tidbits vernon 259 feb 19 2016 chocolate online

Bold Medias Publishing For Advertising Please Call (604) 454 - 1387 www.tidbitsvancouver.comThe Neatest Little Paper Ever Read®

Want to run your own business?Publish a paper in your area, and becomePublish a paper in your area, and become

a part of the family.

www.tidbitscanada.com

Make a di�erence in your community today.

Publish a paper in your area, and becomePublish a paper in your area, and becomefamily. family.

.tidbitscanada.com

Make a di�erence in your

• Armstrong • Cherryville • Coldstream • Falkland • Lavington • Lumby • Silver Star • Spallumcheen • Vernon • Westside Rd •

February 19 - 25, 2016 Issue 00259

TIDBITS® EATS

CHOCOLATEby Janet Spencer

• Canadians and Americans buy more than 58 million pounds of chocolate for Valentine’s Day every year, making up 5% of chocolate sales for the entire year. In honor of that, come along with Tidbits as we eat chocolate!

CHOCOLATE FACTS• Although a lot of chocolate is purchased for

Valentine’s Day, it’s actually the 4th biggest holiday for chocolate sales, after Christmas, Easter, and Halloween.

• � e average American consumes about 12 pounds (5.4 kg) of chocolate every year. However, as far as per capita consumption goes, the U.S. lags behind ten other countries including Switzerland where they eat an average 22 pounds (10 kg) per year.

• � e U.S. consumes about 50 percent of the world’s supply of chocolate.

• Americans eat 2.8 billion pounds of candy each year. Nearly half of it is chocolate.

• Every second, Americans collectively eat 100 pounds (45 kg) of chocolate.

• � e average person will consume 10,000 chocolate bars in a lifetime.

• One chocolate chip can give a person enough energy to walk 150 feet (46 m).

9104 Mackie Drive, Coldstream BCwww.coldstreammeadows.com Call 250-542-5661 to customize your retirement.

Retirement the way YOU want it.

Retirement living with choices.

• Optional and flexible meal plans• Wide range of activities and programs• Complimentary shuttle bus service• 24 hour safety and security• Year round grounds upkeep and maintenance

at Coldstream Meadows

[email protected] “I Love that little paper!” Call Today (250) 832-3361

CHOCOLATE: THE GOOD NEWS• Researchers have found no link between acne

and chocolate.

• Researchers have found a link between daily consumption of dark chocolate and the reduced rate of heart disease.

• Compounds found in dark chocolate have an anti-bacterial e� ect which helps prevent tooth decay.

• Chocolate contains an alkaloid compound called theobromine which is similar to ca� eine, an alkaloid found in co� ee beans. � eobromine, when isolated and re� ned, is used in medicine as a vasodilator to lower blood pressure, as a diuretic, and as a heart stimulant. � e amount of theobromine present in 2.5 ounces of dark chocolate has been shown to reduce coughing, and it has been used to reduce asthma.

CHOCOLATE: THE BAD NEWS• � eobromine can be poisonous when taken

in excess. A lethal dose for an average human would be about 40 Hershey bars. Dogs and cats metabolize theobromine more slowly, making it more dangerous. Although cats can rarely be induced to eat sweets because they are unable to taste sweet things, dogs will happily gorge on chocolate. A smaller dog can die after eating as little as 1.8 oz (50 g) of milk chocolate; a larger dog can die after eating a pound of it.

• Dark chocolate is far higher in theobromine concentration than milk chocolate and is therefore more dangerous for dogs. It’s treatable if caught early and treated, but can cause seizures and death.

• In 2014, four black bears were found dead of

theobromine poisoning in New Hampshire after unscrupulous hunters lured them to a bait site using chocolate and chocolate donuts.

CHOCOLATE HISTORY• Chocolate comes from a bean that grows on the

cacao tree. � e cacao tree is an evergreen native to the tropical regions of Central and South America. Its cultivation has since spread to tropical regions worldwide, primarily in Africa.

• � e name ‘cacao’ is a Maya word meaning ‘god food.’ � is inspired the Latin name which is ‘� eobroma cacao’ where ‘theo’ means ‘god’ and ‘broma’ means ‘food.’

• � e word ‘cocoa’ is a corrupted spelling of ‘cacao.’

• � e word ‘chocolate’ is derived from the Mayan word ‘xocolatl’ meaning ‘bitter water’ because raw cacao is indeed bitter unless sweetened.

PHOTO: Mark HamillPhoto credit: Deposit-photos.com

H O L L Y W O O D Mark Hamill, very low key during the big push for “Star Wars: � e Force Awakens,” is spear-heading a crusade to protect � lm fans from being victim-ized by unscrupu-lous dealers selling movie posters and

other memorabilia he believes were not signed by him. He explains, “� e public is being swindled on a daily basis, and the numbers are huge. I just can’t keep quiet when I see people I love being hurt.” Hamill has teamed up with California Assembly-woman Ling Ling Chang to extend protections that apply to sports memorabilia to all signed collect-ibles by dealers in the state. Under a pending bill, Chang would require certi� cates from dealers for signed memorabilia and duped customers would be entitled to as much as 10 times the cost of a forged item in civil court. Merchandise valued at millions of dollars -- including a baseball suppos-edly signed by Mother Teresa and autographs of George Washington, Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy -- has been seized from a half-dozen forg-

ers.Hamill adds, “In a way, it seems futile to try and counter what is clearly a very lucrative market, but we can’t let them get away with it!”***Patrick Wilson, who starred in the TV series “A Gift-ed Man” and such � lms as the musical “Phantom of the Opera,” “� e A-Team,” “Watchman,” “� e Conjuring” and “� e Alamo,” may just be acting for fun. His net worth is more than $275 million.***Laurel and Hardy ruled movie theaters as one of the top comedy teams from 1921-1951. If you don’t know who they are, you’ll be able to discover them in the upcoming British � lm “Stan & Ollie,” which will star Englishman Steve Coogan, last seen in “Philomena” (2013) and “Night at the Museum: Se-cret of the Tomb” (2014), as Stan Laurel and Ameri-can John C. Reilly, Oscar nominated for “Chicago” (2002) and in the 2017 King Kong � lm, “Kong: Skull Island,” as Oliver Hardy. � e � lm follows the duo as they embark on a variety-hall tour of England in 1953 that was unsuccessful ... until audiences fell in love with them and rediscovered them, as you may.Also in the works is an upcoming English TV movie about the supposedly infamous time that Elizabeth Taylor (Stockard Channing), Marlon Brando (Brian Cox) and Michael Jackson (Joseph Finnes) rented a car after 9/11 to drive to Los Angeles because the airports were closed. � e trio got as far as Ohio and � ew the rest of the way. Since all three stars are gone, who knows what happened during that car trip? Imagine seeing Liz, Marlon and Jacko at a greasy spoon drinking joe. I think we would have heard about that by now.

(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

[email protected] The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read® Call Today (250) 832-3361 when an Italian pastry maker mixed hazelnuts into chocolate to extend his dwindling cocoa supply.

• More than 49 million Tootsie Rolls are made every day.

• Hershey’s produces over 80 million chocolate Kisses every day. � ey are called Kisses because the machine seems to be ‘kissing’ the conveyor belt.

• Milky Way candy bars are not named after the galaxy, but are actually named for malted milkshakes because that’s the taste manufacturers were hoping to reproduce.

• � ree Musketeers bars originally included three pieces per package in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry � avors. Manufacturers switched to just chocolate after the price of strawberries went up.

• � e Snickers bar was named after the inventor’s favorite horse. Snickers is currently America’s top-selling candy bar.

• Andes Candies were originally called “Andy’s Candies,” after creator George Andrew Kanelos, but he changed the name after realizing men didn’t want to buy chocolates for their sweethearts that had another man’s name on them.

• German chocolate cake did not originate in Germany. In 1852, a man named Sam German developed a sweet baking chocolate bar for Baker’s Chocolate Co. � e product was named in honor of him.

Amazing Animals

PIGS• Pigs are among the most intelligent of the

domesticated animals. � eir IQ is comparable to a dog’s.

• Technically speaking, a pig is an animal less than 10 weeks old, and a hog is a mature pig. Piglets weaned o� their mother’s milk are called shoats. A female pig is called a gilt until she has given birth, when she is called a sow. An adult male is called a boar. A castrated male is called a barrow.

• From birth to the age of six months, a typical piglet will increase its size by 7,000 percent.

• Pigs can live up to 15 years.

• Like humans, pigs are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and other animals. � ey prefer to eat slowly and savor their food.

• � ere are 16 species of pigs including wild boars, pygmy hogs, and domestic pigs. Domestic pigs have curly tails; wild pigs have straight tails.

• Pig skin has no sweat glands. To keep cool, pigs prefer a dip in cool, clean water. If that is not available, mud will do. Mud also protects them from lice and other parasites as well as preventing sunburn.

• Pigs prefer clean pens, and will always relieve themselves in the corner furthest from where

CHOCOLATE FARMS• More than two-thirds of the world’s cacao is

grown in Africa, and the Ivory Coast alone produces about one third of the world’s supply. Ninety percent of the world’s supply of cacao is grown on small family-run farms, most of which are smaller than 12 acres. Many poor rural cacao farmers have never experienced chocolate.

• It takes a cacao tree four to � ve years to produce its � rst cacao pods. A pod is about the size and shape of a football, and it contains about 50 individual cacao beans. Each cacao tree can produce approximately 2,500 beans each year. Cacao trees can live to be 200 years old, but they only produce marketable beans for about 25 years.

• Cacao butter is the white-colored natural fat inside a cacao bean. Cacao butter is the main ingredient in white chocolate. Because of the nature of cacao butter, chocolate is one of the few edible substances that melts at just below body temperature. � is means that chocolate does in fact ‘melt in your mouth.’

CANDY BAR FACTS• M&M candies were created during World War II

in order to get chocolate to the soldiers without it melting during shipment to hot climates. � e name stands for company founders, Forrest Mars & Bruce Murrie.

• Nutella was invented during World War II,

1. For those of you who grew up listening to your parents tube ampli�ers and remember how good they sounded, we are delighted to introduce Triode Labs and Finale Audio to our selective product lines.

2. If you are guitar player who knows the di�erence between solid state and tube driven guitar ampli�er sound, this is the product for you.3. If you love sitting back, relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine and listening to great music on a system that will make you feel like you are at your favourite venue of choice, come in and experience another superb, hand built, Canadian product.

• Made in Canada with parts manufactured inCanada, the US, UK, Germany and Japan.

• Completely customizable in terms of colour and component selection.

• Three Reasons to Love Tubes •

Finalé F-138 FFX Stereo Tube Ampli�er

3107 - 30th Avenue, Vernon • (778) 475-3180facebook.com/spinnerssound


Pigs (continued):

human heart valves.

• Because of their thick skin, pigs can withstand the bite of venomous snakes far better than other animals.

• “Porcus” is Latin for pig, giving us the word pork.

• � e world’s largest pig was Big Bill, a hog who was � ve feet tall (1.5 m) at the shoulder, nine feet long (2.7 m), and weighed 2,552 pounds (1,157 kg) in 1933. He was scheduled to be exhibited at the World’s Fair but broke a leg and had to be put down.

• Because young pigs grow so fast, a total of 48 piglets were used during the � lming of the movie “Babe.”

• � e reason pigs are used to sni� out tru� es below the ground is because tru� es exude a scent that imitates the pig’s sexual chemical messengers.

• Winston Churchill famously said that, “Dogs look up to man. Cats look down to man. Pigs look us straight in the eye and see an equal.”

QUIZ: CANDY BARS• John was born in England in 1801 to a Quaker

family. As a Quaker, he was not allowed to attend college or join the military, so he did what most Quakers did in those days: he went into business.

• He felt the consumption of alcohol was responsible for many of society’s ills, so he decided to provide people with an alternative. In 1824 he rented a factory and began to manufacture ‘drinking chocolate’ which is now called cocoa or hot chocolate. He made it by grinding up cocoa beans using a mortar and pestle, blending it with sugar, and pressing it into blocks. Customers would take the blocks home and shave some o� into hot water or milk.

• � e enterprise prospered, and in 1861 he turned the business over to his sons. A few

they sleep.

• � e pig’s snout is very sensitive to touch. Some pig farmers put rings in pigs’ noses to prevent them from rooting around in the dirt with their snouts, causing damage to crops.

• Pigs consume half the corn supply of the U.S., and 75 million of them each year are slaughtered to provide Americans with the 65 pounds (29 kg) of pork eaten per capita.

• About 65% of a pig is edible.

• Bacon is one of the oldest processed meats in history. � e Chinese began salting pork bellies as early as 1500 BC. Today, 38% of meat consumed worldwide is pork.

• Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto brought pigs with him in the year 1539 when he came to explore the southeastern region of North America. � ey were the � rst pigs on the continent. Pigs that escaped from his herd became and ancestors of razorback pigs.

• Pigs are important in medicine, because their skin is used for treating burns, their insulin is used for diabetics, their thyroxine is used to treat underactive thyroids, and a compound from their pituitary gland is used to relieve arthritis. About 40 di� erent medications are made from pigs, and their heart valves have been used to replace

years later, his sons began using a new automated process that removed cocoa butter from the cocoa bean, which allowed them to expand their business into o� ering chocolate bars and chocolate candy.

• In 1875 they o� ered chocolate Easter eggs which were so popular they soon had 200 employees in their factory. � ey studied the Swiss techniques of making milk chocolate and by 1899 they had 2,600 employees.

• When John’s sons grew old, his grandsons took over. � ey revamped their Easter eggs, adding a crème � lling in order to mimic the yolk of an egg. Today, 1.5 million of those crème-� lled eggs are produced every single day at the main factory in Birmingham, England. � ey are sold primarily at Easter. � e egg, and the company, is named after John’s last name. What was John’s last name? (answer below)

A TOFFEE BAR• In 1913 in Robinson, Illinois, a father bought a

candy store to give his sons a business to run. � e sons, named Bayard and Everett, turned the store into a successful candy shop, soda fountain, and ice cream parlor. A traveling salesman shared a recipe for to� ee with them, which he got from a candy store in a nearby town. Bayard and Everett

by Samantha Weaver

* It was American mythologist Joseph Campbell who made the following sage observation: “� e cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

* If you’re an a� cionado of barbed wire, be sure to head to LaCrosse, Kansas, during the � rst week-end of May. Collectors gather there every year for the Antique Barbed Wire Swap and Sell Festival.

* You might be surprised to learn that both men and women have an Adam’s apple; it’s more vis-ible on men because men have larger larynxes and because women tend to have more fatty tis-sue in their necks.

* You doubtless know of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding Fathers, as the na-tion’s � rst Secretary of the Treasury, and you’ve probably heard that he was fatally wounded in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr. Most of his accomplishments are not common knowl-edge, though -- and they deserve to be. Born into poverty on the Caribbean island of Nevis, the il-legitimate son of a Scots merchant, Hamilton be-gan work as a clerk at the age of 11. His employ-ers were so impressed with his intelligence that they paid for him to attend school in America, where he became involved in revolutionary poli-tics. He was a lieutenant colonel by the age of 20 and managed to marry into one of the most dis-tinguished families in New York. In addition to writing most of the Federalist Papers, Hamilton founded the New York Post, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Mint.

* Marie de Medici, queen of France in the early 17th century, once had a gown made that was embellished with more than 3,000 diamonds and 30,000 pearls. ***� ought for the Day: “He who is only just is cruel. Who on earth could live were all judged justly?” -Lord Byron


[email protected] The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read® Call Today (250) 832-3361

experimented with the new candy until they perfected the recipe. Later they covered the to� ee with chocolate.

• In 1928 their father bought a dairy nearby and he convinced his sons to quit the candy store to come help him on the dairy farm. � ey did, but they brought their candy-making equipment with them and continued to turn out to� ee. � ey started including ‘to� ee bars’ on the dairy’s order form, so people could order milk, cream, cottage cheese, or to� ee delivered right to their door every morning. Sales got a boost, but then the Great Depression hit.

• However, to� ee bars sold well during the Depression, because they cost only a nickel and there was no other candy on the market that was like them. Another boost arrived with World War II, when the Army discovered the to� ee bar’s long shelf life and began to include it in soldiers rations. When the soldiers came home, they looked for it in stores. Hershey bought the company in 1996, but the candy bar, named after the family that invented it, remains unchanged. What’s it called? Answer below.

IT’S A FACT• � e chocolate industry in the U.S. employs

about 37,000 people and ships goods worth over $14 billion each year.

Answer: Cadbury.

Answer: Heath bar.

1. MUSIC: Who was known as “� e Godfather of Soul”?2. TELEVISION: What was the name of the yellow character on the children’s show “Teletubbies”?3. SPORTS: What competition features activities such as clean, jerk and snatch?4. FOOD & DRINK: What kind of dried fruit are prunes?5. FAMOUS QUOTATIONS: What famous play-wright once observed, “� e course of true love never did run smooth”?6. MATHEMATICS: What number does the pre� x giga- represent?7. U.S. STATES: Which U.S. state shares only one border with another state?8. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the Suez Canal?9. PRESIDENTS: Which U.S. president was born with the name Leslie King?10. MOVIES: In the Disney movie “Aladdin,” how long was the genie inside the lamp before Alad-din released him?

Answers1. James Brown2. Laa-Laa3. Weightlifting4. Plums5. William Shakespeare6. 1 billion7. Maine8. Egypt9. Gerald Ford10. 10,000 years


Simple Salisbury Steak

We cut the fat in this American classic while losing none of the � avor.

1 (10 1/2-ounce) can Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup16 ounces extra-lean ground sirloin beef or turkey breast6 tablespoons dried � ne breadcrumbs1/2 cup � nely chopped onion1 teaspoon dried parsley � akes2 tablespoons reduced-sodium ketchup1 (2.5-ounce) jar sliced mushrooms, undrained

1. In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup mushroom soup, meat, bread crumbs, onion and parsley � akes. Mix well to combine. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup as a guide, form into 6 patties. Place patties in a large skillet sprayed with butter-� avored cooking spray. Brown for about 5 minutes on each side.2. In a small bowl, combine remaining mush-room soup, ketchup and undrained mush-rooms. Spoon mixture evenly over browned patties. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. When serving, evenly spoon sauce over patties. Serves 6.

* Each serving equals: 157 calories, 5g fat, 16g protein, 12g carb., 355mg sodium, 62mg calcium, 1g � ber; Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Meat, 1 Carb.



* “Shower hooks, the rings used to hang your show-er curtain, also can be used in the coat closet to hang bags and such. You can install a sturdy bar toward the back of the closet and hang the bags by their handles, hooked onto the shower curtain rings.” -- T.I. in Michigan

* Too much paper? Here is an idea to decrease what you store: First, look up the instruction manual for any items you purchase, and save them to a � le on your computer rather than keeping the paper man-ual. � en scan your receipts and save them with the manuals. If you don’t have a scanner, take a good-quality digital photo of the receipt, and make sure that the numbers are readable.

* “Did you know that pets get lost more often in win-ter and inclement weather? � e precipitation can wash away or mask scent markers that help dogs and cats determine their location. Be sure that your animals are microchipped and that your informa-tion is up to date. If you � nd a lost pet, take it to the nearest vet to have it scanned for the owner’s info. Let’s keep our pets safe!” -- S.M. in Connecticut

* Cut a hole into the backing of your nightstand, and you can place a power strip in the drawer. � e cord goes right out the back of the nightstand and all the cords are out of sight. � is also works in an end table with a drawer for your living room or en-tryway.

* “For sticky scissors, simply reach for the castor oil! Rub a little on the scissors, and they’ll loosen up in no time. � is is great for kitchen scissors that are cleaned often, because castor oil is safe and can be ingested. My scissors go through the dishwasher all the time, and the castor oil keeps them from rust-ing.” -- M.W. in Oregon

Making the Most of Cat’s 9 Lives

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I’m extremely curious about the average lifespan of cats. Years ago my husband found a stray kitten about 6 weeks old. “Skeezix” lived to be 26 years old until he passed away one night after two strokes. We also res-cued a stray we named “Sheba,” and we had her for 25 years (the vet couldn’t believe she’d lived so long), so she was at least 26 or 27 when con-gestive heart failure took her. My two remaining cats, “Mama” and “Baby,” are about 16 and 19 years old, respectively.We’ve never done anything special in terms of care and feeding. � ey all have been spayed or neutered, gotten regular veterinary care and lived indoors exclusively. I feed them Dad’s dry cat food, split a can of wet food between them occasionally, and of course a few Whiskas treats every day. Is it normal for cats to have such lon-gevity? -- Fay, via email

DEAR FAY: � ose are amazingly long-lived cats! � e average life span of a common housecat is about 15 years, so it’s safe to say that all of your cats have made it well past that mark.Is there a magic formula to help your cats live longer? No one has that, but there are some things that will improve a cat’s life over the long term, and you have done all of them. Regular vet care, keeping cats indoors (away from many dangers and stressors), routine feeding and, of course, lots of TLC can all contribute to long life.So, who is the oldest cat ever documented? � at would be Creme Pu� , a cat in Austin, Texas, who made the Guinness Book of World Records in 2005 at the spry age of 38!

[email protected] The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read® Call Today (250) 832-3361

Factory Built10” Metal Dump Box

complete with electric hoist.

Volume: 8 cu. yds. Ideal for wood or garden supplies.

Remove from 2002 one ton.

$2000Will trade for

metal � at deck.(250) 938-1101

(Vernon)

• 4 Stained Glass Windows. Many

� owers in the design. 3’x3’ (approx). $200

each• Box trailer with roll

back door - side door also. $1300

• 1950 Dodge car $700• Two 1961 Cadillacs. Two door hardtop & convertable $5000

• Old starter car $800

Call Larry(250) 547-2210

(Enderby)

Birch FirewoodFor Sale

14”, 16” & 20” $200 per cord plus

delivery. Free delivery in Cherryville. Or you

can pick up. 250-547-6747 (Cherryville)

V.J.H. Auxiliary Gift Shop

( at the hospital) New Spring Arrivals

now on display.Root bags.

Pashminas.Umbrellas for ladies

and children.In� nity scarves

in soft pastel colours.Spring bling jewellery.

Fashion clothing.Specialty teas.Floral mugs.

Friendship Balls thatare great for gifts.

Fisher Airtight Register Stove

24” depth capacity1/4 steel

$2,500 when new.PLUS 2 cords

of wood.Asking $800 obo(250) 558-0765

(Vernon)

Wanted: Purchasing old Canadian & American

coin collections & accumulations.

Old gold & sterling! Private, Prompt &

con� dential. 250-548-3670

(Shuswap)

tidbits vernon 259 feb 19 2016 chocolate online

Documents