1st August: First Mars Bar sold

The first Mars bar went on sale on 1 August 1932. Here are 10 things you may not know about Mars Bars:

1. The first Mars Bars were made in a factory in Slough, Berkshire which employed just 12 people. Most Mars Bars are still manufactured on the same trading estate today.
2. Production was started by Forrest Mars, the son of the American chocolate maker Frank C. Mars, and was based on the American Milky Way bar.
3. The basic recipe is much the same as it was then, with only minor variations. The size of the bars has changed though. They got smaller but cost more. Mars' excuse? Trying to combat the obesity crisis and promote healthier eating.
4. The logo on the packet has changed, except in Australia where they still have the old logo.
5. Mars bars are available worldwide, but not in the USA where they were discontinued, re-introduced and then discontinued again in 2011.
6. A standard 58g Mars Bar contains 260 calories, 35g sugar and 10g fat.
7. The Mars Bar can be used as a measure of the change in the value of the pound sterling since World War II - its price reflects this quite accurately.
8. In 1998, Martin Keys, a shift manager at a warehouse, tried to steal eight lorry loads of Mars Bars worth around £70,000 per lorry, and weighing more than 300 tons. He tried to cover up his nefarious deeds by manipulating the warehouse computer system but the law caught up with him and he went to prison for five years.
9. No list of Mars Bar facts would be complete without a mention of deep fried ones. Deep fried Mars Bars were created by the Haven Chip Bar (now the Carron) in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen in Scotland. They make them by chilling the chocolate so it doesn’t melt so much, covering them in fish and chip batter and deep frying. It was intended as a novelty dish, but its fame spread and other chip shops in Scotland jumped on the bandwagon. According to a survey, many shops sold about 23 a week, although the Carron sells 100 or more of the bars to tourists. The Mars company does not support this practice.
10. In 2000, Scottish chef Ross Kendall included deep fried Mars Bars on the menu of Le Chipper restaurant in Paris.