Chocolate Embers FAQ

What are chocolate embers?

When you're eating a piece of a chocolate, chocolate embers are any of the chocolate that ends up somewhere else.

What counts as a chocolate ember?

If you're in control of the chocolate, it's not an ember. An ember might be:

• A smudge of chocolate in a counter-intuitive location (back of your hand, somehow?)
• A speck of chocolate on your clothing that you can remove without leaving a mark
• A speck of chocolate on your clothing that's already melted in
• Pieces of chocolate that somehow made it under where you're sitting (?)

How can I prevent chocolate embers?

Chocolate embers are generated by a stochastic process. They can't be prevented entirely. The observer effect seems to be at play here, too; "a well watched chocolate never embers".

Here are some common tips for avoiding chocolate embers:

• For smaller chocolate: eating the whole thing at once
• Refrigerate the chocolate
• Check your hands and surroundings before and after eating the chocolate
• For chocolate with perforations: break the chocolate on the wrapper
• Eat the chocolate over a plate or a paper or some other surface

What's the backstory of chocolate embers?

Tom & I were going on a long bike ride and & had brought a plastic tin of GORP. It was sunny out and the chocolate melted on the way up in Tom's backpack. We were short on napkins or sink but ate the melted GORP anyways; I think Tom was able to wipe his hands on some nearby grass, and I was pretty sure I'd been able to lick the chocolate on my hands clean. But nearly an hour later I noted a giant streak of chocolate on the back of my hand and we came up with the name for this phenomenon.

Last updated 8/17/2021