How the popsicle was invented | Moments of Vision 11 - Jessica Oreck

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Each year, approximately 2 billion popsicles are sold worldwide. But where did the idea for this tasty treat come from? In the eleventh installment of our ‘Moments of Vision’ series, Jessica Oreck shares the distracted origins of the popsicle.

Lesson and animation by Jessica Oreck.

In a Moment of Vision...

It's 1905, Northern California.

Frank Epperson is eleven years old.

He's sitting on his front porch
making a sort of DIY drink

that's very popular at this time.

He has just poured a sugary soda powder
into a glass of water

and is mixing enthusiastically
with a wooden stir stick.

We don't know exactly how the next
24 hours play out,

but we can imagine that something
catches Frank's attention

and he abandons his drink mid-stir.

After a cold Bay Area night,

Frank rediscovers his mix drink
the next morning.

It's frozen solid.

But instead of throwing it out,

Frank pulls the icy block of soda out
of the glass by the embedded stir stick

and, in a moment of vision, licks it.

Delighted by his invention,

Frank begins making the frozen treat
for friends,

and as he grows older,

begins selling them as Eppsicles,

a contraction of his last name
and the word icicle.

It is rumored that later,

Frank's own kids dubbed the icy
delicacy Pop's 'cicle.

Others claim the name is a combination
of lollipop and icicle.

Regardless where the name comes from,
the popsicle is here to stay.

Approximately 2 billion popsicles
are sold each year.