The Mister Softee ice cream truck began with two brothers in a Chevy van in Philadelphia, selling green ice cream.

Ice cream trucks are surging in popularity

America's ice cream obsession began under Prohibition, with the street treat acting as a legal vice that helped ease the pain of the Great Depression.

In the 19th century, ice-cream-related illnesses were somewhat regular in America thanks to vendors' poor hygienic practices.

In 1694, a Sicilian in Paris opened the first gelateria, a precursor to the ice cream parlor.

Until late 2024, the company that makes McDonald's ice cream machines held an elusive repair monopoly on them, the culprit behind the frequent outages that fueled widespread social media discourse.

There's no definitive reason why an ice cream sundae is spelled with an 'e' rather than a 'y.'

One US Marine fighter squadron made their own ice cream during World War II

Ice cream's unfrozen consistency is thanks to sugar

The frozen pizza was invented in 1950

Agnes Marshall invented 'ices,' the Victorian equivalent of ice cream, and improved the period's hygienic practices for consuming the dessert.

97% of Americans polled say they like or love ice cream

George Washington loved to serve ice cream while hosting guests, and spent thousands of dollars on it in a single summer.

Ice cream can be traced back to a frozen milk dish from the 7th century.

Explore a visualization of the data behind Ben & Jerry's legendary ice cream flavors.

7/11's Slurpee was named by an advertising executive who wanted to capture the sound someone made when they sucked the drink through a straw.

The frozen margarita was invented in Dallas using a repurposed soft-serve machine

The steak sandwich had been around since at least the 1800s, but in the early 1900s, a Philadelphia hot dog vendor topped it with cheese and used different bread to create the cheesesteak.

Kulfi, an ice cream predecessor that's still popular in South Asia, dates back to the 16th century.

High freezing speed restricts the development of gritty crystal chunks in ice cream

Back when it was still a small restaurant, McDonald's served barbecue.

Watch a recreation of the 'Speedee Service System,' the assembly line production method pioneered by the McDonald brothers that revolutionized fast food in the US.

Explore 'McBroken,' an online map of which McDonald's ice cream machines are broken in the US.

The American diner evolved from a 'lunch wagon' into a restaurant

Vanilla was originally used as an additive in chocolate rather than as a standalone flavor.

Sales of Airstreams, the sleek silver RVs, surged during the American postwar road trip boom as the brand pitched tourism as a lifestyle.

Future President Dwight D. Eisenhower's terrible experience on a cross-country road trip in 1919 helped inspire him to create the interstate highway system.

Cookie Monster evolved from the Wheel Stealer, a monster obsessed with a wheel-shaped cheese snack.

Make a popular no-churn watermelon ice cream, using just watermelon and milk.

Shake Shack began as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park

Piggy Wiggly, which now has more than 500 stores, was founded in 1916 and was the first self-service supermarket.

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.

Every Tootsie Roll can be traced back to a single, decades-old batch.

Henry Ford built a plastic car from soybeans in 1941

During World War II, fighter plane turbulence was used to make ice cream.

Dairy Queen can't legally call its frozen dairy products 'ice cream' because they don't meet FDA qualifications for the term.

Ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and Italian ice are all popular cold desserts, though they have many important differences.

Explore a gallery of electric vehicles from before 1920

Watch someone drive a Model T Ford, which feels like driving 'a tractor with the soul of a sewing machine'—and learn how to operate one.

Frozen burritos made the dish widely available in the 1950s

Budweiser pioneered refrigerated rail transport for its beer in the 1870s

The history of the McDonald's Happy Meal

Conversation candy hearts were originally message-free medicinal lozenges

General Motors overtook Ford in the 1920s by slotting Chevrolet between Ford's cheap cars and pricier models, a strategy Alfred Sloan called 'widening a niche.'

The history behind New Orleans' drive-thru daiquiris

Monsanto got its start in the early 1900s producing saccharin, the artificial sweetener.

How Chef Boyardee fed America

A New York farmer established the first cheese factory and revolutionized the industry by sourcing milk from local farms.

Chicago deep-dish pizza arrived in 1943

Tasty vegan ice cream depends on fat

Ray Kroc proposed the idea of franchising McDonald's as a way to sell more of his Multimixers 7 years before buying the McDonald's brothers out of the company for $2.7M.