Ice Cream Facts for Kids
It's no accident that a popular song says "I scream" for ice cream. The very first ice cream treat on a stick was called an I Scream Bar. Ice cream goes as far back as the ancient Egyptians. The top three ice cream flavors are vanilla, chocolate and butter pecan.
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Kids Rule
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Kids are the biggest eaters of ice cream. Kids between the ages of 2 and 12 eat the most ice cream. Adults over 45 years old come in second.
National Ice Cream Day
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July isn't just a month to see fireworks; it is also a month to eat more ice cream. National ice Cream Month is every July. It was first celebrated in 1984. The third Sunday of July is National Ice Cream Day.
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Ice Cream on Bread
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When immigrants came to America in the 1920s, they were given free ice cream at Ellis Island to introdue them to the treat. They had no idea what ice cream was. They thought it was a frozen butter, so they spread it on bread and that's how they ate it.
Ice Cream Headache
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Another name for an ice cream headache is "brain freeze." It's a myth that we get this pain in our head if we eat ice cream too fast. An ice cream headache actually happens because the cold ice cream touched a sensitive nerve center in the roof of our mouths.
First Ice Cream Treat on a Stick
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The first ice cream treat on a stick, the "I-Scream Bar," was created in 1920 by a candy store owner named Christian Nelson. When a young customer couldn't decide if he wanted a chocolate bar or ice cream, Nelson put ice cream on a stick and covered it with chocolate. The rest is ice cream history.
Learning How to Make Ice Cream at School
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The Pennsylvania State College was the first school to offer a course on how to make ice cream in 1892. The second school to offer such a course was Iowa State College in 1901.
The Epsicle
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An 11-year-old boy named Frank Epperson got the idea for the Popsicle in 1905. He left a stick inside of his soda drink in very cold weather. The soda froze to the stick and he enjoyed this unusual treat. He didn't get around to introducing his creation to the world until many years later, though. He finally created the first "Epsicle" in 1923. It was later renamed the Popsicle.
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References
- IceCream.com; The Truth About Ice Cream
- International Dairy Foods Association; July is National Ice Cream Month
- Cooks United Magazine; Fascinating Facts about Ice Cream
- Note Food; Ice Cream Trivia - How Much Do You Know About America's Favorite Treat?
- University of Guelph; Do You Suffer from "Ice Cream Headache"?
- National Museum of American History; Archives Center; THE ESKIMO PIE CORPORATION RECORDS, 1921-1996
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
