Daily TWiP Archives
Something interesting has happened on (just about) every day of the year, and Daily TWiP provides the proof. An offshoot of my local events column The Week in Preview (affectionately known as TWiP), Daily TWiP was published April 2008-Aug. 2011 and is still giving readers reasons to celebrate.More in "Daily TWiP"
- Daily TWiP - Oct. 23: National Mole Day
- Daily TWiP - June 18: International Picnic Day
- Daily TWiP - June 30, 1859: The Great Blondin crosses Niagara Falls on a tightrope
- Daily TWiP - Dec. 1, 1761: Famed wax sculptor Madame Tussaud born
- Daily TWiP - Dec. 4: National Cookie Day
- Daily TWiP - Oct. 8: National Fluffernutter Day
- Daily TWiP - Sept. 7, 1936: "Benjamin," the last thylacine, dies
- Daily TWiP - Nov. 12, 1933: First photograph of the Loch Ness Monster taken
- Daily TWiP - April 1, 1957: The BBC pulls off its infamous spaghetti tree hoax
- Daily TWiP - April 11, 1954: The most boring day of the 20th century
- Daily TWiP - May 3, 1978: The first spam email is sent
- Daily TWiP - Feb. 28, 1939: The non-word “dord” is discovered in Webster’s New International Dictionary
- Daily TWiP - March 3, 1931: "The Star-Spangled Banner," set to the tune of an English drinking song, becomes the U.S. national anthem
- Daily TWiP - May 16, 1777: The American with the most valuable autograph is fatally wounded in a duel
- Daily TWiP - May 25: Towel Day and Geek Pride Day
- Daily TWiP - June 30: National Ice Cream Soda Day
- Daily TWiP - July 22: Spoonerism Day
- Daily TWiP - Aug. 13: International Left-Handers' Day
- Daily TWiP - Aug. 23, 1784: The short-lived state of Franklin declares its independence from North Carolina
- Daily TWiP - Feb. 5, 1897: The Indiana General Assembly unanimously votes to change the value of pi
- Daily TWiP - March 10: International Day of Awesomeness and Chuck Norris' birthday
- Daily TWiP - Jan. 25: National Irish Coffee Day
- Daily TWiP - Nov. 30, 1954: Ann Hodges becomes the first person hit by a meteorite
- Daily TWiP - Oct. 6, 1582 does not happen in certain countries
- Daily TWiP - Sept. 17, 1859: Joshua A. Norton declares himself Emperor of the United States
- Daily TWiP - Sept. 30, 2004: First images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken
- Daily TWiP - Aug. 27, 1896: The shortest war in recorded history is fought
- Daily TWiP - July 30, 1419: Czechs chuck politicians (literally) during the First Defenestration of Prague
- Daily TWiP - July 21, 356 B.C.: Herostratus destroys one of the Seven Wonders of the World to ensure his own fame
- Daily TWiP - May 14: National Dance Like A Chicken Day
- Daily TWiP - Jan. 26, 2004: Dead whale unexpectedly explodes in Tainan, Taiwan
- Daily TWiP - Jan. 8, 1835: U.S. national debt hits zero for the first and only time
Daily TWiP – June 30: National Ice Cream Soda Day
Believe it or not, ice cream sodas were once considered a sinful indulgence, and not just because of the calories. Today (June 30) on National Ice Cream Soda Day, we celebrate this soda fountain favorite that was initially believed to be on par with alcohol.
According to gastronomic legend, the ice cream soda was invented by Robert M. Green at the Franklin Institute’s sesquicentennial celebration in Philadelphia in 1874. Green was a vendor at this event and found himself competing for customers against a larger, better-equipped soda fountain. He decided to create a new soda offering to give his business an edge.
After a fair amount of experimenting with the ingredients at hand, Green hit on a winning combination: soda water, vanilla ice cream and flavored syrup. With 16 different flavors of syrup to choose from, Green’s concoction quickly became a sensation. It wasn’t long before other soda fountains were offering “ice cream soda.”
Ice cream sodas were especially popular with teenagers and children, which caused concern for many adults. At the time, soda was being touted as a medicine or health tonic rather than as a refreshing beverage. Coca-Cola, for example, had its start in the 1880s as a patent medicine. Parents were less than pleased that ice cream was being added to medicine and doled out to their children.
Soda was therefore considered a substance on par with alcohol in that its consumption needed to be regulated. In some locales, soda, like alcohol, could not be sold on Sundays. The ice cream soda ban is said to have led to the creation of the ice cream sundae, so named because it didn’t contain soda and could be sold on Sundays.
We suggest celebrating National Ice Cream Soda Day with (what else?) an ice cream soda. Even though soda is no longer a controlled substance, we still encourage you to celebrate responsibly. There’s nothing like an ice cream headache to take all the fun out of the holiday.
– Teresa Santoski
Originally published June 30, 2010.
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