As everyone knows that July 11 is the birthday of 7-eleven store and you can get free Slurpee on this day. However, there are some other facts about Slurpee which you don't know. Below you will find some of those facts that 7-eleven kept on a down low about the Slurpee.
Invention Of Slurpee - An Accident
The invention of Slurpee was a total accident. Back in 1959, a man named Omar Knedlik unintentionally made the drink. Knedlik was without soda fountain as he owned a Dairy Queen franchise.
In his Kansas franchise, he used to freeze those soda bottles in the freezer and then serve those half-freeze bottles to the consumers. Consumers loved those drinks as he tried to completely freeze those soda drinks with the help of an automobile air conditioner. After a struggle of 5 years, Knedlik was finally able to make a machine which can manufacture carbonated beverages. Later the name of the drink was changed to "ICEE" and then finally the drink got the name of "Slurpee".
Initially, Surplee Wasn't The Original Name
The initial name of Slurpee was ICEE.
Surplee wasn't the name from the origin. As discussed before, the original name of the drink was ICEE and the whole rights of the drink were under the authority of "The ICEE Company". A specified number of beverage machines were allowed under the license of the company.
One of those distributors was 7-Eleven who was licensed by the company to sell the drink. Soon, the top management decided to change the brand name of the product. Back in 1996, there was a brainstorming session going on in 7-eleven, when the director of the company Bob Standford drank the drink. After sipping the drink, Bob said that the drink made a "slurp" sound and that's what laid the foundation for the name of Slurpee.
Popular Flavors
The soda drink contains 34 flavors.
If you do not like Wild Cherry or Coca-Cola, don't worry, there are 34 more flavors to chose depending on the location of the store. Other famous flavors of the drink which are available in the US include sour green apple, watermelon, and dragon fruit. However, the flavors of the drink are subjective and in each country, they become more interesting. For example, you will find flavor like cappuccino and bubblegum in Canada and in Australia, you will find fruit salad, watermelon-lime, honeydew melon, and ginger beer.
ICEE Has Its Own Album
A Vinyl record was released by 7-eleven which contains tow songs for the Slurpee.
Nobody knows but the 7-eleven store released two songs for the Slurpee back in 1970. One of those songs was "Dance the Slurp" and the second side of the album includes a short comedy clip discussing the strange things which happened to people who drink Slurpee at 7-eleven. After 30 years of the song. Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow reused the song "Dance the Slurp" in their album "Brainfreeze". The song was released in 1999.
Slurpee Has Its Own Straw
When the company started making these drinks, there were special straws for drinking the beverage.
A special straw was designed by 7-Eleven for Slurpee so that the consumers can sip the very last drop of the drink. One end of the straw looked like a normal straw to sip the drink and the other side looked like a cone for scooping the icy elements. In May 2018, the company introduced new animal straws which include the muzzles and beaks of four animals - cat, wolf, fox, and an eagle.
Drink Has Multiple Sugar Levels
Sam sized Slurpee drinks with different flavors contain different percentages of calories.
The level of sugar in the 7-eleven's Slurpee ranges from 8 ounces to 44 ounces. In a larger pack of the drink, there are tons of calories and sugar.
It is important here to note that same size Slurpees having different flavors vary in calory percentage. For example, 44-ounce Dr. Pepper Slurpee contains 825 calories and the same size Sour Patch Watermelon Slurpee contains 500 calories.
Billions Of Slurpees Have Been Sold
7-eleven store has produced 7.2 billion drinks since 1966.
Since 1966 when the 7-eleven store started manufacturing Slurpee, more than 7.2 billion drinks have been purchased. And these numbers suggest that the drink is enough for everyone earth. According to the stats, consumers are consuming 14 million Slurpees per month. The drink is served in 19 different countries.
