Ice Cream Trivia

In New Zealand, people eat an average of 7.5 gallons of ice cream per year. That's nearly fifty percent more than Americans, who gobble down 5.5 gallons per person per year.

The undisputed champ and most popular ice cream flavor in the world is vanilla. Chocolate comes second.

In the 19th century, Harlequin ice cream became known as "Neapolitan," as many immigrants from Naples brought an expertise in frozen desserts. Also, the white-red-black color scheme (vanilla, strawberry, chocolate) was reflective of the city's flag.

Harlequin ice cream is most commonly made with pistachio instead of chocolate.

 At the 1904's World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, a Syrian vendor named Ernest Hamwi was selling a crisp, waffle-like pastry called zalabis in a booth right next to an ice cream vendor. When the ice cream seller ran out of dishes, Hamwi had a brainstorm. He rolled one of his wafery confections into the shape of a cone and, once it cooled, it became the perfect portable holder for ice cream.

While all of these artists have been honored in the names of Ben & Jerry's flavors, the Vermont-based band Phish was first, with the creation of Phish Food in 1997.