Why are those people licking the highway?

Berliners saw a surrealistic accident the other day, when a truck carrying 13 tons of chocolate (yes, 13 tons) caught fire:

Thursday evening . . . a semi-truck loaded with 13 tons of chocolate bars had a small accident on the German Autobahn. Apparently, the truck suddenly caught on fire as it was cruising through the night near Ludwigsfelde just south of Berlin.

The driver was able to separate the tractor from the trailer, but the chocolate wasn’t nearly so lucky. The heat from the fire made quick work of the sweet cargo and before long, a mini chocolate river was flowing across the highway. It took most of the night to put out the fire and get the dessert cleaned up. Damage is estimated at €100,000 — not counting the psychological harm caused by the impending chocolate shortage in the German capital.