Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Marketable Idea: Chocolate Dreydl

Trying to explain the unspinnable nature of his chocolate dreydl -- it's just a flat representation with a white chocolate shin -- to my very young son (he can use logic on us, but we can't use it on him) it occured to me that there are at least two ways of making a spinnable chocolate dreydle:
  • Candy Coating. That would make the dreydle strong enough at the shaft and point to spin, not to mention making it possible to use it more than once without melting as you touch it. What I don't know about candy coating is how well it responds to non-rounded shapes. That's for the engineers, right? I think this is the way to go, myself, particularly if dark chocolate is involved.
  • Stick. Run a stick through the center, like a squared-off chocolate lollipop [An engineer friend pointed out that an actual squared-off lollipop, particularly of the chewy chocolate center variety, would fit the bill quite nicely. She's right, and that includes solving the point problem -- except for brittleness -- by having the lollipop be the point.]. A paper stick would probably be cheaper, but would be a problem as a spinning point. On the other hand, the uncoated chocolate wouldn't be good for more than a few spins, anyway (foil coating might lessen this problem). Wood or plastic would be much more stable, though both present environmental and waste problems I'm not sure I want to get into.
Now all I need is an investor, right? Someone with a candy company and some "vision". We can also talk about my idea for dark chocolate candy-coated balls (think of a peanut M&M sized candy filled with bittersweet chocolate).

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