January 31·Every year

National Hot Chocolate Day

Hot chocolate predates hot cocoa by millennia — the Olmec and Maya drank it cold, bitter, and spiced with chili. Europeans added sugar and heat in the 1500s and the drink never looked back. Switzerland produces 180,000 tonnes of chocolate annually, much of it heading toward a mug.

Category: Drink
Observed in: United StatesSwitzerlandUnited KingdomFranceMexico

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Notable · 2013

A gas leak underneath the Pemex Executive Tower in Mexico City caused an explosion (aftermath pictured) that killed at least 37 people and injured another 121.

2025Med Jets Flight 056 crashes near Roosevelt Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, killing 8 people and injuring 23.
2023The last Boeing 747, the first wide-body airliner, is delivered to Atlas Air and operated for ApexLogistics. The aircraft was registered as N863GT and named "Empower".
2022Sue Gray, a senior civil servant in the United Kingdom, publishes an initial version of her report on the Downing Street Partygate controversy.