5 Weird Facts About Ice Cream
If there's one thing that everyone can pretty much agree on, it's that ice cream is fantastic. Creamy, cold, and delectably sweet...need I go on? But while you're enjoying your tasty treat, have you ever stopped to think about how ice cream came to be? How long it's been around? I'm here to answer those questions and more. Read on, fellow ice cream lovers!
1. No one knows who actually invented ice cream
Versions of ice cream have been around for thousands of years. In 200 B.C, the Chinese had a version of ice cream where they mixed rice with milk and then froze it with snow. And in 5th century B.C, ancient Greeks, like Alexander the Great, liked to mix fruit and honey with snow. Aren't you glad we no longer have to eat snow to get that refreshing taste of ice cream?
2. The tallest ice cream cone ever recorded was over 10 feet high
In Norway 2015, a great feat was achieved by the ice cream company Hennig-Olsen Is AS and Trond L. Wøien (try saying that 10 times fast!). The cone weighed about a tonne, holding over 1,000 litres of ice cream. The cone had to be airlifted by helicopter from its factory to the event where it was declared the tallest cone as of date. I wonder if they ate it all afterwards?
3. New Zealand is the country whose people eat the most ice cream (per capita)
Based on the ratio of population size to ice cream consumption, it was found that New Zealand eats the most ice cream in the world - we're looking at about 28.4 litres per person in just 2013! However, judging by the country that consumes the most ice cream in general, it's no surprise that China - with its massive population of 1.4 billion people - holds the number one spot at 5.7 billion litres annually. That's a lot of ice cream!
4. There is such thing as Lobster flavoured ice cream
This is no joke - an ice cream shop called "Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium" in Bell Harbour, Maine makes a butter-based ice cream filled with pieces of actual lobster. It only makes sense that a seaside state would serve something as wacky as this. But hey, if you're a fan of lobster, and you also love ice cream, then maybe this is just weird enough of a combination that it somehow works.
5. Ben and Jerry's has an actual flavour graveyard
The famous ice cream company, "Ben and Jerry's," introduces brand new flavours all the time. But, the inclusion of all these new flavours means that some of the old ones have to be laid to rest. They clearly have a good sense of humour about it, because you can visit the actual flavour graveyard in Vermont during their factory tour. Or, visit their virtual graveyard on their website - you can even vote on a flavour to "resurrect!"