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Eugene Church · 07-17-2020, 06:10 PM

Thought you buckaroos and little darlin's, too, would enjoy this bit of history taken from the wonderful pages of Wikepedia, which I use often... and yes, EC donates to Wiki and to the Baseball-Reference database... they both richly deserve it.

(From Wikipedia)

History

The Icee was invented in 1958 by Omar Knedlik, a Dairy Queen owner in Coffeyville, Kansas. The beverage was the result of faulty equipment in the Dairy Queen owned by Knedlik. His soda machine broke and he began placing bottles of soda in the freezer to keep them cold. Knedlik began selling bottles of the soda which would instantly turn to slush once opened. The frozen soda became popular with the customers of the establishment.

The name Icee as well as the original company logo were developed by Ruth E. Taylor, a local artist and friend of Knedlik. She developed the name "Icee", as well as the idea of the logo's icicles hanging from the block letters, which has remained unchanged. She thought of the Polar Bear, but the actual bear mascot had already been created by the Norsworthy-Mercer ad agency. The "Icee" word with the snow on it was designed by a Mitchell Company staff artist, Lonnie Williams, as part of a cup he designed.

Knedlik partnered with the John E Mitchell Company in Dallas to develop the machine, for which Knedlik received a patent in 1960. The first machine was made from a car air conditioning unit. It worked by combining and freezing water, carbon dioxide, and a flavor mix. After 5 years Knedlik's idea had become the iconic Icee Machine after drawing the attention of 7-Eleven. The convenience store chain purchased several machines and later changed the product name to Slurpee based on the slurping sound people make when drinking the beverage.

Darn it!... CURSES, FOILED AGAIN!... Omar beat me to it... he was two years ahead of EC.

07-17-2020, 06:10 PM	#1615
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,212	Thought you buckaroos and little darlin's, too, would enjoy this bit of history taken from the wonderful pages of Wikepedia, which I use often... and yes, EC donates to Wiki and to the Baseball-Reference database... they both richly deserve it. (From Wikipedia) History The Icee was invented in 1958 by Omar Knedlik, a Dairy Queen owner in Coffeyville, Kansas. The beverage was the result of faulty equipment in the Dairy Queen owned by Knedlik. His soda machine broke and he began placing bottles of soda in the freezer to keep them cold. Knedlik began selling bottles of the soda which would instantly turn to slush once opened. The frozen soda became popular with the customers of the establishment. The name Icee as well as the original company logo were developed by Ruth E. Taylor, a local artist and friend of Knedlik. She developed the name "Icee", as well as the idea of the logo's icicles hanging from the block letters, which has remained unchanged. She thought of the Polar Bear, but the actual bear mascot had already been created by the Norsworthy-Mercer ad agency. The "Icee" word with the snow on it was designed by a Mitchell Company staff artist, Lonnie Williams, as part of a cup he designed. Knedlik partnered with the John E Mitchell Company in Dallas to develop the machine, for which Knedlik received a patent in 1960. The first machine was made from a car air conditioning unit. It worked by combining and freezing water, carbon dioxide, and a flavor mix. After 5 years Knedlik's idea had become the iconic Icee Machine after drawing the attention of 7-Eleven. The convenience store chain purchased several machines and later changed the product name to Slurpee based on the slurping sound people make when drinking the beverage. Darn it!... CURSES, FOILED AGAIN!... Omar beat me to it... he was two years ahead of EC. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-18-2020 at 08:37 PM.