No one's sure why it's spelled 'sundae'

In the 19th century, ice-cream-related illnesses were somewhat regular in America

Ice cream was a popular dessert, but it was also a dangerous one, with numerous reports of vomiting, diarrhea, and—in some cases—death. Historians argue this was likely due to vendors' poor hygienic practices.

'Dirty soda' took off in Utah before exploding on TikTok

The concoction is a combination of Diet Coke, coffee creamer, and citrus. This Eater article delves into the history behind the sugary drink, pinpointing its start as a Mormon-friendly alternative to alcohol and caffeine. The explainer also explores why the drink became so popular on social media and offers helpful hints for crafting your own recipe.

Ice cream’s unfrozen consistency is thanks to sugar

Making ice cream is a complex, multistep scientific process. But the treat’s scoopable, chewable consistency is due to the product’s dissolved sugar.

Mister Softee started as two brothers in a Chevy van

The company began on St. Patrick's Day in 1956, when James and William Conway made their way across Philadelphia, selling green-hued ice cream. They weren't the first to sell ice cream from a truck, but they perfected it—thanks to the know-how they acquired working for the Sweden Freezer Manufacturing Company.

'Hot dog' likely evolved from the common name 'dachshund sausages'

The ubiquitous handheld snack started in New York City, where vendors sold sausages in buns, calling out "Get your dachshund sausages!" Historians believe the change to "hot dog" was natural for many fans, who found the name funny and catchy.

Vanilla was originally thought to be an additive for chocolate

The classic flavor didn't stand on its own until the 17th century, when Queen Elizabeth I's apothecary began intentionally making vanilla sweets.

Multiple sugar substitutes were accidental discoveries when lab workers didn't wash their hands

Saccharin, aspartame, and cyclamate all have origin stories from lab workers tasting something sweet on their hands. A Johns Hopkins University worker in the late 1800s, for example, tasted something sweet on his (unwashed or poorly washed) hands during dinner, prompting him to then taste everything on his lab bench in order to identify that the sweetness was a compound derived from his overheated coal tar—a substance he later named saccharin. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Kulfi, an ice cream predecessor, dates back to the 16th century

Historians believe India’s royal court began freezing condensed milk, pistachios, and saffron in conical molds to create the sweet treat. Today, it’s often served on a stick and covered with chopped pistachios.

The history of sufganiyot, or Hanukkah doughnuts

Mediterranean-focused food blogger Tori Avey shares her best recipe for fluffy, sugar-dusted sufganiyot and explains the history of the sweet that combines European and North African traditions.

The history behind New Orleans' drive-thru daiquiris

New Orleans attracts millions of annual visitors with its freewheeling drinking culture, reaching its apex during the weeks-long Mardi Gras celebration. But even the most intemperate tourists might be confused by the city's drive-through daiquiri stands. This resource offers a brief history of the quirky staple and explains how it has survived changes in the law.

'Shoofly pie' was named after a molasses named after a mule named after a song

Although most people assumed the sweet dessert earned its name for its ability to attract flies, etymologists believe it can be traced back to a molasses brand named after a boxing mule (Shoofly the mule), who was named after a song ("Shoofly Don't Bother Me") that was a play on slang of the time.

Visualizing Ben & Jerry's legendary flavors

This delightful data visualization breaks down all the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s across the globe, exploring every possible combination of base flavors and mix-ins.

McDonald's intentionally avoids using the word 'milkshake'

The restaurant's US menus use an abbreviated term: the simple "shake." Conspiracy theorists suggest this means the chain doesn't use actual milk, but the truth is a bit more complicated and—much to their displeasure—mostly related to dairy regulations.

Leaving cookies for Santa became popular in America during the Great Depression

During the period of economic hardship, many parents wanted to teach their children the importance of sharing and gratitude. The tradition dates even further back to ancient Norse mythology. The god Odin and his eight-legged horse, Sleipner, were left food in exchange for gifts.

It's called kosher salt because it works for curing kosher meat

Kosher foods align with Jewish religious customs based on scripture. While there is a type of salt that is kosher (most often, salts without iodine), the kosher salt you see around the US is actually big, flaky salts used in a kosher process of curing meats.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Easter is an uncommon name for Pascha, from the Hebrew 'pesach'

It's often said Easter is derived from pagan rituals. The word "Easter" does stem from a Germanic term for "dawn," but most cultural names for the holiday more clearly point to its Jewish history in the Passover.

Salvador Dalí designed the Chupa Chups lollipop logo

The ubiquitous lollipop design actually comes from the mind of Salvador Dalí. Dalí had no problem creating commercial work for the right price and agreed to create the eye-catching logo. Dalí's skill for attracting attention explains why the logo is placed on top rather than the side.

The rice in sushi wasn't originally intended to be eaten

In Southeast Asia in the third century, rice, mixed with salt, was used to preserve fish for several months. The rice was considered too salty to eat and was often thrown away, though adventurous eaters, over time, began eating the rice. In 16th-century Japan, rice was often mixed with vinegar rather than salt, a practice that eventually led to the modern version of sushi. “Sushi” roughly translates to “vinegared rice.”

Read the Sumerian poem that provided the recipe for ancient beer

"A Hymn to Ninkasi" is a Sumerian poem from approximately 1800 BCE that's both a tribute to the goddess of beer and a recipe for brewing the beverage.

The origins of Father's Day

Father's Day occurs on the third Sunday in June in the US. It was inspired by the same movement that advocated for Mother's Day, and was first celebrated in 1910. However, the day wasn't official until 1972, many decades after its counterpart, Mother's Day, was formally adopted as a holiday.

The Sundance Film Festival is named after a Robert Redford character

Redford purchased a plot of land in Utah in 1969, calling it Sundance Mountain Resort, a nod to his role in the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Soon after purchasing the land, he began hosting workshops to develop young artists. The Sundance Film Festival (originally called the Utah/US Film Festival) was first held in 1978 and was intended to draw attention to independent cinema.

The 'playing card' and 'blueberry' taxes are among the strangest around the world

In Canada, companies making children’s breakfast cereals are granted a tax exemption if their cereal boxes contain free toys. While the exemption is limited to toys that are not “beer, liquor, or wine,” the cereal tax is far from the world's most eccentric tax.

What does LSD have to do with Bicycle Day?

Bicycle Day, generally celebrated on April 19, doesn't have much to do with the two-wheeled, human-powered vehicle as the name would imply. Instead, it's a celebration of the world's first acid trip. On April 19, 1943, Albert Hofmann took an experimental dose of LSD at his lab before trying to return home via bike. This article includes comics from a graphic novel detailing Hofmann's trip.

Parents criticized 'Dungeons & Dragons' during the 'Satanic Panic'

The role-playing game became popular enough to attract the ire of special interest groups, like Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons (or BADD) during the so-called "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s and 1990s, when parents believed the game was corrupting children.

'Under God' was added to the pledge in 1954 as an anti-communist statement

When President Eisenhower signed the phrase into law on Flag Day 1954, the intent was ideological: to distinguish American democracy from "godless" Soviet communism. The author of the original 1892 pledge, Francis Bellamy, was himself a Baptist minister who believed in the separation of church and state, making the addition an inversion of his intent.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

Ebola species have historically been named after where they were discovered, stigmatizing residents who live there, including Bundibugyo, in Uganda.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.