Word: cacao
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Dates: during 1982-1982
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...capital, Mexico-Tenoch-titlán, site of present-day Mexico City, their soldiers waged war with the efficiency of Roman legions. Decked in feathery plumage to simulate serpents and other fearsome creatures, they terrorized their neighbors, bringing back captives and exacting tribute of food, blankets, precious metals and cacao beans (for use as money). In a bloody annual ritual known as the Raising of Banners, they appeased their chief deity Huitzilopochtli, the war god, by killing their prisoners as well as slaves especially purchased for sacrifice by Aztec merchants. In one recorded debauch, some 20,000 victims were allegedly...
...millions of other Americans, for whom the product of the cacao bean is not so much a feast as a fix. Per capita consumption of chocolate in the U.S. last year was 9.1 Ibs.; some $3.4 billion was spent on chocolate products of all kinds. While Americans lag behind Austrians, Belgians, Norwegians, Germans and the league-leading Swiss, U.S. consumption of luxe chocolates (selling for up to $30 per Ib.) is growing steadily. From coast to coast, shamelessly fragrant new boutiques with names like Le Chocolat Elegant, Nutty Chocolatier and La Maison de Bon Bon are blooming...