Choco-shock.

What would your mom say if she caught you zapping melted chocolate bars with electricity? When scientists at Michigan State University did just that, they weren't playing with their food. They were studying chocolate and other fluids to make better shock absorbers for cars.

The "problem" with today's oil-filled shocks is that they aren't "smart" enough. They respond the same way whether a car rides over a tiny pebble or a giant pothole.

That's because oil's viscosity, or thickness, doesn't change. And viscosity is the physical property that makes shocks work. When the car rides over a bump, pistons inside the shock cylinders squeeze the oil - which absorbs the shock.

For bigger bumps, a thicker liquid might be better; it would be harder to squeeze and would absorb more shock. That's why scientists are experimenting with "smart fluids" like chocolate. Sending electricity through these fluids changes their viscosity. How?

Take melted milk chocolate. Particles of sugar, cocoa powder, and milk solids float randomly in liquid cocoa butter. When zapped with electricity, the floating particles act like bar magnets, says food engineer James Steffe. The positive end of each particle seeks out the negative end of another. The particles link together to form strands or webs that give the liquid a semisolid consistency.

The more electricity you add, the thicker the "liquid" gets. For smart-fluid-fllled shocks to work, sensors would detect the size of the bump and send electricity into the shocks to thicken the liquid as needed.

Chances are, scientists will use some other smart fluid - not chocolate - for car shocks. Too bad. If they did use chocolate and your car broke down, you could have a sweet snack while waiting for a tow!