The ICEE has often been imitated, but purists know that nothing compares with the blue-and-red-striped cup and the incredibly cold and sweet liquid ice. And the inevitable brain freeze.
Maybe this is just idyllic childhood talking, but didn't there used to be an ICEE machine on practically every corner? Or at least in every gas station? These days, the machines aren't
exactly rare, but it can be hard to find one. Especially when you need
an ICEE fix on 100-degree days like we've had this week.
Enter the ICEE location tracker.
Punch in your zip code and it will tell you the ICEE machine closest to
you. If your zip comes up empty, you can enter your city. Looking at the results from The
Pitch's offices (64108), it seems that the majority of ICEE machines are
now in Burger Kings, Subways and Targets, though the Kansas City Zoo still has one.
Speaking
of locations: The ICEE was invented about three hours south of the metro in
Coffeyville, Kansas. It's an
All-American story.
In the late 1950s, a poor farmer's son, World War
II veteran and Dairy Queen owner named Omar Knedlik didn't have a soda
fountain, so he'd freeze cans of soda in the summer and serve
them to customers. These frozen sodas became so popular that he had the
idea to make a machine that could produce them quicker and the rest is history.
(Montage of photos made through Flickr users LFL16, Roadside pictures and Mrs. W)
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