snackdown! - 4.2.10

after a few weeks off, this week the snackdown! returns & since it's CHOCOLATE WEEK here on eat!drink!snack!, that means that it's time for a very special treat--an ALL-CHOCOLATE SNACKDOWN! you might be thinking "is there really that much chocolate news out there?" yes, my friend. yes there is...especially since we're smack-dab in the middle of easter week, one of the happiest times of the year for the multi-billion dollar a year chocolate industry. let's get to it...the ALL-CHOCOLATE SNACKDOWN!

• scientific fact: chocolate is totally sexy. because of the pleasure derived from eating it, people often think of it as an aphrodisiac. personally, i've never included chocolate as part of sex, but that doesn't mean i haven't considered it. now babeland, a female-friendly sex shop with locations in nyc & seattle, has come up with the perfect way to derive sexual pleasure from chocolate--the vibrating chocolate bunny, a vibrator that also doubles as a chocolate treat. while it may sound slightly unsanitary, the chocolate's wrapped in gold foil, so you basically do your business, unwrap the foil & have yourself a tasty treat. once you've used it though, i'm not sure you'll give a shit about the chocolate inside. (ny press)


• in south africa last saturday, celebrities & underprivileged kids got together for the unveiling of the world's largest chocolate bunny. for a week leading up to the event, four sculptors took three tons of chocolate & carved it into a 12.5 foot tall bunny that was eventually verified as the new record holder for "world's largest chocolate structure." once it was verified, the kids got to go to town on it but unfortunately, for some of those kids, that chocolate bunny might be the only thing they got to eat all day long. at least they got to eat chocolate. (cnn)


• this weekend in queensland, australia they're celebrating this weekend's bunny & jesus-themed holiday with an easter fashion show. for the event, designer richard de chazal has created the tastiest dress ever--one made entirely of chocolate, with a skirt "adorned with ferrero rocher chocolates." de chazal, who made the dress out of 44 pounds of chocolate, called it "one of his most challenging projects." luckily, based on many models' nonexistent eating habits, it's in no danger of being eaten before it hits the runway. (herald sun)


• if we learned anything from last year's breakout comedy hit the hangover, it's that out in vegas, pretty much anything goes. it's a place where the impossible becomes possible & in that spirit, caesar's palace has installed a three-acre swimming pool entirely filled with chocolate. the pool, which is fed by a 30-foot tall waterfall, is apparently "the first swimming pool comprised entirely of chocolate." it sounds like a neat idea, but i'm not sure how practical it is. it's one thing to be swimming & get water in your eyes, but it's a whole other thing when you get chocolate in your eyes. that can't be fun. (lasvegasvegas.com)


• for those who practice judaism, passover began on wednesday with the passover seder, a traditional ritual feast that marks the beginning of the holiday. not all seders are traditional though. these days, hundreds of synagogues across the country hold chocolate seders, rituals that don't replace the actual seder but do make it more fun for the young folk. how? instead of bitter herbs & an egg, the chocolate seder offers foodstuffs such as "chocolate-enrobed green apples" & cadbury mini eggs. i'd take those over bitter herbs & an egg any day of the week. (san jose mercury news)