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National Ice Cream Day Facts

National Ice Cream Day Facts
The third Sunday in July in the United States is National Ice Cream Day. Americans consume more ice cream per person than any other nation on earth. When immigrants arrived on Ellis Island they were greeted with ice cream. In 1984, then President Ronald Reagan declared the third Sunday in July National Ice Cream Day and the month of July as National Ice Cream Month. He signed an official proclamation on July 9th, 1984 called Presidential Proclamation 5219 that signed both National Ice Cream Day and National Ice Cream Month into American law. Originally the celebration's resolution was only intended for the year 1984 it has continued each year since the proclamation was made.
Interesting National Ice Cream Day Facts:
It is believed that the Roman emperor Nero may have invented the first ice dessert when he ordered slaves to bring him ice from mountain tops so that he could enjoy it with honey and fruit.
In France ice cream became available to the public in 1660. Legends suggest that Marco Polo brought the ice cream recipe back from China and Catherine de Medici brought the recipe to France. Catherine de Medici was an Italian noblewoman who married King Henry II, and became Queen of France.
National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day were originally introduced by Joint Resolution 298 on May 17th, 1984. The resolution was sponsored by Kentucky Senator Walter Dee Huddleston.
The original Presidential Proclamation issued by President Ronald Reagan stated that "Ice cream is a nutritious and wholesome food, enjoyed by over ninety percent of the people in the United States."
The original Presidential Proclamation issued by Ronald Reagan designated July 1984 as National Ice Cream Month and July 15th, 1984 as National Ice Cream Day. He also stated "I call upon the people of the United States to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities."
Thomas Jefferson was a big fan of ice cream. There is a recipe for vanilla ice cream in the Library of Congress that was written by Thomas Jefferson's own hand.
In the summer of 1790 President George Washington spent $700 on ice cream. At Mount Vernon Martha Washington served ice cream to her guests.
Ice cream became popular in the United States following the American Revolution.
The first home ice cream maker was invented in 1843, by Nancy Johnson who lived in Philadelphia. It was a hand-crank machine.
In 1988 the largest ice cream sundae in history was created in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It weighed more than 24 tons.
The most popular ice cream flavor in the United States is vanilla, accounting for up to 29% of sales of ice cream. Chocolate ice cream is the second most popular flavor.
Approximately nine percent of milk produced in the United States is used for making ice cream.
The dairy industry in the United States produced approximately 20 quarts of ice cream for each person in the country in 2010.
More ice cream is consumed in Long Beach, California than any other city in the United States.


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