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For a long time, my favorite vice was Coke. I drank more Coke and Diet Coke than any other drink – including water! But when my teeth started falling apart, I swore off that sweet brown nectar and haven’t had one in years. But I do still have one dark master: chocolate. As every chocoholic knows, this gem of the jungles is complex and delicious. But did you know there’s more to it than just the taste? A chocolate bar might just help you out of a survival situation. Here’s how.
1. Morale booster – The complicated chemical cocktail of chocolate contains compounds that improve circulation, provide a mild stimulant effect, and benefit your mood.
2. Toothpaste – Generally associated with causing cavities instead of preventing them, a bit of chocolate can act as a make shift toothpaste due to its mild abrasive qualities. And you can swallow as much of it as you like! Just make sure your kids don’t find out about this one, as they’ll never go back to Crest.
3. Rust-proofing – Knives, tools, and other metal objects can be protected from rust and corrosion by a light coating of oily chocolate.
4. Barter – I’ll trade you these 10 chocolate bars for that sack of flour… 500 years ago in Central America, a nice turkey hen was worth 100 cacao beans.
5. Polish – Since chocolate is both mildly abrasive and oily, it has been used to polish dull metal objects to a brilliant shine. This can be handy in the production of signal mirrors and parabolic mirror fire starters (like the fabled Coke can and chocolate bar fire starting method).
6. Bribery – As any desperate parent knows, chocolate can be used as an effective bribe. During a crisis situation where food is limited, it could be effective on both kids and adults.
7. Lubricant – The fat content of your bar can allow it to be a fine lubricant for the bow and drill friction fire socket. Just squish a small morsel of the brown stuff into your handhold socket and drill your way to a glorious fire.
8. Trap bait – Any scavenger with a sweet tooth (such as raccoons, opossum and skunks) will be a likely taker for this sweet treat.
9. Hot drinks – Hot chocolate as a beverage dates back centuries. And few things revive a victim of mild hypothermia like a hot drink laden with calories. Melt half of a chocolate bar into a cup of hot water and have your exposure victim sip on the brew slowly.
10. Eat It! – The intended use for the chocolate bar is still my favorite. The average bar of milk chocolate is about 400 calories, half of which are from fat and the other half from sugar. This gives you a great blend of quick energy and slow burning calories to sustain your body and lift your spirits in a time of hardship (or any other time).
Leave us a comment to tell us what survival chores you can accomplish with your favorite chocolate candy bar.