Do you know what’s really cool? Ice cream is, that’s what. We’ve sent Beano researchers off around the world to gather fifteen facts about ice creams to satisfy your hunger for fun facts. These fifteen interesting facts about ice cream will be a feast for your eyes (and stomach) and we’ll keep the cornyetto jokes to a minimum!

1. Ice Cream Maths!

It takes about two litres of milk to make one litre of ice cream. Ice cream scientists report that the average number of licks to finish a scoop of ice cream is 50. We spoke to Cornish Icecream man Juan Cornetto, who told us there are 20 scoops in a litre of ice cream. Lastly, we watched a milkmaid wring 28 litres of milk from a cow’s udders. Underused Beano Mathematician Professor Alan Gebra thus calculated that a cow’s udders can produce 19600 licks of ice cream per day.

2. There Are SO Many Icecream Flavours!

The most popular flavour of ice cream is vanilla, so it’s surprising to find that chocolate ice cream was invented first! That’s because vanilla pods were REALLY expensive! There are other flavours, some weirder than others: Bacon ice cream, anybody?

3. Ice Cream Is Older Than Freezers!

The first recorded ice cream recipe was found in a 1665 recipe book, while the first freezers didn’t appear until the 1940s. Before modern refrigerators were invented, ice cream was a real luxury. Ice was cut from lakes during the winter and bunged into holes in the ground, insulated by straw. Ice cream was chilled in these cold holes and eaten as soon as possible!

4. Actually, Ice Cream is WAY, WAY, WAY Older Than Freezers!

Ancient Roman, Emperor Nero, is said to have loved lemon sorbet served with squashed raspberries. Whilst a sorbet is DEFINITELY not icecream; Beano historians know that an ice-cream-like food was first eaten in China in 618-97AD by King Tang of Shang.

5. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Invented Mr Whippy Icecream!

At former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s funeral, it was revealed that, amongst other less tasty achievements, she had helped invent the process that created the extra airy Mr Whippy ice cream - a favourite with ice cream vans nationwide!

6. The USA Eats the Most Ice Cream!

Unsurprisingly, the country that consumes the most ice cream in total is junk food specialists, the USA. Apparently, 90% of Americans have ice cream in their freezers at any one time.
Despite this, New Zealanders actually eat the most ice cream per person, consuming an average of 28.4 litres per person per year.

7. Brain Freeze Is Real!

Eating icecreams can give you an immediate headache also known as “brain freeze.” Here’s the science bit: The ice cream makes the blood vessels that run between your mouth and your brain shrink, causing blood to be trapped in your brain. The pressure from that extra blood causes a headache. The cure: Pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth. This will warm the vessels and reverse the shrinkage, freeing the trapped blood!

8. Cornetto Means Little Horn!

Cornetto means little horn which is perfect and adorable because it does look like a itsy bitsy horn. Originally, the Cornetto company was Italian but after great success with their modest, conical, frozen snack they were bought out by global food giants Unilever. Their famous jingle “Just one Cornetto…” is sung to the tune of O Sole Mio, a well-known Neapolitan (the place, not the ice cream) song written in 1898!

9. One Can’t Just Simply Refreeze Melted Icecream!

Eating melted ice cream that’s been refrozen is never quite the same. It’s just not as light and fluffy! Part of the joy of ice cream is that it’s churned while freezing. This adds lots of tiny air bubbles to the mix. When the ice cream melts, these bubbles are lost. Refreezing the ice cream will result in a bubbleless snack that isn’t real ice cream!

10. An American President Wrote The First Ice Cream Recipe… Or Did He?

Although Donald Trump probably claims to have invented ice cream, it’s Thomas Jefferson who is credited as the first American to write down a recipe. But was it his recipe, really? Later, Jefferson’s granddaughter Virginia credited Adrien Petit, Jefferson’s French butler, as the inventor!

The World’s Biggest Ice Cream!

Norway holds the world record for the largest ice cream cone ever made. It was three meters high! Then cone was so heavy it needed to be carried by helicopter from the ice cream factory to a Guinness World Records judge. It was all worthwhile as they beat the existing world record and everybody ate themselves silly!

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention Especially When It Comes To Ice Cream!

Ice cream cones were invented after an ice cream vendor ran out of bowls during the 1904 World’s Fair in St Louis, USA. A neighbouring waffle maker offered to team up by rolling his waffles into a conical shape. Thus, the Icecream cone was born!

13. Ben From Ben and Jerry’s Icecream Has Little Taste!

Ice cream guru Bennett Cohen, also known as Ben from ice cream company Ben and Jerry’s has anosmia. This means, uniquely for someone who invents delicious ice cream, he has no sense of smell and almost no sense of taste!

14. James Bond Invented The Magnum Icecream!

Apparently, the Magnum ice cream was invented by dashing, old Bond actor Roger Moore. During a TV interview, he complained about getting choc ice on his white suit. “Why can’t it have a stick?” Thus the Magnum ice cream was born. Perhaps it’s worth noting that Walls Ice cream Company (the owners of the Magnum) say this story isn’t true.

15. The 99 Ice-cream Wasn’t Called 99 Because It Used To Cost 99p

Whatever this Dad (pictured) claims, the 99 ice cream wasn’t called 99 because in his day, it used to cost 99p. In the 1950s most ice cream merchants were Italian. The King of Italy was known to have an elite bodyguard of 99 men. Anything epic was called 99s by Italians, and that’s why they called this epic ice cream a 99!