Chocolate Milk

Chocolate Milk ranks 3rd in the list of surprising reasons behind 10 everyday inventions. While this may not appear to be the healthiest option, chocolate milk has a long history. Surprisingly, it was introduced to the world as a form of medicine. In 1687, Hans Sloane visited Jamaica and stayed for over a year. He wrote about the various plants he experimented with, including cocoa, which the British had not yet encountered. Sloane's experience was reportedly abysmal, as he despised a local beverage made of chocolate and water. However, when he tinkered with the recipe and added milk and sugar, it turned out quite well.

Sloane naturally marketed his new beverage as medicine, as it appears that every beverage invented prior to 1980 was sold in this manner by someone. It should be noted that Sloane did not invent this; Jamaicans cooked it with milk as well; it appears that Sloane never tried it. He did, however, popularize it in Europe and market it with questionable therapeutic claims.

Creator: Sloane

Introduced: 17th century