I used to carry candy bars in my backpack because it always worked out for children in stories to befriend strange beings with offers of chocolate. I figured, hey, I might not meet a dragon with a sweet tooth on my way to school, but I might need to symbolically break bread with a stranger, and chocolate seems like a safe bet.
The habit never really left me – I filled my coat pockets with Halloween candy, just in case. While studying abroad in Morocco, I came laden with chewing gum and chocolate pieces. Offering some to strangers in tense or awkward situations warmed them to me instantly. I consider a small store of “decent candy” to be a traveling essential. You never know who might experience a blood sugar crash or a Dementor attack, and chocolate can be a good substitute for charisma when you need a stranger to like you.
I feel like I’ve been warned before, like… A lot, not to take candy from strangers.
Yeah, but nobody warned you not to offer it, did they?
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