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If you haven’t already heard, the future supply of chocolate may be in jeopardy. This situation is caused by the increase in demand for chocolate and the decline in cacao tree production. The cacao tree produces the seed that makes chocolate. The increase in demand comes not only from the fact that anything chocolate tastes so good, but also from the growing evidence that eating chocolate can be good for your health. The decrease in production comes from several reasons. First, diseases destroy a third of the world’s cacao crop every year. And those diseases are spreading around …

The largest chocolate manufacturer in North America, Hershey Foods Corporation, recently opened a museum in Hershey , Pennsylvania . This museum is a monument to Milton S. Hershey, who founded the company in 1894. The museum combines relics of the past, like a model of the machine used to wrap Hershey’s Kisses, along with high tech gadgets. Hershey had several false starts in the candy making business before hitting on a winner in 1899 when he developed the Hershey process which produced a milk chocolate bar. In 1907 Hershey introduced the small flat-bottomed conical-shaped chocolate p …

Something new for all ages Last week I took my kids grocery shopping. On our way out of the supermarket they always want to stop by the vending machines. So we did. Much to their excitement the machines have some new toys to choose from. My fashion conscious 11-year-old daughter’s eyes fell on the machine with 1” True Color Rings . There was everything from hip hot pink, brilliant blue, sunflower yellow, purple and green rings all in different designs including red hearts, flowers, and the classic shapes like squares and ovals. She put her 25 cents in the machine and much to her deli …

I’ve been saying it for years, and now it’s confirmed by a group of researchers at Oxford University along with their colleagues at the University of Oslo that I’ve been right all along. Tea, wine and chocolate sure enough keep my brain active. The researchers say it’s the high levels of flavonoids that keep away dementia and keep me smart. Now maybe my friends won’t laugh so loud when I have a cup of green tea every morning, and indulge in a glass of wine and a Tootsie Roll or a Rocky Road Bar after dinner. Although the Oxford research isn’t a clinical …

Madagascar Tattoos now available The tattoos everyone’s been waiting for, the DreamWorks Escape 2 Africa series, are ready for your standard sticker or tattoo flat vending machines. This series of 15 temporary tattoos include Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, Master Tigress, Maurice the Aye-aye, Mort Mouse Lemur, Julien the Ring-Tailed Lemur, and Zuba, voice of the late Bernie Mac. These Madagascar 2 tattoos come in a 300 count box for flat vend tattoo and sticker vending machines from candymachines.com . They are individually packaged in folders measuring 4 1/2×3 in …