Good Humor, Bad Attitude
Most people nowadays know the Popsicle as an essential subset of the Good Humor corporation’s offerings, and the idea of one not being available at a Good Humor truck would be shocking. However, Good Humor and the Popsicle were, in fact, bitter enemies for decades. Good Humor, owner of a patent for frozen ice cream covered in chocolate on a stick, felt that the popsicle fell squarely within their domain. This kicked off an extended and tense legal battle between Good Humor and Popsicle, who claimed their patent was a separate type of treat.
A judge agreed, splitting the child Solomon-style to give Good Humor the rights to ice-cream and dairy-based stick-skewered sweets, while Popsicle obtained the domain of water & ice based frozen fun. For a lawsuit that involved such fun foods, the result left a bad taste in both companies’ mouths. The two would remain deeply unfriendly until 1989, when Unilever, owner of Good Humor and also roughly one third of every company in the modern world, would purchase Popsicle and integrate it with Good Humor.
Nowadays, Popsicles are a popular choice for both the over-sunned and the sore-throated, and come in an incredible amount of variety. Whether it’s a classic cherry popsicle, a shark-shaped lemon ice (shout out the GOAT Great White), or a nightmarish Spongebob that looks plucked from the streets of Silent Hill, options abound.
Which is your preferred pop to cool down as extreme weather becomes the norm in our ravaged climate? Sound off in the comments!