In perhaps the most whimsical news of the year, chocolate snow fell in Switzerland earlier this week. On Tuesday, August 18, the company Lindt & Sprünglii confirmed reports of chocolate "snow" appearing on the ground around its Swiss manufacturing facility. The response from the internet was resounding: “I want to go there.”
Residents of the Swiss town of Olten, where the Lindt & Sprüngli factory is located, noticed tiny chocolate particles on their cars and streets that looked very much like the result of chocolate snow. Before you pack your bags and head to Switzerland, this is not a meteorological phenomenon you can expect to happen again. According to the Associated Press, the cocoa "snow" is caused by a ventilation failure, specifically the cooling ventilation ducts where the cocoa nibs are roasted. Coupled with strong winds, chocolate powder was blown up near the factory.
Chocolate snow is completely harmless and won't cause any Willy Wonka-esque disasters. The only "damage" caused was a car that was lightly covered in cocoa snow. Lindt & Sprüngli has offered to pay for any necessary cleaning costs, but has not yet accepted. On a related note, if anyone needs help clearing the chocolate snowfall, I'll be happy to volunteer my services/stomach.
While chocolate snow—not to be mistaken for chocolate rain—is a once-in-a-lifetime event, it's far from the only food-related leak in recent memory. In 2018, a tanker truck carrying liquid chocolate overturned on a Polish highway, causing the road to be covered in melted chocolate. If you're more into tasty spills, maybe this McDonald's French Fry Truck Spills will suit your taste. Highways around the world are lined with everything from cookie dough to wine to 1,000 DiGourno pizzas thanks to an overflow of food trucks. However, Chocolate Snow was definitely a first.
Much to the dismay of chocolate lovers around the world, Lindt & Sprüngli's ventilation system has been fixed. Pack away the brownies and cakes that need a dusting because the chocolate snow has stopped. We just have to enjoy chocolate the old-fashioned way: shoveling it into our mouths.
