Candy-related news update

100 Grand giving away 1/20th of their namesake?

From a PR person for one of my favorite candies:

“Chocolate fans and aspiring filmmakers could win $5,000 and a chance to have their video used in the new Nestle 100 Grand ad campaign. The Nestle 100 Grand Commercial Contest, which runs through November 1st, 2007, asks chocolate lovers to create a 30 second video that shows how they reward themselves with the 100 Grand bar.

“To enter or to read complete details, visit

If only I had the time to put together an entry… At every football game, there’s a woman who has a basket of candy ready for us bandies when we stop to perform for them on our way into the Bowl. And yes, we always stop to take candy from strangers.

At yesterday’s game (Yale beat Dartmouth 50-10, by the way), I got a mini 100 Grand bar. Freakishly enough, it was 80+ degrees and brutally sunny – not exactly a crisp fall New England day- so the 100 Grand was a little melted and super sticky by the time I got it, but it was still sooooo good.

15 years or lots and lots of sugary deliciousness?

Mainstream media published scientific findings should always be taken with a grain of salt. Quite often such studies have not been reliably replicated or properly analyzed, and mainstream media sometimes gets interpretations incorrectly or sensationalizes things to make for a better story.

Case in point: “Sweets can ‘take 15 years off your life’.? Grand headline, but the story is about worms and glucose. Glucose is found in more than just chocolate, despite what the accompanying photo may suggest, and it’s a big step to get from worms to humans.

Yes, candy doesn’t have the same health benefits as fresh fruits or veggies, but they’re fine in moderation, and I don’t think my daily dose of candy is going to end up the cause of my early death.