The Mister Softee ice cream truck began with two brothers in a Chevy van in Philadelphia, selling green ice cream.

Ice cream trucks are surging in popularity

Modern companies like HipPOPs and Big Gay Ice Cream are driving a resurgence of ice cream trucks, with an annual growth of approximately 9%. Experts say the market will keep growing through at least 2030.

America's ice cream obsession began under Prohibition, with the street treat acting as a legal vice that helped ease the pain of the Great Depression.

In the 19th century, ice-cream-related illnesses were somewhat regular in America thanks to vendors' poor hygienic practices.

In 1694, a Sicilian in Paris opened the first gelateria, a precursor to the ice cream parlor.

Until late 2024, the company that makes McDonald's ice cream machines held an elusive repair monopoly on them, the culprit behind the frequent outages that fueled widespread social media discourse.

There's no definitive reason why an ice cream sundae is spelled with an 'e' rather than a 'y.'

One US Marine fighter squadron made their own ice cream during World War II

To boost his squad’s morale during World War II, squadron commander J. Hunter Reinburg developed a method for making ice cream on the fly: Empty ammo cans filled with ingredients were flown at altitudes high enough for them to freeze.

The frozen pizza was invented in 1950

In 1950, some pizzerias were premaking pies, allowing customers to take them home and cook them at their convenience. That same year, Philadelphia's Joseph Bucci filed a patent for a "Method of Making Frozen Pizza." Soon, frozen pizzas were appearing in grocery store aisles.

Agnes Marshall invented 'ices,' the Victorian equivalent of ice cream, and improved the period's hygienic practices for consuming the dessert.

97% of Americans polled say they like or love ice cream

George Washington loved to serve ice cream while hosting guests, and spent thousands of dollars on it in a single summer.

Ice cream can be traced back to a frozen milk dish from the 7th century.

Ice cream’s unfrozen consistency is thanks to sugar

Making ice cream is a complex, multistep scientific process. But the treat’s scoopable, chewable consistency is due to the product’s dissolved sugar.

Explore a visualization of the data behind Ben & Jerry's legendary ice cream flavors.

7/11's Slurpee was named by an advertising executive who wanted to capture the sound someone made when they sucked the drink through a straw.

The frozen margarita was invented in Dallas using a repurposed soft-serve machine

On May 11, 1971, Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez adapted an ice cream machine to produce frozen margaritas using his father's recipe. The original machine now sits in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

The steak sandwich had been around since at least the 1800s, but in the early 1900s, a Philadelphia hot dog vendor topped it with cheese and used different bread to create the cheesesteak.

Kulfi, an ice cream predecessor that's still popular in South Asia, dates back to the 16th century.

High freezing speed restricts the development of gritty crystal chunks in ice cream

For this reason, ice cream does not maintain its smoothness when refrozen in a traditional freezer over several hours. The smooth texture is also made possible by balancing fat, sugar, and emulsifiers.

Back when it was still a small restaurant, McDonald's served barbecue.

Watch a recreation of the 'Speedee Service System,' the assembly line production method pioneered by the McDonald brothers that revolutionized fast food in the US.

Explore 'McBroken,' an online map of which McDonald's ice cream machines are broken in the US.

The American diner evolved from a 'lunch wagon' into a restaurant

Providence, Rhode Island's Walter Scott began serving homemade dishes from a freight wagon to late-night workers, who were looking for meals long after proper restaurants had closed for the night. Scott quickly inspired dozens of copycats, crowding the streets and leading to complaints. Soon, Scott and his imitators parked their carts, which became the earliest American diners.

Vanilla was originally used as an additive in chocolate rather than as a standalone flavor.

Sales of Airstreams, the sleek silver RVs, surged during the American postwar road trip boom as the brand pitched tourism as a lifestyle.

Future President Dwight D. Eisenhower's terrible experience on a cross-country road trip in 1919 helped inspire him to create the interstate highway system.

Make a popular no-churn watermelon ice cream, using just watermelon and milk.

Cookie Monster evolved from the Wheel Stealer, a monster obsessed with a wheel-shaped cheese snack.

Shake Shack began as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park

The high-growth restaurant chain is one of the industry's biggest success stories. With chef Danny Meyer at the helm, the restaurant arose out of chance amid an effort to rehabilitate New York's Madison Park. Learn more of the restaurant's story here.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Every Tootsie Roll can be traced back to a single, decades-old batch.

Henry Ford built a plastic car from soybeans in 1941

To pursue his goal of marrying industry with agriculture, among other reasons, the automobile giant oversaw the design and creation of a vehicle with 12 panels made from plastic. At 2,000 pounds, the car was much lighter than all-steel ones, but production stopped during World War II.

During World War II, fighter plane turbulence was used to make ice cream.

Dairy Queen can't legally call its frozen dairy products 'ice cream' because they don't meet FDA qualifications for the term.

Ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and Italian ice are all popular cold desserts, though they have many important differences.

Explore a gallery of electric vehicles from before 1920

In 1884, Thomas Parker invented the first practical electric car in London. By the turn of the century, early EVs were seen on the streets of Washington, DC. Automaker promotional materials included photographs of cars on mountain roads and other terrains.

Watch someone drive a Model T Ford, which feels like driving 'a tractor with the soul of a sewing machine'—and learn how to operate one.

Frozen burritos made the dish widely available in the 1950s

California native Duane Roberts, who also pioneered the frozen hamburger patty, invented the frozen burrito in 1956 to be easily prepared at fast food restaurants. This innovation also allowed it to be sold in supermarkets.

Budweiser pioneered refrigerated rail transport for its beer in the 1870s

This enabled Budweiser to achieve national distribution long before competitors, fundamentally transforming the US beer industry. It was also among the earliest large-scale adopters to use pasteurization, allowing it to be shipped long distances without going bad.

The history of the McDonald's Happy Meal

The McDonald's Happy Meal is the quintessential fast food kids meal, serving up child-appropriate portions and prizes all within a portable, fun container. So where did this pop culture icon begin? Watch this quirky 13-minute history of the Happy...

Conversation candy hearts were originally message-free medicinal lozenges

In 1847, a Boston pharmacist invented a machine that automated the production of his pharmacy's medicinal lozenges and then formed the New England Confectionery Company, which later became part of the company now known as NECCO. By the late 1800s, they were producing cookies with Valentine-themed messages and eventually brought the romantic messages to their smaller lozenges, which they later called Sweethearts.

The history behind New Orleans' drive-thru daiquiris

New Orleans attracts millions of annual visitors with its freewheeling drinking culture, reaching its apex during the weeks-long Mardi Gras celebration. But even the most intemperate tourists might be confused by the city's drive-through daiquiri stands. This resource offers a brief history of the quirky staple and explains how it has survived changes in the law.

How Chef Boyardee fed America

Chef Boyardee wasn’t just a grocery store staple—it was once a key supplier for US troops in WWII. Founded by Italian immigrant Hector Boiardi, the company produced thousands of canned pasta rations daily.

A New York farmer established the first cheese factory and revolutionized the industry by sourcing milk from local farms.

Chicago deep-dish pizza arrived in 1943

Pizzeria Uno was the first establishment to sell the concoction, which turned more traditional pizza upside down, with cheese as the base and sauce as the topping. Soon, Uno employees went out on their own, sparking a citywide deep-dish phenomenon.

Tasty vegan ice cream depends on fat

Making delicious ice cream without dairy is a challenge for food scientists because most nondairy milks have more water than fat, which creates tasteless ice crystals when frozen. The key is finding a base with enough fat to give the finished product its signature creamy mouthfeel.

Ray Kroc proposed the idea of franchising McDonald's as a way to sell more of his Multimixers 7 years before buying the McDonald's brothers out of the company for $2.7M.

In the 1920s, Rockwell worked as a commercial illustrator

After getting his start at Boys’ Life, Rockwell began illustrating advertisements for products like Jell-O and Orange Crush. Below is one of Rockwell’s advertisements for Jell-O, from 1923.

Uncrustables' reinvention of the PB&J

In the 1990s, David Geske and Len Kretchman came up with the ingenious idea to package and mass-produce a crustless version of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This makeover to an American childhood staple resulted in a $1B business. Read this article in Mental Floss to learn more about the origins of the brand Uncrustables and its extraordinary success.

David Ogilvy’s brother helped get him into the advertising business

Ogilvy sent a copy of his stove sales manual, "The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA Cooker" (which Fortune magazine later called "probably the best sales manual ever written”) to his brother, who was working at London ad agency Mather & Crowther at the time.