
Mars recently funded a gory experiment on rats to determine the effects of chocolate ingredients on their blood vessels. Experimenters force-fed the rats by shoving plastic tubes down their throats and then cut open the rats' legs to expose arteries, which were clamped shut to block blood flow. After the experiment, the animals were killed. Mars also supported an experiment in which baby mice were crammed into small Plexiglas chambers—which were each about half the size of a 12-ounce soda can—and submerged them for nearly five hours in chilled water—just to see if an ingredient affected their breathing rate.
