Fascinating
facts about the invention
of the Popsicle by Frank W. Epperson in 1905. |
POPSICLE® |
|
AT A GLANCE:
One day in 1905, Frank Epperson mixed some soda water powder and water
and left the mixture on the back porch
overnight with the stirring stick still in it. The temperature dropped
to a record low that night and the next day Frank had a stick of frozen
soda water to show his friends at school. Later he began a business
producing Epsicles in seven fruit flavors. The name was later changed to
the Popsicle. |
| Frank Epperson,
a then eleven-year-old, invented the Popsicle and the invention was accidental.
One day Frank mixed some soda water powder and water, which was a
popular drink in those days. He left the mixture on the back porch
overnight with the stirring stick still in it. The temperature dropped
to a record low that night and the next day Frank had a stick of frozen
soda water to show his friends at school. |
| Eighteen years
later-in 1923- Frank Epperson remembered his frozen soda water mixture
and began a business producing Epsicles in seven fruit flavors.
The name was later changed to the Popsicle. One estimate says
three million Popsicle frozen treats are sold each year. There are
more than thirty different flavors to choose from, but Popsicle
Industries says the general flavor favorite through the years has
remained "taste-tingling orange". He realized the commercial
possibilities of his invention and applied for a patent, which was
granted in 1924. By 1928, Epperson had earned royalties on more than 60
million Popsicle ice pops. |
 |
TO
LEARN MORE
RELATED INVENTIONS:
History of Snacks and
Food
from The Great Idea Finder
ON THE BOOKSHELF:
Mistakes
That Worked
by Charlotte Foltz Jones, John O'Brien (Illustrator) / Paperback - 48 pages (1994) / Doubleday
Recounting the fascinating stories behind the accidental inventions of forty
familiar objects and products.
The
Kid Who Invented the Popsicle : And Other Surprising Stories About Inventions
by Don L. Wulffson / Paperback - 128 pages (1999)
/ Puffin
Brief factual stories about how various familiar things were invented, many by accident,
from animal crackers to the zipper.
Brainstorm!:
The Stories of Twenty American Kid Inventors
by Tom Tucker, Richard Loehle / Paperback - 144 pages / Sunburst (1998)
The stories of twenty ingenious young Americans who have filed patents with the
United States Patent Office, including Chester Greenwood who invented ear muffs, Ralph
Samuelson, originator of water-skiing, and Vanessa Hess who created colored car wax.
ON THE WEB:
Official
Popsicle Site
Good Humor-Beyers Ice Cream Popsicle home page. Check out the ZONE.
(URL: www.popsicle.com)
Good Humor - Breyers
As the world's largest ice cream company, Good Humor - Breyers is rich in history,
quality, and innovative products. The Good Humor - Breyers family features some of
America's most legendary brand names: Breyers, Good Humor, Klondike, and Popsicle.
(URL: www.icecreamusa.com)
The Kids Hall of Fame
Frank Epperson invented the popsicle in 1905. Legend says that it
resulted as an accident, but notes from his unpublished memoir state
otherwise.
(URL: thekidshalloffame.com/CustomPage15.html)
The Popsicle
Not all inventions are created by scientists with frizzy hair and forgetful memories.
(POPUP ADS)
(URL: www.kidzworld.com/site/p1010.htm)
DID YOU KNOW:
- Patent 1,505,592 (US) issued August 19,
1925 to Frank W. Epperson for a Frozen Confectionery
- Harry Burt invented the chocolate covered vanilla ice cream
bar on a stick in Youngstown, Ohio in 1920--and Good Humor was born.
- William A. Breyer began hand-cranking pure, all natural
Breyers ice cream in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1866.
- Samuel Isaly, a descendent of a well-known Swiss dairy farm
family, began producing what would eventually become America's #1 selling ice cream
novelty--the Klondike Bar--in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1929.
- In 2001, 1.4 billion sticks were used
to manufacture Popsicle products. If lined up end-to-end, that's more
than 9 million miles.
|
Popsicle is registered trademark of
Good Humor - Breyers
| Reference
Sources in BOLD Type |
This
page revised August 15, 2005. |
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