LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The delicious hot weather treat was discovered accidentally in the late 1950s. Omar Knedlik of Kansas City owned an old Dairy Queen whose machinery was always breaking down.

When his soda fountain cut out one day, he improvised by putting some bottles in the freezer to stay cool. When Knedlik opened them, he found they were a little frozen and slushy. Folks loved them anyway and began to specifically ask for "those pops that were in a little bit longer."

Knedlik then built a machine in the back room using the air conditioning unit from a car that would create slushy soda by combining and freezing a flavor mix, water, and carbon dioxide to make it fizz.

He dubbed the drinks "Icee." In 1965, when 7-Eleven licensed the machine, the franchise wanted a different name to make it unique for their stores. The name "Slurpee" was coined by Bob Stanford, a 7-Eleven ad agency director, when he described the sound made while sipping it through a straw.

The colorful iced drinks were a big sensation in the Psychedelic Sixties. Put in cups with swirling multi-colored designs, some of their edge-pushing flavors included "Fulla Bulla," "For Adults Only," and "Kiss Me, You Fool."

A 45-rpm single "Dance the Slurp," written by Tom Merriman, was released on free, promotional records only available in 7-Eleven stores.

With the advent of the Slurpee came the unwanted side effect of "brain freeze," i.e., the roof of the mouth becoming sensitive with the introduction of ice. To mitigate "brain freeze," doctors recommend that you merely - press your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

Slurp on!

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