Statistics
Sound Sweet
 Chocolate
has been around for about 2,000 years and in that time it has become one of
the most popular confections in the world. Chocolate is thought by some to
be an aphrodisiac and it has become a tradition to send chocolates to one’s
beloved. Following are some chocolate trivia gems and fun facts:
• Chocolate is the
best-selling candy by far for Valentine’s Day.
• Cocoa was renamed theobroma, “food of the gods,” by Swedish scientist
Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778).
• The first book completely about chocolate was
Cardenas’ Libro en el cual se
trata del chocolate,
published in Mexico in 1609.
• Chocolate contains about 300 different compounds.
• A bar of dark chocolate has less caffeine than a cup of coffee.
• According to the
International Cocoa Organization, the Ivory Coast in Africa produces the
most cocoa beans in the world at more than 1 million metric tons a year.
• The Swiss eat the more
chocolate than any other country consuming more than 10,000 grams per
capita.
• The average British
person spends £2 per week on chocolate and confectionery.
• In 1900, Queen Victoria
sent specially made chocolate bars as a New Year’s greeting to soldiers
fighting the Boer War.
Folks at the Chocolate
Manufacturers Association (CMA) say that champagne and sparkling wines don’t
pair well with milk or dark chocolate. Apparently the acidity in these
libations reacts to chocolate and causes a tart taste. The CMA suggests
pairing champagne and sparkling wines with white chocolate and red wines
with dark chocolate.
Don’t Take a Phisher’s Bait
Internet
phishers trick people into giving them confidential information or into
doing something they normally wouldn’t or shouldn’t do. One example would be
sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be a bank or a credit card
company in an attempt to convince them to share private information that
will be used for identity theft. The term came from the idea that Internet
scammers are using e-mail bait to fish for passwords and financial data from
the sea of Internet  users.
Hackers frequently replace "f" with "ph," thus the word phishing. The term
now includes obtaining user account details and access to all personal and
financial data. Here are some ideas for keeping yourself safe from Internet
phishing. Kiplinger’s recommends the following:
• Never click on a link in e-mail. Even if it looks official it could be a
phisher trying to steal your personal information.
• Make sure you have anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall software. This
will prevent phishers from launching keystroke loggers and other harmful
programs on your computer.
• Use various passwords. Don’t use the same passwords for every site. If
someone hacks a site with poor security they could possibly gain access to
your other accounts with the same password.
• If you’re going to throw out an old computer, make sure you overwrite all
the files on the hard disk. Otherwise your personal information could get
into the wrong hands.
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