What’s in the chocolate? That’s what I asked after hearing about two incidents involving the sinfully sweet treat.
The first… some call a chocolate miracle. No, it’s not an invention that turns broccoli into fudge. Rather, workers at a California chocolate company say they discovered a 2-inch column of chocolate drippings that they believe bears a striking resemblance to the Virgin Mary. (To see a picture click here.)
For the past few days workers at Bodega gourmet chocolates have spent their break time hovering over the tiny figure; honoring it as they would any other statute of Jesus’ mother. Some have even placed rose petals and candles around it.
According to news reports, kitchen worker Cruz Jacinto spotted the “figure” when she began cleaning up drippings that had accumulated under a large vat of dark chocolate. Since chocolate drippings usually harden in thin, flat strips Jacinto said she stopped cold in her tracks when she noticed the unusual chocolate shape. She told reporters it looked just like the Virgin Mary on the prayer card she always carries in her right pocket.
People who have seen the chocolate Virgin Mary in person say the piece has “a wide base and tapers gently toward a rounded top, giving the appearance of a female figure with her head tilted slightly to the right. The dark brown melting chocolate hardened into subtle layers that resemble the folds of a gown and a flowing veil.”
The other chocolate “miracle” is equally bizarre. It occurred in a city not far from where I live… and it is most certainly the talk of our town.
A couple of days ago a worker at a local chocolate factory fell into a massive vat of the bittersweet treat and lived to tell about it. Now you might think it would be a dream come true to be up to your chest in warm, gooey chocolate, but you would be wrong. At least that’s what Debellis chocolate workers are saying after watching their co-worker struggle for two hours in a chocolate vat (some witnesses say it was like being trapped in cement or quicksand).
Rescue crews had to use coco-butter to thin out the chocolate enough to pull the man to safety. He did suffer minor injuries. (By the way, he was stirring the chocolate when he accidentally fell in.)
Police say it was the first time they had ever seen anything like it before in their lives. I believe it and I’m glad the worker is on the road to recovery. Though, my neighbor made the comment that she could think of worse ways to die.