You can never get enough chocolate, and that is clearly a motto the Armenians take to heart.
How do we know?
This weekend, the former Soviet state unveiled the world’s largest chocolate bar, weighing in at a whopping 9,702 pounds. According to The Daily Mail the nearly 5-ton confection — made entirely without Oompa Loompa assistance — measures 224 inches long, 110 inches wide and 10 inches thick. It’s made from cocao beans from Ghana and beat out the record set by the Italians in 2007.
The Grand Candy Factory in Yerevan unveiled the bar to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary, and a representative from the Guinness Book of World Records was on hand to sanction its never-before-seen chocolate heavyweight.
Want a piece of this over-sized bar for yourself? Just get yourself to Yerevan’s main square on Oct. 16, when the bar will be divided up and handed out to the public.
And don’t think for a minute that this bar represents the height of cacao decadence. On the contrary, researchers from Harvard on down have shown that chocolate can actually be good for you. Here’s a few reasons why:
- It’s Good for Your Ticker
Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health examined 136 studies on cocao, the basic form of chocolate, and determined its antioxidant chemicals known as flavonoids can help your heart in several ways. “Studies have shown heart benefits from increased blood flow, less platelet stickiness and clotting, and improved bad cholesterol,” Mary B. Engler, Ph.D., a chocolate researcher and director of the Cardiovascular and Genomics Graduate Program at the University of California-San Francisco told CNN.
- Move Over, Gatorade. Consider Chocolate After a Workout
One study out of Indiana University shows that elite cyclists who drank the typical elementary school staple beverage (AKA: chocolate milk) scored better on some endurance and fatigue tests than those who drank certain sports drinks.
- Better Blood Pressure
A study published in the journal Hypertension (and they would know) found that folks with high blood pressure who ate 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate per day for two weeks saw their blood pressure drop significantly.
So book your ticket to Armenia next month and sample that mammoth chocolate bar. It’s good for you!
Illustration by Ambrozjo via stock.xchang.