76 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: really confusing. How much chocolate are these other countries eating. Well, 77 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: it's probably no surprise that Switzerland ranks number one, and 78 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: each person there consumes on average about twenty pounds of 79 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: chocolate every year, and so that's twice as much as 80 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: the average American and then Germany and Austria are tied 81 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: for second. They have about I don't know, say seventeen 82 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: to eighteen pounds per year. England and Ireland come in 83 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: right after those. And then you go to the other 84 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: end of the spectrum, and these are places where chocolate 85 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: really doesn't dominate the sweet market, and China is an 86 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: example of that. So the average Chinese citizen eats less 87 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: than half a pound of chocolate a year, So that 88 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: means people in Switzerland eat forty times as much chocolate 89 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: as those in China. That's amazing. So this is completely 90 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: off topic, but I can't stop thinking about it. Did 91 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: you realize that cocaw beans are related to okra? And 92 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: actually did durian as well? That's super smelly fruit, Like 93 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 1: they're all from the same family. And I kind of 94 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: want to tell my kids, like, I'm so sorry I 95 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: couldn't pick you up any chocolate from the store, but 96 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: I got its cousin a bag of okra for you. 97 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: But you were talking about chocolate consumption, where did the 98 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,839 Speaker 1: actual coca producing countries fall on that list? Actually, just 99 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: to go back to that, that would mean that chocolate 100 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: is technically a vegetable then right, Yeah, that's true. All right. 101 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,480 Speaker 1: So the actual coco producing countries, Africa and South American 102 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: countries account for the vast majority of the world's cocaw production, 103 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: and that's the type of seed pod that's used to 104 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: make chocolate. But despite being the first and most crucial 105 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 1: link in the chocolate supply chain, these countries actually don't 106 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: consume very much chocolate at all. In fact, the highest 107 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: chocolate consumption rate in all of South America is actually 108 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,480 Speaker 1: in Chili, and the average person there eats less than 109 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: four pounds of chocolate per year, and the numbers are 110 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: even lower in Africa, So the entire continent consumes fewer 111 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: than four percent of all the chocolate sold worldwide. Wow. 112 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: And so I'm guessing the low consumption rate in these 113 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: countries is introduced like cultural preferences, like it is in China. 114 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: I mean, ancient civilizations in South America are pretty much 115 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: invented chocolate. So it's not like the people there don't 116 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: have a taste for it. Yeah, that's that's really not 117 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 1: what it is. I mean, it comes down to the 118 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: low average income of several of these countries. And when 119 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: you think about it, if you're living on a few 120 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: dollars or even less than a dollar a day, then 121 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:08,600 Speaker 1: it just doesn't make sense in the budget to spend 122 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: on a luxury item like chocolate. Sure. So, I actually 123 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: saw this report from Oxfam about the economics of the 124 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: chocolate tread and how skewed it is, especially for cocao farmers. 125 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 1: And apparently if you divide up the cost of producing 126 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: a chocolate bar from start to finish, the farmer who 127 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 1: cultivated the rock cocow only gets about three Meanwhile, about 128 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: fort pent of the price we pay for a chocolate 129 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: bars profit for the retailer. Wow. Alright, So so three 130 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: percent of people who actually grow it and harvest it 131 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: and you know, kind of provide that main ingredient for 132 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: chocolate and then to those who sell the final product. 133 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: Is that what you're saying? Wow, that does does seem 134 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: pretty skewed. Yeah. So, I actually remember this video that 135 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:49,480 Speaker 1: made the rounds a few years ago where this reporter 136 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: for this international news site visits some cocao farmers on 137 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 1: the Ivory Coast, and the Ivory Coast is the world's 138 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: largest producer of cocaw beans. It turns out, roughly, I 139 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,279 Speaker 1: want to say like one point five million tons of 140 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 1: it every year, but process chocolate isn't really available, so 141 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: when you do find it, it's really exorbitant. Like I 142 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: think a bar costs about a third of what the 143 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: average worker makes in a single day, which means that 144 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: many farmers who cultivate cocao have actually never tasted the 145 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: final product. I mean it kind of makes you want 146 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: to go there and give them a taste of this stuff. Yeah, 147 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: and and so the video right, like the this reporter 148 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: gives a chocolate bar to a local farmer named Alphonse, 149 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: and he takes his first fight and you see his 150 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: face just light up. He's like, I didn't know cocao 151 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: was so yummy. And then he and the reporter hop 152 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: on a motorbike to share the chocolate with other farmers, 153 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: and when he passes the chocolate bar around, Alphonse tells 154 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: the other farmers, this is why white people are so healthy. Wow. Well, 155 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: I know there's more we wanted to cover about cacao 156 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: production and some of the other challenges that it involves. 157 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: But since you brought up these health benefits of chocolate, 158 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: I do think we should take a few minutes to 159 00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: do I don't know some kind of a true false 160 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: breakdown of what there it actually is good for your health. Yeah, 161 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: I mean, chocolate is one of those things like red wine, 162 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: that you always hear about has all these surprising health benefits, 163 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: but then you never get a good sense of how 164 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: much of that is backed by science and how much 165 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: is just wishful thinking by people who really want to 166 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: eat a lot of chocolate. I mean, like, I feel 167 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: like I usually hear that dark chocolate is healthier because 168 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: it has less sugar and more cacao than milk chocolate, 169 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: And you know, that makes a lot of sense, but 170 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 1: at the end of the day, it's still just a 171 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: comparison between two kinds of chocolate, so you're still kind 172 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: of left wondering is chocolate itself healthy. Well, I'm glad 173 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,680 Speaker 1: you mentioned that distinction between dark and milk chocolate, because 174 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: that difference in sugar and kikaw is is really where 175 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: these claims about chocolate's health benefits kind of live or die. 176 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: And and that's because kow products contain a high amount 177 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: of plant derived flavor als. So I think you should 178 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: explain what flavor als are. It's just the word I 179 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,439 Speaker 1: made up just sounded good of it. Now for real 180 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: that they're actually the biological compounds that occur in in 181 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: some foods. It's not not just chocolate, but unprocessed coco 182 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: is an example of that. And since flavor als possess 183 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:03,040 Speaker 1: us you know, antioxidant and blood vessel relaxing and these 184 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: anti inflammatory qualities, they're they're often associated with markers of 185 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: good health like you know, balance cholesterol or blood pressure 186 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: or various other measures like this. So all those reports 187 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: about how eating chocolate promotes heart health, that's basically because 188 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: of the flavon als. Yeah, that's where that comes from. 189 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: But but again the blanket statement that chocolate is good 190 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: for your health is a little misleading. You know, but 191 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: because of his higher flavoral count, cocow has a much 192 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: better case for being healthy than chocolate does, I guess. 193 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: But you know, even then, it's not like a cow 194 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:35,719 Speaker 1: is the only source of plant derived flavor als or 195 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: even the best one really. In fact, you can usually 196 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 1: find more flavor als and tea or grape juice or wine, 197 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 1: and you know, several other fruits than you would and say, 198 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: co cow, say co cow. Have you seen the Brooklyn 199 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: nine nine where that guy Terry starts eating cocow nives 200 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: and because there's so much healthier for you than chocolate, 201 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: and then he keeps eating and keep seating him and 202 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: something he's like floated by by the middle from okay. So, 203 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 1: so there may be some indirect health benefits for eating chocolate, 204 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: but you'd basically get the same or better results from 205 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,920 Speaker 1: other foods, right, Yeah, And in most cases the results 206 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,440 Speaker 1: probably would be better with tea or berries than it 207 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: would with with chocolate. And and that's largely because the 208 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 1: heating process involved in standard chocolate manufacturing it actually burns 209 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: away much of the flavor all concentration that you would 210 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: find in those fresh cocao seeds. So you know, if 211 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,840 Speaker 1: you want to eat the healthiest chocolate that you can find, 212 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,160 Speaker 1: you should go for the dark chocolate with at least 213 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 1: seventy or eighty percent cacao, and the flavor all concentration 214 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,079 Speaker 1: will be much higher than in any milk chocolate bar, 215 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:42,199 Speaker 1: which contains about cocao or less but twenty fat and 216 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:46,440 Speaker 1: forty to fifty sugar. Well, I usually prefer the bitter 217 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: taste of dark chocolate to like the overly sweet taste 218 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 1: of milk chocolate. Fit I'm kind of surprised there isn't 219 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 1: more of a middle ground, like something that melts in 220 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,319 Speaker 1: your mouth like milk chocolate does, but also taste less sugary. 221 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:59,440 Speaker 1: I have to say, as a fan of milk chocolate, 222 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 1: all of this is kind of disappointing to me. But 223 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,559 Speaker 1: I do have good news for you, though, Mango, because 224 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: researchers out of Temple University in Philly have actually found 225 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: a new way to cut the fat content from chocolate 226 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,439 Speaker 1: by using nothing other than electricity, Like they shocked the 227 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: fat away with one of those crazy exercise belts. I 228 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: kind of wish for that was what they were doing, 229 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: but now it's not not exactly that. So you do 230 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: remember Willie Wonka on the Chocolate factory and they're walking 231 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: alongside the chocolate river and they're all those industrial pipes 232 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:30,199 Speaker 1: sucking up the chocolate. Right, definitely, Augustus Gloup falls in. 233 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 1: It's pretty funny that you like that movie, right, Yeah, 234 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:34,839 Speaker 1: I loved it, man, it's such a great movie. Well, 235 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: it's actually there's something we can learn from that because 236 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:40,320 Speaker 1: the chocolate makers really are dependent on this pipe system 237 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: to move liquid chocolate from one stage of production to 238 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: the next, and the problem is that the thicker and 239 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 1: more viscous a liquid is, the higher the chance it 240 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,680 Speaker 1: will clog up the pipes. Augustus gloup and since cutting 241 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 1: the fat content results in a denser and less smooth chocolate, 242 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: producing low fat chocolate typically leads to a lot of blockages. 243 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: So explain how electricity helps with a Well, there's this 244 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,560 Speaker 1: phenomenon called electoral reology, and it's basically when an electric 245 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,200 Speaker 1: field is used to turn a semi solid like jello 246 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 1: into a liquid state or vice versa. So in the 247 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: case of chocolate, the field from the electrified pipes causes 248 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 1: its chunky cacao particles and milk solids to really to 249 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: line up in these chains and and this makes the 250 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: chocolate flow through the pipes much more easily. So so 251 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: not only will the new process lead to fewer clogs, 252 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: it will actually allow chocolate tears to use ten to 253 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 1: less butter per batch. And the best part is that, 254 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: according to the authors of the study, the resulting chocolate 255 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:41,640 Speaker 1: delivers a stronger cacao flavor and significantly less fat, which 256 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 1: sounds like a dream come true not to me, to 257 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: be honest with you, I kind of want the more butter, 258 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:48,679 Speaker 1: but you know, there are a few health benefits of 259 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 1: chocolate that go beyond the physical. So, for one thing, 260 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 1: chocolate contains caffeine, which obviously has a stimulating effect on 261 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,679 Speaker 1: the brain, but there are also these other feel good 262 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,640 Speaker 1: chemicals in there too. There's phenal ethylamy, which is a 263 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: stimulant that raises the endorphin level in the brain, and 264 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:06,760 Speaker 1: there's also something called an end of mind, which is 265 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,079 Speaker 1: similar to one of the active chemicals in marijuana. Alright, 266 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 1: so between it's caffeine and those other field good chemicals 267 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,840 Speaker 1: you mentioned, chocolate is clearly a mood enhancer. And this 268 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:18,160 Speaker 1: is real. There's even a study from Oxford that found 269 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: that even just looking at a picture of chocolate was 270 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: enough to trigger cravings and mood boost and some chocolate veins. 271 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: And uh, don't forget eating chocolate is also a surefire 272 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: way to restore a little happiness after about with the dementier, 273 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: which is, you know, at least the case in Harry Potter. 274 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: I thought you might figure out a way to put 275 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 1: in a Harry Potter reference. That's that's a really helpful 276 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,920 Speaker 1: tip though. Well, now that we've covered the health benefits 277 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: of chocolate, both real and imaginary, I do feel like 278 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 1: we should take a closer look at how humans became 279 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: obsessed with the sweet stuff in the first place. Absolutely, 280 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:51,400 Speaker 1: But before we dive in, let's take a quick break. 281 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:06,440 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking about 282 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: the origins of mankind's love affair with chocolate. All right, Mango, 283 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: So I know you did some digging into the early 284 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: years of chocolate. So do you want to walk us 285 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 1: through You know what you found in the process. Sure, 286 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:18,320 Speaker 1: So the best place to start is with the cacao 287 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: tree and its beans. And for anyone who's wondering, cocao 288 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 1: and cocoa are the same thing. You can use the 289 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:26,920 Speaker 1: terms interchangeably because they both refer to the same exact bean. 290 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: But even though Africa is now the world's largest cocoa producer, 291 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 1: the trees aren't native to the region. They were actually 292 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 1: brought over as a cash crop to aid the struggling region. 293 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,280 Speaker 1: And the true starting point of chocolate's long history is 294 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:42,880 Speaker 1: in Mexico, Central and South America, and that's where the 295 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 1: equatorial climate provide the best place for the native cocow 296 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: tree to thrive. Or is it just another quick note 297 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 1: on the terminology here. So the cow beans that these 298 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: trees produced, they're really seeds though, right, yeah, they're they're 299 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 1: not actually beans in the same way that like coconut 300 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: milk is and milk. So we're just gonna go with it. 301 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:03,320 Speaker 1: But the trees produced these big yellowish seed pods that 302 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: kind of look like nerve footballs, and each pod contains 303 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 1: about forty beans, which are what's actually used to make chocolate. 304 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: So once you crack open the pods they cost the 305 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,120 Speaker 1: beans are released, along with this sweet, sticky pulp that 306 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: supposedly taste something between like a cross of lemonade and 307 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 1: apple custard. Actually sounds really good. Yeah, But the beans 308 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: of the pulp are left to ferment for a few 309 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:27,920 Speaker 1: days before being dried and roasted, and from there the 310 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: cocoa beans can be ground up and then made into 311 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: a chocolate beverage. All right, So if that's what was 312 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 1: done first, who were the very first people to drink chocolate? 313 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: So most of the evidence points to the ancient Almex. 314 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: They were actually the earliest known civilization to appear in Mexico, 315 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: and archaeologists have found pieces of Olmec pots and vessels 316 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: from around that contained traces of theobromine. This is a 317 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: stimulant found in chocolate, and in fact, the Latin name 318 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:56,680 Speaker 1: for the cacao tree is theobromine cocao, which translates to 319 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: chocolate food of the Gods, which actually ends up being 320 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:01,920 Speaker 1: a pretty fitting names since it's believed that the Almex 321 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,280 Speaker 1: used the ground beans to make a special drink for 322 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,120 Speaker 1: religious ceremonies. It's always funny to think about the first 323 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: people to discover something like chocolate, like, oh my god, 324 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: this tastes so good. I gotta go tell everybody about 325 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 1: this thing that I don't have a name for. But 326 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: but but why is there uncertainty about who invented drinking chocolate? 327 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: I mean, from what you've said, it sounds like the 328 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 1: Old Max kind of have this wrapped up. Yeah, but 329 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: pottery with traces of cacao have been found in southern 330 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 1: Ecuador as well, so those are believed to date back 331 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 1: at least years so the sho are Indians who lived 332 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: in the region also have a potential claim to this 333 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: chocolate drinking. The truth is this tainted pottery and a 334 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: lot of places, and that leaves a lot of room 335 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: for interpretation. And since the Old Max don't actually have 336 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 1: any written history to go on, some of the theories 337 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,000 Speaker 1: surrounding them could be off. For instance, some researchers think 338 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 1: that the Olmes used only the tropical flavor cow pulp 339 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 1: to make the drink rather than the bitter beans. I 340 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: can't say I blame I mean, when you say it 341 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: tastes of like what did you say, apple custard, lemonade 342 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: or something like that, that sounds a lot better than 343 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:03,680 Speaker 1: like bitter bean water something. Yeah, but bitter bean water 344 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,199 Speaker 1: the gods right, right, right. But regardless of who came 345 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: up with the idea first, we do know for certain 346 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: that the Mayans ran with it. Like their written history 347 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 1: includes numerous mentions of chocolate based drink made from the 348 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 1: cacao seeds and uh, because myyons had yet to develop 349 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: a good roasting technique to mellow the flavors, it was 350 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: probably pretty bitter. So so what was in it exactly? 351 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 1: Was just ground beans and water or what? Yeah, sometimes 352 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: seasonings would be out of, like vanilla or honey or 353 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,200 Speaker 1: chili pepper. So how did the Mayans think about chocolate 354 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: they did they consider it the food of the gods? 355 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:37,159 Speaker 1: Or were they a little more level headed about the 356 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: way they approached it. No, I mean they were full 357 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 1: on crazy for chocolate. They leave the drinks offerings to 358 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: their gods. And they're also paintings recovered from the time 359 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,200 Speaker 1: that show cocaw and mythological scenes. It was also a 360 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:51,920 Speaker 1: kind of a way to settle important legal matters or 361 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: even seal the deal on the marriage. For example, like 362 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,879 Speaker 1: early records of Mayan marriages show that in some places 363 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,040 Speaker 1: a woman had to prepare a cocaw drink to prove it. 364 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 1: You can get that thick, frothy consistency just right. I mean, 365 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:05,760 Speaker 1: it does kind of make sense, because could you ever 366 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,120 Speaker 1: see yourself loving somebody who can't properly froth a pot 367 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:10,879 Speaker 1: of chocolate. I don't even know what that means, but 368 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: I can't imagine it. But cocaw wasn't actually restricted to 369 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,919 Speaker 1: just the loftier sides of life. There were ceremonies and 370 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 1: celebrations that used to and it was also an early 371 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,919 Speaker 1: form of currency. Yeah, so in the fifth century CEE, 372 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 1: the Aztecs used it to buy food and other goods. 373 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:31,639 Speaker 1: For example, you can actually get a whole turkey for 374 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:34,440 Speaker 1: about a hundred cocaw beans. It feels like a pretty 375 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: good deal. And I don't know what the exchange rate 376 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: isn't cow beans, but but I'd buy it. Yeah. Well, 377 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:42,879 Speaker 1: what's amazing is that it bread some early counterfeiting schemes 378 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: as well. Counterfeiting of beans is that we're talking about, 379 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 1: how do you counterfeit of bean? You just like take 380 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 1: a rock and paint it or something. Yeah, well, if 381 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: you want a turkey bad enough anything. So, researchers have 382 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: actually found these counterfeit beans at multiple dig sites in 383 00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: both Mexico and Guatemala, and at first glance they just 384 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: look like these incredibly well preserved cocao beans. But once 385 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 1: they actually touched them, the researchers realized that they were 386 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 1: just made of clay, which is pretty ridiculous. I mean, 387 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,919 Speaker 1: but if kakao was that valuable, I would have to 388 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 1: think that it was a delicacy that was reserved for 389 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:17,679 Speaker 1: the super wealthy. I mean, people were going through the 390 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: trouble of making these phony clay beans. What was it 391 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: really hard to come by them or what? Yeah, I mean, 392 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,320 Speaker 1: it seems like the minds had taken a really generous 393 00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: approach to cocaw in their day. They they thought of 394 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:30,719 Speaker 1: it as food from the gods, as we mentioned, so 395 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,199 Speaker 1: they thought it was meant for everyone to eat. So 396 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:35,680 Speaker 1: man families, even the ones who weren't well off, would 397 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: prepare batches of their favorite drink ahead of time, and 398 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 1: then they'd enjoy it at every meal. And the Aspects, 399 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: on the other hand, considered cocaw to be this upper 400 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:46,159 Speaker 1: class luxury and almost a status symbol. And I mean 401 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: that's partially because they were using as money too write. 402 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,600 Speaker 1: But as a result, the lower classes would really only 403 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: get a taste of stuff at weddings or sometimes that 404 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:58,120 Speaker 1: community celebrations. But what is clear is that Aspect rulers 405 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:02,880 Speaker 1: really loved their coco and probably the most famous was Montezuma. 406 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,200 Speaker 1: He supposedly drank. I think it's like gallons of hot 407 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 1: chocolate every day. Gallons. I can't imagine drink of gallons 408 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:14,119 Speaker 1: of anything. Yeah, So the Spanish explorer Cortez claimed to 409 00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:17,160 Speaker 1: have witnessed Montezuma consuming more than fifty cups of chocolate 410 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:20,400 Speaker 1: in a single day. I should mention though, that some 411 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,760 Speaker 1: researchers think Cortez was exaggerating. Alright, So just as a reminder, 412 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 1: we we we remember that Cortez was the conquistador who 413 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: conquered the Aztecs. So was he the first to bring 414 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,359 Speaker 1: chocolate back to Europe. Yeah, so this is fuzzy too, 415 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: just like with the Olmex and the sho are. It 416 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,400 Speaker 1: kind of depends on who you ask. So some historians 417 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: claimed Christopher Columbus was responsible for it. Others say it 418 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,440 Speaker 1: was Cortez who returned to Spain bearing cacao and also 419 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: the chocolate making apparatus from Montezuma's court. And whether or 420 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,399 Speaker 1: not Cortes was the first, he was definitely obsessed with 421 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: this concoction. So in a letter to King Carlos, the 422 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,560 Speaker 1: First of Spain in fifteen nineteen, Cortez wrote, the divine 423 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: drink which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cop 424 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 1: of this precious drink permits a man to walk for 425 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: a whole day without food. I mean, he might have 426 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,399 Speaker 1: oversold it, just the dad. I'm not chimmy chocolate is 427 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:10,439 Speaker 1: really good, but all right, So it might have been 428 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,120 Speaker 1: Columbus or it might have been Cortez, but either way, 429 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: it sounds like Spain was definitely the first in Europe 430 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: to experience chocolate though, right, Yeah, I mean that seems 431 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:20,199 Speaker 1: pretty clear, and there's even a third version of the 432 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: story that attributes chocolates European introduction to the Spanish, albeit 433 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: too clergymen rather than conquistadors. So this is according to 434 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:29,520 Speaker 1: the True History of Chocolate by Sophie and Michael co 435 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: and they say it was a Spanish friar who brought 436 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:35,280 Speaker 1: cocao beans as a gift. Apparently he did this while 437 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: introducing minds to the core to fill it the second 438 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:40,399 Speaker 1: But no matter how chocolate made its way to Spain, 439 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: it quickly caught on all over Europe, and of course 440 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 1: European palates weren't accustomed to that bitter, spicy brew enjoyed 441 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: by the Aztecs, so they started making their own version 442 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: of hot chocolate with cane, sugar and cinnamon and other 443 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: common spices. And by the sixteen fifties, these super trendy 444 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 1: chocolate houses popped up in London and Amsterdam and even 445 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,879 Speaker 1: a few other cities. And it wasn't long after that 446 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,120 Speaker 1: that chocolate actually made its way back across the Pond 447 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: to American colonies. Wait, did you say chocolate houses or 448 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: these like coffee houses or what? Yeah? Exactly, they were 449 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: kind of these posho establishments, but drinking chocolate actually predates 450 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: both coffee and tea as a stimulant beverage in Europe, 451 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 1: so it's actually more accurate to say that coffee houses 452 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,320 Speaker 1: are like chocolate houses rather than the other way around. 453 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,200 Speaker 1: I mean, it's still crazy to me that drinking chocolate 454 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 1: was the norm for so long. Yeah, fairly. The eating 455 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:31,920 Speaker 1: chocolate that we used to really didn't come about until 456 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,639 Speaker 1: like the nineteenth century. That's when these British chocolate tears 457 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: frying Sun's hit upon the idea of adding sugar and 458 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: cocoa butter to make a paste that be molded into 459 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 1: the world's first chocolate bar. Well, you know, the addition 460 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: of sugar and fat, whether it was cocoa butter or milk. 461 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 1: I mean, that was definitely a turning point for chocolate, 462 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,120 Speaker 1: and I do want to talk a little bit about 463 00:22:50,160 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: why that is exactly the first let's take a quick break, Okay, Well, 464 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,200 Speaker 1: so I feel like I might know the answer to 465 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:12,520 Speaker 1: this one already, but I do think adding sugar and 466 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: fats chocolate was such a great idea. I mean, in 467 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:17,760 Speaker 1: terms of taste, I think you could pretty much ask 468 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 1: anyone in the world why adding sugar and fat might 469 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 1: be good so so I think it helps on the 470 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: taste front for sure, But the biggest boon that sugar 471 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: and fat gave to chocolate was actually this added sensory quality, 472 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 1: you know, being something that melts in your mouth. I 473 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: think it's it's actually pretty important, and that's something that 474 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 1: didn't happen until sugar and fat were at it. Yeah, 475 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:37,880 Speaker 1: that's right. So you know the old Eminem slogan about 476 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: melts in your mouth, not in your hand, But we 477 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 1: actually should be more impressed with what Eminem's pulled off 478 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,399 Speaker 1: with that, because, as it turns out, getting chocolate to 479 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,959 Speaker 1: melt where and when you want it is not at 480 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: all an easy task. So why is that? Well, because 481 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,600 Speaker 1: cocoa butter contains fatty triglycerides, and they can arrange themselves 482 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:58,240 Speaker 1: in six different ways, and each of those combinations results 483 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: in its own unique melting point. But here's the cash 484 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: to that. There's only one of those arrangements that actually 485 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:06,680 Speaker 1: has the proper melting point to melt in your mouth, 486 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: but not outside. So how do you get to the 487 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: ideal melting point? Well, the trick is to nail that 488 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: ratio between milk, fat and cocoa. So, for example, you know, 489 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:19,360 Speaker 1: dark chocolate has this higher percentage of cocoa and proportion 490 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 1: to milk fat, and that gives it a higher melting point. 491 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,920 Speaker 1: But milk chocolate, on the other end, has much less 492 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: cocoa than it does milk fat, which that's why it'll 493 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 1: melt in your hand if you don't eat it quickly enough, 494 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: which is why I tend to just shovel it in 495 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:34,120 Speaker 1: my mouth. But the thing is, even for a talented 496 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: chocolate tear, it's actually pretty difficult to get those fatty 497 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,679 Speaker 1: triglycerides to crystallize just the way you want them to, 498 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 1: and so it takes a lot of patients, takes a 499 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: lot of skill, you know, to perfectly control the chocolate's 500 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: temperature during this whole tempering process, you know, just so 501 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:51,600 Speaker 1: you don't throw your proportions out of whack. And in 502 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,920 Speaker 1: the process of doing this. You know, what's funny is that, uh, 503 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,120 Speaker 1: I mean, I love that there's an art taking chocolate 504 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 1: and how it melts. But I met this editor a 505 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:01,600 Speaker 1: long time, Agoys, a really good book editor, and I 506 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:03,119 Speaker 1: was asking him how he got into the business, and 507 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 1: he said he really wanted to be a chocolate maker, 508 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,879 Speaker 1: but so he went to like this famous chocolate maker 509 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 1: in town in Vermont or something, and he shook hands 510 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 1: with a lady and she said, your hands are too warm. 511 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,879 Speaker 1: You'll never be good at this. Walk across the street 512 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:19,679 Speaker 1: to a bookstore, And that's how I got into books. Like, 513 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: you're not tall enough to be a quarterback, but I mean, 514 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: I get why it's worth the effort. Like, you know, 515 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,480 Speaker 1: making this creamy piece of chocolate that melts away and 516 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 1: coats your tongue. That's a fantastic feeling, it really is. 517 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:32,480 Speaker 1: In fact, I was reading about this study from a 518 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:35,280 Speaker 1: group called mind Lab, and they tried to determine just 519 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:39,400 Speaker 1: how important that melting sensation is in our enjoyment of chocolate. 520 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:42,240 Speaker 1: So the researchers gathered a bunch of volunteer couples in 521 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,879 Speaker 1: their twenties. They monitored their heart rates and brain activity 522 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: while they first melted chocolate in their mouths, and then 523 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: again while they were kissing each other. That's pretty great. 524 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 1: So all these couples are just like standing around lab 525 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,640 Speaker 1: eating chocolate and then making out while wearing heart marterrs 526 00:25:57,680 --> 00:25:59,640 Speaker 1: and things drafted to their heads, I guess. And they 527 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:01,760 Speaker 1: were probably paid to do this as well, I guess, 528 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: sounds like not a bad gig. But the crazy thing 529 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:06,840 Speaker 1: they discovered was that the melting chocolate caused a more 530 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:09,720 Speaker 1: intense reaction than the kissing did. And I mean, the 531 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,920 Speaker 1: kissing did cause the volunteers heart to race, and I 532 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,240 Speaker 1: guess that's good for their relationships, but you know, the 533 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:18,959 Speaker 1: chocolate made the effect last four times longer and actually 534 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:22,480 Speaker 1: more than double volunteers resting heart rates from about sixty 535 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:25,600 Speaker 1: beats per minute to a hundred and forty. And the 536 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:27,560 Speaker 1: same kind of thing happened in the brain as well. 537 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: So once this chocolate started to melt, the pleasure centers 538 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 1: in the brain lit up more strongly and for a 539 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 1: longer period than they did during the kissing. That's pretty nuts, 540 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 1: And it kind of makes me think of how it 541 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,840 Speaker 1: chocolate has his reputation as an aphrodisiac, and how it's 542 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,480 Speaker 1: so strongly associated with love and Valentine's Day. It almost 543 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:47,400 Speaker 1: seems like that mouthfield could be a big reason why. Oh, 544 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,359 Speaker 1: it definitely is. And and I was reading up on 545 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: this a little, and it turns out that we actually 546 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,360 Speaker 1: have special touch receptors on our tongues and and they 547 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 1: respond to this change and texture of a melting piece 548 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,280 Speaker 1: of chocolate. So once our tongues detect this mal alting, 549 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,040 Speaker 1: we have these receptors that send the message to the 550 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:06,679 Speaker 1: brain and that stimulates these feelings of pleasure. And the 551 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,479 Speaker 1: smell of chocolate has a similar effect, right, Yeah, that's right. 552 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:12,880 Speaker 1: And cow beans are roasted and fermented during chocolate production, 553 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:16,400 Speaker 1: and these processes called chemical changes in the beans, which 554 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:20,159 Speaker 1: ensure the chocolate has its own distinct aroma. There's actually 555 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 1: over six hundred flavor compounds produced at all, and include 556 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 1: everything from overcooked cabbage to human sweat to raw beefat 557 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: this all making hungry mouth watering, right, And you know, 558 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,399 Speaker 1: of course none of these compounds smell anything close to 559 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:38,879 Speaker 1: chocolate on their own, thankfully, but they're unmistakable when joined together. 560 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:41,840 Speaker 1: It's such a strange thing, But in fact, the studies 561 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:44,919 Speaker 1: have shown that even just smelling chocolate stimulates the emotional 562 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,880 Speaker 1: what you would call feel good centers of the brain. Well, 563 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 1: I know we talked earlier about some of the mood 564 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: altering chemicals that chocolate contains, but you're actually saying that 565 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 1: your brain lights up from just the smell a loan. Yeah, 566 00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,639 Speaker 1: So the mood enhancing substances we mentioned are only found 567 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,240 Speaker 1: in trade surmounts in chocolate, so you're not really going 568 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,080 Speaker 1: to feel much of an effect from them unless you 569 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,359 Speaker 1: eat way more chocolate than you probably should. But what's 570 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,080 Speaker 1: going on a smell is it's a little bit more psychological, 571 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:13,880 Speaker 1: and the chocolate has this uniquely pleasurable smell and taste 572 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,160 Speaker 1: and texture to humans. So you know, if we detect 573 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 1: any of those sensations, we actually just get excited because 574 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: we know we're about to eat some chocolate. Yeah, and 575 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:23,919 Speaker 1: it kind of makes you wonder if the whole idea 576 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: of chocolate is an afrodisiac is also just in our heads. Like, 577 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,320 Speaker 1: we live in a world where chocolate hearts are already 578 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,160 Speaker 1: symbols of affection and where chocolate has been viewed as 579 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,920 Speaker 1: decadent or indulgent for almost hundreds of years now. So 580 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,720 Speaker 1: whether or not chocolate spurs these romantic feelings, we've all 581 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: kind of be in condition to make these connections ourselves. Yeah, 582 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:45,560 Speaker 1: I think that's right. And you know, for example, you 583 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:48,600 Speaker 1: mentioned Mono Zuma earlier, and that story I always remember 584 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: about him is that he's supposedly downed a bunch of 585 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: drinking chocolate just before visiting his harem at night. And 586 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: you know, along with this story spread this idea that 587 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,560 Speaker 1: a daily dose of chocolate could enhance virility. But you've 588 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 1: got to remember, this is the guy who reportedly drank 589 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:05,680 Speaker 1: what did you say, fifty cups of chocolate every single day, 590 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,800 Speaker 1: So drink it before bed was probably just coincidence, right, 591 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 1: or have it right? So let me just recap things 592 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: a little bit. Chocolate contains psychoactive chemicals, but not enough 593 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:18,960 Speaker 1: to have more than a slight effect on our senses. 594 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:23,640 Speaker 1: It's reputation as aphrodisiac is way overblown and mostly due 595 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 1: to sort of this widespread placebo effect. And while it 596 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,920 Speaker 1: does have a unique smell, taste, and texture, we don't 597 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: really know why the majority of humans responded strongly to 598 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,840 Speaker 1: these qualities as we do. So I guess I'm wondering, 599 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:38,840 Speaker 1: like where does that leave us? Like? Is there an 600 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:42,320 Speaker 1: answer for why we love chocolate so much? Because somehow 601 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:45,560 Speaker 1: it tastes good? Isn't good enough? Well? I was reading 602 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:48,280 Speaker 1: this interesting BBC News article by a doctor's name is 603 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: Michael Moseley, and so he's a TV journalist and he's 604 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 1: worked on a bunch of different science programs and there's 605 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,000 Speaker 1: one called The Secrets of Your Food, and it sounds 606 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: like a pretty interesting show. But his idea for the 607 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 1: unique appeal of chocolate goes back to that all important 608 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,360 Speaker 1: addition of sugar and fat that we talked about earlier, 609 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,560 Speaker 1: namely that chocolate contains a combination of sugar and fat 610 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: that you rarely find in nature. Now, separately, we we 611 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: obviously know that there are plenty of fruits that contain 612 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 1: natural sugars, and then you've got nuts and fish, which 613 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,960 Speaker 1: are chock full of fat. But both of these together 614 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,640 Speaker 1: is a pretty rare thing. And in fact, one of 615 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: the few natural sources where you'll find high levels of 616 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 1: both sugar and fat is in milk. But you know, 617 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,360 Speaker 1: even then, chocolate generally has a fat to sugar ratio 618 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:33,480 Speaker 1: of about one the two, which is higher than almost 619 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,080 Speaker 1: any kinds of milk except for one, and that's human 620 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 1: breast milk. So Dr Mosley talks about this. He explains 621 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:43,320 Speaker 1: that human breast milk is particularly rich and natural sugars, 622 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 1: mainly lactose. Roughly four percent of human breast milk is fat, 623 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:50,600 Speaker 1: while about eight percent is made up of sugars. Formula 624 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,320 Speaker 1: milk which is fed to babies contains a similar ratio 625 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,440 Speaker 1: of fats to sugars. This ratio one gram of fat 626 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: to two grams of sugars. That's the same ratio of 627 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 1: fats to sugars that you find in milk, chocolate, and 628 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,880 Speaker 1: of course in biscuits and doughnuts and ice cream. In fact, 629 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 1: this particular ratio is reflected in many of the foods 630 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,880 Speaker 1: that we find hard to resist. So the reason we 631 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 1: love chocolate is because it reminds of breast milk. I mean, 632 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:19,160 Speaker 1: that's more appropriate for Mother's Day. Well that's the idea though, 633 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: I mean that the humans have a preference for the 634 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,920 Speaker 1: particular fat to carbohydrate balance that we've been conditioned alike 635 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:27,400 Speaker 1: from the start of our lives. And mostly describes this 636 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:31,000 Speaker 1: chocolate obsession as an effort to quote recapture the taste 637 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,720 Speaker 1: and sense of closeness we got from the first food 638 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:37,240 Speaker 1: we ever sampled. Well, I definitely wasn't expecting that, but 639 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,880 Speaker 1: it does remind me of this chocolate quote I read 640 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:44,000 Speaker 1: from this Portuguese poet named Fernando pasola Um. So, so 641 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:46,200 Speaker 1: you know how. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that 642 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:50,120 Speaker 1: deals with questions and about really plowing existence and the 643 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:54,040 Speaker 1: first causes and all that. So, uh, Posa said, there's 644 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 1: no metaphysics on Earth like chocolate, and he's right. So 645 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 1: I mean, there's so much history and lore and science 646 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,480 Speaker 1: wrapped up in chocolate that you can almost never really 647 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: get your head around it or get to the beginning 648 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:08,000 Speaker 1: of it, and in the end, it's probably just best 649 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,400 Speaker 1: to eat it. Yeah. Well, I know Tristan agrees with that, 650 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: because he's eating like forty five more pieces of this 651 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,080 Speaker 1: stuff since the beginning of the episode. But all right, 652 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 1: before we let him finish the rest of that box off, 653 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: why don't we share a few more stories about chocolate 654 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 1: and today's fact off. All right, well, I'll kick us 655 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:32,800 Speaker 1: off here. So we know there's obviously brown chocolate and 656 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 1: white chocolate, which we weren't allowed to talk about today, 657 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:38,400 Speaker 1: even though I love because it's not technically chocolate. But 658 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,400 Speaker 1: the good news is there will now soon be pink chocolate. 659 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:43,800 Speaker 1: And this is because, as we may have talked about earlier, 660 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:46,680 Speaker 1: you know, cocoa beans are actually kind of pinkish or 661 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 1: reddish in their in their natural state, and so it's 662 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:52,600 Speaker 1: taken about a decade or so for food scientists in 663 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: Switzerland to figure this out. But soon we will actually 664 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,280 Speaker 1: have pink chocolate, which will maintain that fruity or flavor, 665 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:01,520 Speaker 1: will be a little less sweet. But I'm pretty eager 666 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:04,600 Speaker 1: to try something. Yeah, I'm excited about that. So I've 667 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,040 Speaker 1: got a different type of good news. If you actually 668 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:09,320 Speaker 1: want to increase your odds of winning a Nobel prize, 669 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,480 Speaker 1: you should eat more chocolate. So Tristan's in luck. He's 670 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:15,480 Speaker 1: gonna have so many Nobels by the end of this year. 671 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:18,360 Speaker 1: A few years ago, a survey was taken of twenty 672 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 1: three Nobel laureates during the time of their prize winning work, 673 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 1: and it found that of those reported eating chocolate at 674 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: least twice a week, and that was higher than the 675 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:29,920 Speaker 1: tent of people who were at a similar age and 676 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:33,040 Speaker 1: education level but who had not want a Nobel. Wow. 677 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:36,640 Speaker 1: So this really scientifically solid finding also came after a 678 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:40,000 Speaker 1: correlation that was found between national chocolate consumption and the 679 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: rate of Nobel prizes. I mean, that seems like pretty 680 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:44,560 Speaker 1: solid science to me. What do you think, Yeah, I mean, 681 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,640 Speaker 1: let's just forget that whole correlation causation thing and just 682 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:49,560 Speaker 1: go with it. That's that's some good science there. That 683 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:52,960 Speaker 1: is pretty funny though that for of those Nobel winners 684 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 1: were eating chocolate. What did you say, twice twice a week? Okay, 685 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,240 Speaker 1: that's still that's still pretty big. All right. Well, how 686 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,160 Speaker 1: weird is it that Quaker Oates financed the production of 687 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,920 Speaker 1: Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Did you know about that? 688 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,080 Speaker 1: And that's actually why the name was changed from Charlie 689 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: and the Chocolate Factory to Willie Wonka and the Chocolate 690 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:12,640 Speaker 1: Factory for the movie. And that's because they wanted to 691 00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:17,280 Speaker 1: push their new Wonka candies and specifically the Wonka Bar. Now, weirdly, 692 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:19,319 Speaker 1: they couldn't seem to get the formula for the bar 693 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,840 Speaker 1: just right, so they actually didn't even release a Wonka 694 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:24,960 Speaker 1: Bar for a few years after the film. But the 695 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:28,040 Speaker 1: film did help launch several other of their popular candies, 696 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:31,359 Speaker 1: and thankfully it's still a pretty great movie. Yeah. So, 697 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 1: I I think we've talked about this German chemist who 698 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:36,839 Speaker 1: made those fart pills that make your tooth smell like chocolate, right, 699 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:39,839 Speaker 1: But I don't know why chocolate is always the go 700 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,680 Speaker 1: to answer for this type of thing. But uh, this 701 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:44,960 Speaker 1: is like that story on steroids. So in in two 702 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,799 Speaker 1: thousand and sixteen, Japan's sewage companies used a chocolate oil 703 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:51,799 Speaker 1: to mass the scent of their sewage trucks, which I 704 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:54,160 Speaker 1: guess you know, you have your kids running to meet 705 00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 1: the chocolate truck and something they did feel like I 706 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,520 Speaker 1: would ruin the taste for chocolate. So they're smelling chocolate 707 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,600 Speaker 1: in the air and that's the sewage. Yeah, well, it 708 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:09,040 Speaker 1: covers up the sewage. Yeah, wow, that's pretty interesting. All right. Well, 709 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:11,680 Speaker 1: my kids were asking not too long ago why dogs 710 00:35:11,719 --> 00:35:14,719 Speaker 1: can't eat chocolate, and and that's because chocolate contains this 711 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,600 Speaker 1: chemical that we actually talked about earlier, THEO broman which 712 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:20,680 Speaker 1: is a little bit like caffeine, and it's actually toxic 713 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:23,600 Speaker 1: to both dogs and cats. And so this is the 714 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,200 Speaker 1: main reason. And that's because their bodies aren't able to 715 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:29,000 Speaker 1: metabolize the chemical at the same rate that we can. 716 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,400 Speaker 1: So if they have a little too much chocolate, it 717 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 1: just causes them to get sick or very sick. But 718 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,680 Speaker 1: if they have high doses of THEO bro mine, it 719 00:35:36,719 --> 00:35:39,880 Speaker 1: can actually have tragic results, as we know. Man, well, 720 00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:41,680 Speaker 1: I feel like we need to bring this back to 721 00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:45,080 Speaker 1: a slightly happier note. So did you know that Ruth Wakefield, 722 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:47,839 Speaker 1: the inventor of the chocolate chip cookies soldier cookie idea 723 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:50,680 Speaker 1: to Nesleie Tollhouse, and you know how she was compensated 724 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:55,399 Speaker 1: with a lifetime supply of chocolate. No way. Again, it's 725 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:57,120 Speaker 1: still so weird to me to think of somebody like 726 00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:59,880 Speaker 1: as the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie. It just 727 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,040 Speaker 1: els like that stuff that should have just always been 728 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,960 Speaker 1: prayed that in for so many turkeys. Yeah, well, I 729 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:08,280 Speaker 1: have to say that is a great fact and worthy 730 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,319 Speaker 1: of today's Fact Off Trophy. So congratulations Manga, Thank you 731 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:13,920 Speaker 1: so much. Thank you guys for listening. If we've forgotten 732 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:16,479 Speaker 1: any great chocolate facts, we would love to hear from you. Guys. 733 00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:18,480 Speaker 1: You can always email us part Time Genius at how 734 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:21,479 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com or call us on our seven 735 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:24,839 Speaker 1: fact hotline. That's one eight four four pt Genius. We've 736 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:27,319 Speaker 1: gotten so many great comments on Facebook and Twitter, so 737 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:29,360 Speaker 1: you can always hit us up there. But thanks so 738 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:45,440 Speaker 1: much for listening. Thanks again for listening. Part Time Genius 739 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:47,400 Speaker 1: is a production of How Stuff Works and wouldn't be 740 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:50,359 Speaker 1: possible without several brilliant people who do the important things. 741 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:53,319 Speaker 1: We couldn't even begin to understand. Tristan McNeil does the 742 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,719 Speaker 1: ending thing. Noel Brown made the theme song and does 743 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:58,880 Speaker 1: the MIXI MIXI sound thing. Erry Roland does the exact 744 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:02,120 Speaker 1: producers thing. Losier is our lead researcher, with support from 745 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:05,640 Speaker 1: the Research Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams. 746 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:08,840 Speaker 1: Gets the show to your ears. Good jobs. If you 747 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:10,759 Speaker 1: like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, And if 748 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:12,680 Speaker 1: you really really like what you've heard, maybe you could 749 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:16,280 Speaker 1: leave a good review for us. M Jason, who