Website design By BotEap.comSo often we take the things around us for granted, never stopping to ask how they came to be. Almost everyone in the US knows what a popsicle is, but how many of you actually know how it was invented?

Website design By BotEap.comBack in 1905 in San Francisco, an 11-year-old boy named Frank Epperson wanted to make sodas and he mixed powdered sodas with water. He used a stick to stir his invention and then turned his attention to other things. The drink sat on the porch all night and was discovered by Frank the next day; it froze solid with the stirring rod still in it thanks to the record low temperatures overnight.

Website design By BotEap.comEighteen years later, Frank remembered the incident and decided to present his invention at Neptune Beach in California. His ice cream was an instant hit, so he patented his idea. He originally named his invention “Eppsicle”, but eventually his children convinced him to change the name to “Popsicle”. Some also referred to the frozen treat as an “ice lollipop.”

Website design By BotEap.comWhile Epperson’s invention was well received by the public, it did not bring the instant monetary success he had hoped to rescue him from his problems in the real estate business.

Website design By BotEap.comEpperson partnered his Popsicle Corporation with the Loew Movie Company, which handled sales and marketing for the product. He only held the patent from 1924 to 1929 before selling it; he was flat broke and liquidated all his cash assets even though he had earned royalties on 60 million popsicle sales.

Website design By BotEap.comFrank sold his rights to popsicles to the Joe Lowe Company of New York. The treat was then sold for five cents and made from birch sticks. Popsicle sticks are still popular today in many craft and school projects. Later, in 1965, the rights were sold to Consolidated Foods. In 1986, the US popsicle operations fell under the Gold Bond Ice Cream Company of Wisconsin, later being sold to Good Humor, the subsidiary of the British-Dutch consumer food company Unilever.

Website design By BotEap.comAnother frozen product that you may recognize is also owned by Unilever is the Creamsicle. It is vanilla ice cream topped with orange, lime, cherry, grape, or blue raspberry flavored ice. The Dreamsicle is similar to the Creamsicle, but its center contains ice milk instead of ice cream.

Website design By BotEap.comAnother name you’ll recognize among ice creams is Fudgesicle, also owned by Unilever; the Fudgesicle can be found in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate.

Website design By BotEap.comA more recent addition to the popsicle line are slow melt popsicles, which contain gelatin to keep them from melting as fast as the original treat.

Website design By BotEap.comToday, the original seven flavors have grown to include thirty; the most popular flavor is the classic orange and has been for many years.

Website design By BotEap.comFrank lived to be 89 years old and regretted the sale of the patent in 1929 for the rest of his life.