It’s not just reporters who can get scoops – at least, not on National Ice Cream Day, held July 19 this year. Whether you had a sundae on Sunday or just opted for a cone, yesterday was your chance to celebrate the delectable frozen treat.
National Ice Cream Day also meant that, if you knew where to look, you could get your own tasty scoop for free. Some places, such as Cold Stone Creamery, also offered 2-for-1 deals for their My Cold Stone Club members. These members were already able to get rewards of some sort for their frequent patronage, so National Ice Cream Day meant further opportunities to enjoy a frozen treat. In 1984, then-President Ronald Reagan declared July would be National Ice Cream Month with the third Sunday in July marking National Ice Cream Day.
Ice cream is rumored to have begun as early as 3000 BC in China, but it did not make its way to Europe until the thirteenth century. Stores in the US began selling the frozen treat by the 1930s and became a significant symbol of the American culture by the time World War II began. In fact, its association with the United States and all things American was why Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ended up banning the treat in Italy during the Second World War.
National Ice Cream Day allows ice cream lovers of all ages to learn a little more about their favorite treat. Many were not even aware that July 19 was National Ice Cream Day, though they still participated in the event unknowingly.
I’m so mad at myself for not celebrating #NationalIceCreamDay
— Georganne Moline (@Georganne400h) July 20, 2015
Others were eager to take part, though they felt National Ice Cream Day should run longer.
https://twitter.com/JLdaily/status/622949568360148992
#NationalIceCreamDay ? More like every day amirite ? (side note: stoked on this mint chip Klondike bar) pic.twitter.com/HONOk7tbZC
— COLE PLANTE (@coleplante) July 20, 2015
According to The Fiscal Times , California produces 142,000 gallons of ice cream yearly. 10.3 percent of the milk produced in the United States is also used to produce the ice cream. The credit for soft ice cream also does not lie with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Instead, the credit goes to Tom Carvel of Carvel ice cream or Dairy Queen co-founder J. F. McCullough. Carvel noticed that the ice cream melting in the back of his truck was soft and creamy and sold it to his customers. National Ice Cream Day is a chance for ice cream lovers to celebrate the creamy frozen treat in all its forms. National Ice Cream Day is an ideal way to celebrate not only how good the frozen treat tastes, but how much work actually goes into making it as well.
[Photo courtesy of Huffington Post ]
