World's Tallest Chocolate Fountain

I never really cared about Las Vegas, even after "Ocean's Eleven" came out. Sure, the Bellagio sounds cool and hip, but what do I care about casinos? Well, I just found out that this is what I care about casinos:




That's right, folks -- it's the World's tallest chocolate fountain at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. I found these photos on Flickr (Thanks, lesliebyk and shookiemookie!). Here are the facts:

• Designed by Montreal artist Michel Mailhot
  
• It's the world's tallest and largest-volume chocolate fountain.
  
• The glass-encased fountain contains about 2,100 pounds of flowing chocolate.
• 6 pumps circulate close to 2 tons of chocolate.
• Over 500 feet of stainless steel piping
• Chocolate circulates at 120 degrees Farenheit.
• 2 years of engineering, planning, and design

Now, scroll back up to those images. You know you want to.

Making Chocolate: A Video

If you love watching chocolate products being made, you really ought to check out the "Making Chocolate" video on the Hershey Corporation Web site. It's incredible.

Could it be real? Could it be true? Could the Hershey candy company have begun producing Cookies 'n' Mint again?

Well, folks, believe it. Because it is true. I spotted them a week ago at Cowboys gas station, and today I actually bought one. It was as delightful as it ever was.

I'm not sure what brought this small miracle of capitalism about, but I have an idea it has to do with Steve Almond's book Candy Freak. (If you've found this blog about chocolate, you probably already know about the book.) I'll save the discussion of this book for another post, but I'll just say that in his 2004 publication, Almond describes candy that has gone into . . . extinction. One of them was Cookies 'n' Mint. He bemoans the loss of this candy within the first 3 pages, and the book had pretty good reviews. So I just bet that Hershey took some notice.

Thanks, Mr. Almond.

Update: Since writing this post, I have searched for information on Cookies 'n' Mint production, and sadly, I have to wonder if it is too good to be true. I noticed the other day that the words "Limited Edition" were printed on the stash of bars at the gas station I had been buying them from. What does this mean? I don't know. But I have a feeling it doesn't mean that Hershey is producing an entire line. I'm sorry chocolate-lovers and Pro Chocolate readers; I should've checked my facts thoroughly first.