George Costanza Candy ID Quiz

Mental_floss, the preeminent purveyors of trivia/crack, have posted the George Costanza Candy Identification Quiz on their site.

For shame. I admit with a heavy heart that I switched the Milky Way and 3 Musketeers bars. I forgot that 3 Musketeers are larger; they don’t have caramel and accommodate more fluffy, delicious nougat.

Martian Science

Scientists from Mars, Inc.’s research arm Mars Botanicals say that cocoa flavanols can be used to develop medical treatments to improve blood flow and other blood vessel functions. Read here.

This is great news. Almost as great as when they announced coffee was actually very good for–well, I don’t know. I didn’t need to hear anything after that. The best part, though? The general manager of Mars Botanicals is Mary Wagner, creator of Taco Bell’s Chalupa. That’s science gold you can take to the bank!

First Wax, Now Vegetable Oil

ABC News reports Chocolate Lovers Pained By Candy Changes

Citing rocketing price costs and insinuating that “lesser” candy bars deserve lesser ingredients, Hershey has been replacing traditional cocoa butter with less expensive vegetable oil in many of its products.

Photo courtesy ABC News

In other cringe-worthy news, The Consumerist noted that Hershey’s Kissables can no longer be considered milk chocolate by FDA standards. They’re just kinda chocolate-like candy now, a careful rephrasing that means a lot. Check it out.

College Students Enjoy Junk Food (Who Knew?)

Researchers with the National Association of College Stores have released the results of a study analyzing the snacking preferences of American college students.

15% of survey participants named Snickers as their favorite candy bar, with Reese’s Cups taking 14%. (What–no love for Bit O’ Honey?!) Roughly half said chips, crackers and popcorn was their favorite type of snack, while only 10% preferred cookies and cake. 9% of college students surveyed had a vague recollection of fruit. 623 participated in the survey; their distribution and breakdown by geography, economic status and other determinants is uncertain.

Read the NACS’s press release.