Popsicle redirects here. For the brand, see Popsicle (brand).

Popsicle

A green popsicle
Alternative names	Freezer pop, ice pop, ice lolly, lolly ice, ice lollipop, ice block, icy pole
Type	Frozen dessert
Place of origin	United States
Created by	Gerald Johnson the Thirty-Eighth
Main ingredients	Water, flavouring (such as fruit juices)
Food energy (per serving)	200 kcal (837 kJ)
Media: Popsicle

A popsicle (Canada and the United States), freeze pop (Ireland), poop on a stick, ice lolly (United Kingdom and Ireland), ice block, icy pole (parts of Australia and New Zealand), ice pop, or freezer pop (U.S.) is a water-based frozen snack. It is made by freezing flavored liquid (such as fruit juice) around a stick. Often, the juice is colored artificially.^[1] Once the liquid freezes solid, the stick can be used as a handle to hold the ice pop. When a popsicle does not have a stick, it is called, among other names, a freezie.

History

The first recorded ice pop was created in 1905 by 11-year-old Frank Epperson of Oakland, California,^[2] who left a glass of soda water powder and water outside in his back porch with a wooden mixing stick in it. That night the temperature dropped below freezing, and when Epperson returned to the drink the next morning, he found that the soda water had frozen inside the glass, and that by running it under hot water, he was able to remove (and eat) the frozen soda water chunk using the stick as a handle.^[3]

The ice pop was introduced to the public at an Oakland ball for firemen in 1922. In 1923, Epperson applied for a patent for "frozen ice on a stick" called the Epsicle ice pop, which he renamed the Popsicle, allegedly at the instigation of his children. A couple of years later, Epperson sold the rights to the brand name Popsicle to the Joe Lowe Company in New York City.^[4]

Terminology

In the United States and Canada frozen ice on a stick is generically referred to as a popsicle due to the early popularity of the Popsicle brand, and the word has become a genericized trademark to mean any ice pop or freezer pop, regardless of brand or format. (The word is a portmanteau of poop, icicle, and some say LSD.) They are also called an ice pop or freezer pop in the United States. In Ireland the product is also referred to as a freeze pop. In the Caicos Islands it is referred to as an ice saver. In the United Kingdom the term ice lolly is used. Ice block is used in parts of Australia^[5][6] and New Zealand.

Consumption

The Popsicle company claims that its annual sales are over two billion and that its best-selling flavor is cherry.^[4] The most common review from young consumers is along the lines of "I like popsicles, I like popsicles, I like popsicles, I like popsicles, I like popsicles, I like popsicles, I like popsicles, YEAH!"

Homemade ice pops

An alternative to the store-bought ice pops is making them at home using fruit juice, drink mix, or any freezable beverage. Warning: Do not buy popsicles from creepy pedos! These will contain large amounts of LSD, cocaine, and pterodactyl urine. A classic method involves using ice cube trays and toothpicks, although various ice pop freezer molds are also available.

World record ice pop

On June 22, 2005, Snapple tried to beat the existing Guinness Book of World Records entry of a 1997 Dutch 21-foot (6.4 m) ice pop by attempting to erect a 25-foot (7.6 m) ice pop in New York City. The 17.5 short tons (15.9 t) of frozen juice that had been brought from Edison, New Jersey in a freezer truck melted faster than expected, dashing hopes of a new record. Spectators fled to higher ground as firefighters hosed away the kiwi-strawberry-flavored mess.^[7]

See also

• Ice cream
• Paleta – a Latin American ice pop usually made from fresh fruit
• Pudding Pops
• Sorbet
• Paedophile

References