World Chocolate Day is July 7th, and to celebrate, Elite Singles has uncovered 9 of the most delicious facts about love and chocolate. Why are they such perfect partners? Can chocolate make you more susceptible to romance? And how much chocolate would you really have to eat to feel the aphrodisiac effects? We have the answers!
All you need is Love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. – Charles M. Schulz, creator of ‘Peanuts’
This famous saying by legendary cartoonist Charles M. Schultz is just part of the long history shared between chocolate and love. Chocolate desserts are the end of many romantic dinners, and for millions, it just wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without a box of something sweet (more on that later).
But is the connection between chocolate and romance so strong that it can really affect your love life? And how did chocolate become a symbol of love? Just in time for World Chocolate Day (aka International Chocolate Day), we uncover 9 fun facts about chocolate and love. Grab a bar of good stuff, snuggle up and enjoy!
9 FACTS ABOUT CHOCOLATE AND LOVE
- The scent of chocolate can make you more likely to buy a romance novel.
Are you drawn to the romance section of the bookstore? The proximity to the cafe could be an explanation. In 2013, Belgian researchers conducted an experiment in which they pumped chocolate scents into a local bookstore and then analysed shoppers’ behavior. When the store smelled like chocolate, sales of romance novels and cookbooks increased 40% more than when the store didn’t have the scent. Interestingly, other sales also increased, but not by as much. flirtwith.com
- Chocolate can turn you on more than passionate kisses.
In 2007, a study looked at a couple’s brain waves and heartbeats while resting, while kissing, and while eating chocolate. The researchers found that kissing made their hearts beat faster than their resting rate, but that chocolate made them beat even faster! Additionally, those who let the chocolate melt in their mouths also saw an increase in brain activity that the BBC described as “much more intense and long-lasting than the emotion seen with kissing.”
- 2018 is the 150th anniversary of the heart-shaped box of chocolates
Did you get a box of heart-shaped chocolates for Valentine’s Day? You can thank Richard Cadbury, an Englishman who helped create the famous Cadbury brand of chocolate. In 1861 he had the idea to design ‘Fancy Boxes’, chocolate boxes covered with Cupids and roses. In 1868, Cadbury began making heart-shaped versions for Valentine’s Day and people began using them as a place to store love letters. That means they have been linked with love for 150 years!
- Americans buy millions of heart-shaped boxes of chocolate every Valentine’s Day.
They may have been invented in England, but it’s the Americans who have brought heart-shaped chocolate boxes to their, well, hearts. In fact, in the US alone, about 40 million such boxes are sold each Valentine’s Day. 4 Richard Cadbury would be proud.
- Even Casanova believed that chocolate was an aphrodisiac…
The legendary womaniser Giacomo Casanova was not the kind of man who would make you dream of a white picket fence. However, it can be assumed that, with his appetites, he knew of his aphrodisiac foods. Your favorite of his? Hot chocolate. In fact, the story goes that he referred to the humble hot chocolate as ‘The Elixir of Love’ and preferred it to champagne as a flirting tool.
- But you would have to eat 25 pounds of chocolate at one time to feel the aphrodisiac effects!
However, science has shown that Casanova’s chocolaty motivation may have been primarily psychological. Among the chemicals in dark chocolate are those that have been shown to increase serotonin and dopamine and thus lift your mood in a way that feels like a romantic rush. But chocolate doesn’t have enough enhancers to have an immediate effect. In fact, researchers have estimated that you’d need to eat 25 pounds in one sitting to feel overwhelmed. flirtwith
- Love can make chocolate (and water) taste sweeter.
A strange sign that you are falling in love is that food and drink may start to taste sweeter. A 2013 set of studies compared the likes of a neutral group with groups of participants induced to feel love, jealousy, and happiness. Each group was asked to rank the sweetness of certain foods, such as chocolate and even water. The neutral, jealous, and happy groups rated foods similarly, but the loving group’s ratings were consistently higher on the sweet scale.
- Hershey’s kisses are named after the sound of a kiss, but it’s not as romantic as it sounds.
Have you ever wondered why Hershey’s kisses are called kisses? He may not be as romantic as he imagined! In fact, the kisses are so called because the machine that pushes them makes a “kissing” sound every time the chocolate hits the conveyor belt. 8 Romantic or not, they are without a doubt the most popular form of chocolate kiss; The Hershey Company produces about 60 million of them every day.
- Chocolate can make single people fantasies about love.
Single this World Chocolate Day? Why not eat chocolate? It might even get you in the dating mood, as shown by a 2014 study that looked at the effects of snacking on single people’s romantic thoughts. The researchers found that singles who ate chocolate Oreo cookies were more likely to start imagining hypothetical love affairs than those who ate salty potato chips. Also, relationships were more likely to be described in a positive way.
From Casanova to Cadbury, and from beating hearts to heart-shaped boxes, it’s clear that chocolate and love have been a perfect match for most of history. So why not celebrate that connection this World Chocolate Day and share a bar with someone you love? Don’t worry, it still counts if the person you love and share with is yourself!
