'Chocolate relic' found in university library
While finding old books in a library might not be a surprise, what was found tucked in amongst them has cause a bit of shock.People working at Cambridge University Library found a chocolate bar wrapper which is at least 50 years old amongst the shelves.Once upon a time it contained a Crunchie bar, but not as we know it. Not only did the library-snacker think it was OK to eat in the library, it also seems like they didn't care about being quiet either - there are quieter bars after all!But don't worry, the hunt is on to find the culprit!
The Crunchie bar we know today is made by Cadbury, but that hasn't always been the case. The chocolate-covered honeycomb bar was first introduced by Fry and Sons in 1929.This particular orange wrinkled wrapper was found as shelves were being taken apart in the library.It has a price of 6d on the front - which comes from a time before a 10p, 20p, 50p or £1 were the coins in our pocket. 6d means this bar cost sixpence in old money, which the National Archives reckons would be about 35p nowadays.The change from old to new money - or decimalisation - happened in 1971 so this bar wrapper must be at least as old as that.
A post online about the "chocolate relic" asked the culprit to come forward and "fess up" to leaving the wrapper behind.So far nobody has come forward, but the library team hope someone will be able help them date the bar more precisely. Lizzie Woodman who is in charge of social media for the university's library, said: "Sometimes we find fascinating reminders left behind by past members of the library."The wrapper had been stashed behind some books and then fallen down the back of the shelves so it was trapped under the bookshelf, meaning it could stay hidden for over 50 years."She added: "With millions of books and more than 205km (127 miles) of bookshelves, it's hardly surprising that things sometimes stay hidden for so long."Lizzie even said there were even some crumbs in the wrapper when it was found - wonder if she tried them?
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Daily Mail
01-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Americans living in the UK try Cadbury's Bournville for the first time - and Brits are quick to point out their big mistake
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Telegraph
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The Guardian
11-02-2025
- The Guardian
Old Crunchie wrapper at Cambridge library whets appetite of online sleuths
Online sleuths have set about trying to guess the exact age of a Crunchie wrapper that was found in a library – with a few crumbs left inside. A worker at Cambridge University Library made the discovery last week while taking down some bookshelves, with the university saying it was probably stashed behind some books and fell down behind. The orange packaging and the price of sixpence indicates that it was produced before 1971, when decimalisation was introduced. But the precise date is the source of online guesswork, with Facebook and X users quick to share theories. One gave an estimate of between late 1965 and early 1967, noting that the 'bigger, same price' promotion written on the wrapper, with the bar priced at '6d', was announced in September 1965. 'In July 1966, Fry's had to pay a £300 fine after Oxford weights and measures inspectors determined that earlier bars had actually been bigger than the new 'bigger' bars. And by mid-1967 the list price was 7d,' they said. Others dated the wrapper back to the 1950s, with one user sharing a Fry's poster from that era that advertised the chocolate bar at 6d. The Crunchie, a chocolate bar with a honeycomb filling, became part of the Cadbury's range in 1988, 59 years after it was introduced by Fry and Sons. A tongue in cheek Facebook post by the library asked the culprit to 'fess up' if they remembered e hiding the wrapper among the books. Lizzie Woodman, the library's social media coordinator, said: 'The workman wasn't expecting to find anything like that. It was in such good condition. It looked like it had been put there yesterday.' Cambridge has one of the world's oldest university libraries. With it housing a physical collection of nearly 10m books, maps, manuscripts, photographs and objects, it was fairly usual to find remnants from the past, Woodman said. 'With millions of books and nearly 130 miles of bookshelves, it's not surprising that things sometimes stay hidden for so long,' said Woodman.
