Kids go crazy for them, especially on a hot summer’s day. They’re Popsicles and they were invented by Frank Epperson as a young boy.
On a wintry day in San Francisco in 1905, 11-year-old Epperson decided to make himself a fruit-flavored soda, a common drink of the time. He mixed some soda water powder into some water, but instead of drinking the concoction, he got distracted and forgot all about it, leaving it on the back porch over night. Temperatures dropped down to a record low that night, freezing the soda water mixture with the stirring stick inside.
Epperson discovered the frozen treat the next day. He liked the taste of what he had created and told all of his friends about it, but it wouldn’t be until 1923 after selling the treats at an amusement park that he would turn his little accident into a public sensation. Epperson called his frozen treats “Epsicles” and sold them in seven flavors. His children promptly renamed them “Pop’s ‘sicles,” which became “Popsicles,” and Epperson applied for a patent on his creation and received one in 1924.
A year later, Epperson sold the rights to his creation to the Joe Lowe Company in New York. They began production on the frozen treats and sold them for a nickel each. By 1928, the company had sold more than 60 million Popsicles, providing Epperson with a nice chunk of change in royalties.
The following years brought many variations of the Popsicle, including the Creamsicle, Fudgsicle and Dreamsicle, some of which Epperson may have inspired. During the Depression, twin Popsicles were sold. Containing two sticks, these could be broken in half and shared among friends. With more families having a refrigerator with a freezer, Popsicle multipacks were introduced during the 1950s.
The Consolidated Foods Corporation bought the Popsicle brand in 1965. The Popsicle brand changed hands again in 1986, when the Gold Bond Ice Cream Company bought the U.S. operations of Popsicle Industries. Three years later, Unilever bought Gold Bond, making the Popsicle part of its Good Humor Division.
Today, many other companies have their own version of the Popsicle, but nothing can beat the original. Millions are sold each year, with orange being the most popular flavor.