The Inside Scoop! 20 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Ice Cream

Thought you were an ice cream connoisseur? Think again. Bet you didn't know these 20 facts about ice cream!

Is there anyone who doesn't love ice cream? In the summertime our thoughts often turn to where we can bag ourselves a lush icy treat on a hot day. We associate it with days out and holidays, it has an uncanny ability to make us happy, and the range of flavours is huge.

One place where we love to scoff the cold stuff in particular is the Lewis of London farm in Barnet - a free, local farm that produces some of the most delicious flavours of all time. Get down there now and take advantage of Kidadl's 15% off takeaway ice cream tubs! Mmmm.

1. Ice cream cones were invented at the 1904 World Fair in St Louis, Missouri. It was a way for people to eat ice-cream as they moved through the fair.

2. The world's tallest ice cream cone was over 9 feet tall ! It was filled with ice cream in Italy.

3. In the battle to be the world's most popular syrup topping chocolate was the clear winner.

4. When it comes to ice-cream flavours, tradition wins out. Vanilla vastly outsells its flavour rivals in the UK, US, New Zealand, Australia and Germany.

5. If you let ice-cream melt and then refreeze it you'll notice that the texture changes. That's because ice-cream has tiny air bubbles inside it that keep it smooth and fluffy. When it melts these bubbles are released.

6. We don't know who first invented ice-cream but its history probably stretches back over two thousand years. It is said, that Alexander The Great enjoyed snow and ice flavoured with honey and nectar.
 

7. King Charles I was a big fan of ice-cream. He offered the royal ice-cream maker a pension of £500 a year for life if he kept the royal recipe secret. That was an awful lot of money in the 17th century.
 

8. Recipes for ice-cream first appeared in England in the 18th century. The first one that we know of appeared in Mrs Mary Eales's Book Of Receipts which was published in 1718.
 

9. Ice-cream was considered an expensive treat for the wealthy right up until the 20th century. It was only when refrigeration became cheaper and the price of dairy foods decreased that the we all began eating it.
 

10. In 1984 the US President Ronald Reagan declared July to be 'National Ice Cream Month' across America.

11. The Japanese are arguably the most adventurous when it comes to ice-cream flavours. In Tokyo you can choose from octopus, shrimp, horseflesh and cow tongue flavours amongst countless others!
 

12. Italy produces nearly 20% of all the Ice-cream eaten in Europe an incredible 595 million litres or 6.8 billion scoops!
 

13. Scientist have discovered that it takes approximately 50 licks to eat an ice-cream. Things like the weather and the length of someone’s tongue can make a difference.
 

14. The first Saturday in February is 'International Ice-Cream For Breakfast Day', when you are encouraged to ditch the toast or muesli for a big bowl of ice-cream. Make sure you mark it on your calendar!
 

15. Most of the vanilla used to create vanilla flavour ice-cream is grown in Madagascar and Indonesia.

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16. Over 20% of us admit to sharing our ice-cream with our dog. You can now buy ice-cream with a low sugar recipe and dog friendly flavour specifically for your four legged friend so you don't have to give them your own.
 

17. Most ice-cream sellers aim to keep their product at around 8 degrees celsius. This is the optimal temperature for releasing the flavour without the product melting.

18. Ice-cream is a great source of phosphorous which your body needs to function. It also contains calcium which is vital for healthy bones, hair and teeth. So it's not completely bad for you!

19. Despite the temperature dropping well below freezing Canadians are one of the few countries that eat more ice-cream during the winter than the summer.
 

20. Rupert Grint who starred as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies loves ice-cream so much he bought his very own ice-cream van with the money he earned from the films.

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