Cold Frozen Root Beer Float with Ice Cream
Food - Drink
The Spontaneous Invention Of The Ice Cream Float
By LAUREN ROTHMAN
If you've ever had an ice cream float, you know how amazing it can be, with the ice cream forming an iced shell and its richness contrasting with the bubbliness of the soda. This beverage has been a favorite among Americans for more than 140 years, however its invention may have been a total flook.
According to the now-defunct "Illustrated Monthly Publication for the Soda Fountain Trade," ice cream floats first appeared in 1876 during the Philadelphia World's Fair. When drug store employee Robert M. Green, who was in charge of the soda fountain, had the sudden idea to mix his ice cream with soda, which led him to selling it to customers.
The Chicago Tribune and the medical journal "Pediatrics," however, both claim that the invention of the ice cream float happened in 1874 at a different event and that the drink wasn't created out of inspiration but because he ran out of cream. All accounts, however, mention how soon it became well-liked across the country, and that is still the case today.