Soft serve ice cream was created by accident 80 years ago today

Soft serve ice cream was created by accident 80 years ago today

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer as well as the great American ice-cream binge.

Fittingly, this holiday also happens to be the anniversary of the birth of soft serve ice cream, at least according to ice cream maker Carvel. According to their site, the owner, Tom Carvel, bought his first truck in 1934 in the hope of traveling around the East Coast to sell his special blend of hard, delicious frozen custard. But on Memorial Day, the young entrepreneur hit a snag, literally. His truck got a flat tire and he was stuck on the side of the road in Hardsdale, New York.

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Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.