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The Slurpee at 40 176

Posted by Zonk from the venerable-drink dept.
theodp writes "Oh Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven! Slate reports on the 40th birthday of the Slurpee, which has frozen an estimated 6 billion brains and arguably provided the inspiration for Starbucks' Frappuccino, Dunkin' Donuts' Coolatta and Kwik-E-Mart's Squishee. Wikipedia has more Slurpee facts and links."
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The Slurpee at 40 More

The Slurpee at 40

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  • Slurpees Rock! (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    And here is a tip for the young ones - full 1/2 of the cup, go get a straw and tap the cup to let it settle - then keep filling her up...

    : )

  • Random Fact (Score:5, Informative)

    by iamdrscience ( 541136 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @03:26AM (#13583388) Homepage
    The official generic term for a Slurpee is "Frozen Carbonated Beverage" or FCB for short. This is the type of useless information you can pick up from working in a convenience store.

    Mind you, nobody actually calls them this, but it is used in the manuals for the machines and on the boxes of the syrup that come from Coke and Pepsi.
    • We always just called it a slush.
    • but it is used in the manuals for the machines and on the boxes of the syrup that come from Coke and Pepsi.

      You realize you just outed yourself from manhood, right? We're going to have to ask you to leave your pr0n bookmarks and duct tape on the counter and vacate the premises immediately.

  • Old news? (Score:3, Informative)

    by ThyPiGuy ( 870924 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @03:34AM (#13583398)
    Didn't it turn 40 like 3 months ago.. in July?

  • The Slurpee is Great But... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Quaoar ( 614366 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @03:34AM (#13583400)
    ...does anyone notice that there are periods when there are nothing but disgusting slurpee flavors available? I've just found that many a time I've entered a 7-11 with a slurpee craving, I would find no flavors that I like...
    • I don't remember the last time I walked in and didn't find the Coca-Cola flavor available, which is my personal favorite. When I was a kid, though, I preferred the Icee which was a Slurpee knock-off - I thought the Icee had a better cherry flavor.
      • > I preferred the Icee which was a Slurpee knock-off

        Icee is *not* a knockoff - it's the Slurpee that is the copy.

        According to Wikipedia, 7-11 bought the idea for the Slurpee *from* Icee in 1967.

        (Hmmm - that makes it only 38 years old...where did they get '40th birthday' from? Wiki says that the idea was invented in the 1950's - so it's not the anniversary of it's invention?).
        • I would guess the missing 2 years == the time it took Icee's lawyers to sue 7-11 for a cash settlment for 'stealing' it's patented method for creating a frozen beverage. icee probably wanted too much money, 7-11 wasn't willing to pay for 'the icee name' and began selling under the slurpee brand, and 2 years latter they 'paid' a settlement to icee. either, that or wiki or this article are wrong. 7-eleven.com is making no big fuss over the slurpee being 40, so perhaps it is as wikipidia is suggesting only
          • ahh a quick google proves me wrong ;) it was a 7-eleven marketing idea to 'change' the name. the slurpee name is 38 years old, but 40 years ago 7-eleven started selling icee frozen drinks because a store manager saw them selling in a competitors store.

            "In the Fall of 1965, 7-Eleven purchased three machines to test the product in their stores. They were an immediate success, and by the Spring of 1967, the machines were in almost every 7-Eleven® store.

            The Slurpee mark was created in May 1967 during a bra
      • I used to buy Slurpees once a week or so. I once complained to the store manager that they rarely had Cherry - which is my favorite - but always seem to have Coke - usually my least favorite. He replied that they rotate flavors for a lot of reasons, but they always carry Coke because Coke is the most popular flavor and the one folks are most likely to pick if they find nothing else of interest.
    • 7-elevens are ubiquitous & most 7-elevens will each have a different selection of flavors. So just try going to another location.
    • what adult would choose a bubblegum-flavored slurpee when a nice adult-oriented pina colada or margarita could be available, alcohol included?

      When I hit the lottery, or (re-)marry into money, I want my margaritas on-tap!

    • Disgusting slurpee flavors (Score:5, Funny)

      by commodoresloat ( 172735 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @05:58AM (#13583695)
      "Perhaps you'd like to try an experimental flavour of my own concoction. A delicious chutney squishy...You can really tasted the chutney!"
      --Apu

  • Um, Slush Puppy Anyone??? (Score:4, Informative)

    by WatcherXP ( 658784 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @03:35AM (#13583402)
    Gotta love corporate marketing. The Slush Puppy actually ushered in the era of the iced crystal drink on November 12 1972. I fully expect a "Slush Puppy at 43" slashdot article this fall.
  • Seeing as how Slurpees have been around now for 40 years, you'd think that they'd have found some sort of technological improvement that could be applied to them.

  • The Slurpee's Secret to success (Score:4, Funny)

    by OSXpert ( 560516 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @03:40AM (#13583416)
    1. Make low cost bad tasting fruit drink 2. Freeze taste buds and brains so drink tastes good 3. ?!?!?!?! 4. Profit! Step 5, of course, is to whore for Karma
    • Actually the bad tasting fruit drinks are made by someone else. Coca-cola, Minutemaid, Fanta, and others sell the syrup which is used. Same syrup as in a fountain soda pop dispenser.
    • 1. Make low cost bad tasting fruit drink 2. Freeze taste buds and brains so drink tastes good 3. ?!?!?!?! 4. Profit! Step 5, of course, is to whore for Karma

      That's pretty much it. I have to admit I was never overly fond of the flavors offered. Your choice of Cola or fruit crap of the month, not a happy choice. If you were lucky you had more than two choices, or in the 80s when self serving machines became popular and you could mix your own crappy beverage, a mix of slurpee and your favorite carbonated d

  • Doh! (Score:1)

    by Harker ( 96598 )
    Brain Freeze!!!

    H.
    • Here's my cure for brain-freeze.

      Take another small slurp and leave it sitting on the tip of your tongue.

      I have no idea what causes the brain-freeze effect, nor why the solution works, but I've passed this technique on to many people and it does seem to defrost the brain near instantly.

      • Re:Doh! (Score:5, Funny)

        by geminidomino ( 614729 ) * on Saturday September 17, 2005 @07:47AM (#13583945) Journal
        I remember my mom[*] telling me once that it had something to do with overstimulation of the nerves in the roof of the mouth, or something.

        [*]Working as a neurosurgery nurse now ,so it's not exactly authoritative, but not as random as Uncle D, the real-estate agent, which conversation went something like this:

        GD: Why do slurpies give you a headache?
        D: Because you're drinking it too fast, asshole.
        GD: No, but what CAUSES the headache?
        D: Shut the fuck up and just drink it. Jesus.

        (Several F-bombs removed from D's speech.)

  • Yumm (Score:3, Informative)

    by bmantz65 ( 642864 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @03:46AM (#13583431) Journal
    I could drink a slurpee or two every day. Currently, my local 7-11 has a killer lineup, IMO. They have their new Frawg flavor (green sour apple..its not bad, but I mixed it with Blue Rasberry) Dr. Pepper, Blue Rasberry, and Pepsi.

  • Random Slurpee Facts (Score:5, Informative)

    by cente ( 785332 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @03:49AM (#13583434)
    Canadians purchase over 30 million Slurpees every year
    The average Slurpee drinker age is 29 years
    Manitoba is the "Slurpee Capital" of the world for the fifth year in a row (2003)! The 7-Eleven stores in Manitoba sell an average of 8,300 Slurpee drinks per store each month, compared to the national monthly rate of 5,900 and provincial rate of 7,200,which makes this Province the world leader in Slurpee sales.
    The top five Slurpee cities are:
                1. Winnipeg
                2. Calgary
                3. Regina
                4. Detroit
                5. Edmonton
    The frozen carbonated beverage was first invented in 1959 by a Kansas hamburger stand owner. Using an automobile air conditioner, he created a sophisticated piece of equipment that would freeze a carbonated soft drink and serve it in a sherbet-like form that could be sipped through a straw.
    To get that uniquely Slurpee consistency, each Slurpee machine has a compact refrigeration system that mixes syrup, carbon dioxide and water under pressure in a freezing chamber.
    Slurpees are served at -3C (or 28F)
    7-Eleven(r) began selling Slurpee, then called Icee, in its stores in the United States in 1965

    Credit to http://www.myslurpeecup.com/facts.html
    • well... if you lived in Winnipeg... ^_^
    • I used to live next door to a 7-11. Yes, I gained a lot of weight from 24 hour snacks. Sigh.

      Lucky for us, I moved and 7-11 long ago abandonded my new state -there literally aren't any 7-11s within hundreds of miles- so I don't have to worry about drinking too many Slurpees.

      We do still have Icee machines in assorted gas stations, and there's always the frozen drinks at QuikTrip which I like better than 7-11 anyway.


    • I live in Winnipeg. We don't actually buy Slurpees, we buy Big Gulps. By the time we get home after walking through the snow we have a Slurpee. The 7-Eleven marketing people will have me killed for telling you this.
    • "Manitoba is the "Slurpee Capital" of the world for the fifth year in a row (2003)!"

      Make that six [www.ctv.ca]. :)

  • Icee's were better... (Score:3, Informative)

    by CptNerd ( 455084 ) <adiseker@lexonia.net> on Saturday September 17, 2005 @03:51AM (#13583442) Homepage
    ...At least Icee's were available where I grew up. Plus at one time they had "Icee points" that you could save up and send off for "neat stuff." I neve rgot enough, though, but I sure did like the frozen Coke variety...

    http://www.icee.com/ [icee.com]

  • As a former employee at local 7-11 store (Score:5, Funny)

    by layer3switch ( 783864 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @04:04AM (#13583463)
    I hate you, Slurpee. I hate you with all my blisters you gave me from mopping that tar of you, people spilled all over the floor.

    Although it was useful mouse/cockroach trap (a sweet death, oh what irony!), you surely leave a long trail of spills from one corner of the store to the door.

    Be the 40th birthday your last! I hate you, Slurpee!!!

    SLURPEEE!!!!

    ps: yes, i'm seeking professional help.

  • I'm Disappointed in Fellow Contributors (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Apple Acolyte ( 517892 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @04:31AM (#13583531)
    By now I would have expected to see at least one thread on the unsanitary conditions Slurpees are likely in at time of purchase due to the general environment (7/11) and said store's average patrons. 7/11 is the only class of food establishment to have received a C health inspection rating (in So. Cal) without being shut down. And there's always something mildly disturbing to me about the fact that most of the "counter space" in 7/11 food aisles consist of the tops of waste receptacles. So am I truly more of a germaphobe than most?
  • arguably provided the inspiration for Starbucks' Frappuccino

    Surely this drink was much more likely inspired by a traditional Italian drink called Caffè Granita, made with coffee and crushed ice.

    Here in the UK, we don't have this Slurpee thing at all, but Frappuccino was not a surprise to any of us who had been to Italy when it arrived in our Starbuckses.

    • This is possible, however, when Starbucks created the Frappucino (later emulated by countless others with their Blended Coffee Drinks) it was appealing to the non-coffee drinking crowd speficially, which is why Frappucinos are mostly syrup and have very little actual coffee in them. It makes more sense, then, that they were seeking a Slurpee-ish drink than a true coffee variant such as Caffe Granita. A closer comparison to the Granita might be their iced coffee, or "classic" Frappucino (which is no longer s
    • We've got Slush Puppie [slushpuppie.co.uk] in the UK.
      • And we have both Slush Puppie and Slurpee here in Canada, which would seem to indicate that they're not one and the same....

        Slush Puppie is better, IMO. Matter of personal preference, though.
    • Here in the UK it's called slush puppy :)

  • Rupert Jee's Frozen Fruit Whippy (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Rupert Jee's Frozen Fruit Whippy beats the Slurpee any day!
  • .. and you still cant get them here.
  • I remember Slurpee first introduced when I was a kid, but now it seems to be disappeared from 7-Elevens and Circle Ks in Hong Kong.
  • Just don't even think about trying to make one at home without paying licensing fees.
  • I've pretty much stopped buying Slurpees because without fail, half of the machines have just unfrozen liquid at any 7-11 I visit.
    • Then wouldn't the other half be a failure? Thats like saying I've stopped driving my car because, without fail, one trip in a million causes death. Granted, the other 999,999 were perfectly safe -- but you can count on the deadly trip to be deadly. Its unsurvivable, works every time, consider your ticket punched, etc.
  • The Slurpee-cooled CPU case mod.

  • ICEEs are older, better, and help you get girls (Score:5, Interesting)

    by AngryNick ( 891056 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @07:09AM (#13583845) Homepage Journal
    Where I grew up, they were called ICEEs (say Ice-E) even at the 7-11. Anyone who called it a Slurpee was a pansy.

    The ICEE has been around more than 45 years and the first ICEE machine was sold in 1960. The Kansas City Star [kansascity.com]has a good history on the Frizz/ICEE/Slurpee and its inventor, Omar Knedlik:

    ..."A pre-mix of most any flavor is placed inside the machine. There it is put under pressure. Any liquid increases in density when pressurized. Release of the pressure causes it to freeze. So when the liquid pours from the machine it freezes as it hits the cup."

    I suspect someone at 7-11 HQ has been screwing around with the settings, because a Slurpee is more liquidy than a ICEE. This appears to allow for faster consumption, which results in more brain freezing, which provides for a less enjoyable experience.

    As far as helping you hookup, the official ICEE cup is predominately blue and red. Time and again science [romantics.net] has proven that women are attracted to blue and men are attracted to pink and red. Combine the higher brain freeze rate of the Slurpee and there's no lovin' tonight for Johnny.

    So there. Now stop calling it Slurpee! It's ICEE! It's pissing me off.

    --
    Today's anger level: Yellow - Irritated for no reason

    • Yes, the ICEE is the king daddy paw-paw of frozen drinks. The slurpee is a blatant rip-off, perpetrated by the Southland Corp who owned all the 7-11 stores. Being born in 1970 in north Texas, I grew up on ICEEs from the age I could walk until I was in junior high year when all the ICEE machines in my hometown disappeared and were replaced by those imposter slurpee machines. They were sold in "Jiffy" stores, also owned by Southland, and either renamed to 7-11 or torn down later on.
  • I gotta say that being a life long fan of flavoured slush drinks, that it didn't get any better than the Bloody Zit!.

    Ad campaign-wise, with the bus shelter posters of a kid trying to pop a pimple into a cup of blood red sour cherry slush.

    Just infront of the machine, are shakers of candy bits. Oily black head bits, green flesh eating bacteria, pus powder and dried scabs.

    Wish I had a link to put up....

    If you could get over the imagery, those candy bits really helped balance out the sourness of the c

    • Re:Mac's Milk - Bloody Zit Froster (Score:5, Informative)

      by wing03 ( 654457 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @07:36AM (#13583914)
      Not the pimple popping into a cup, but equally as gross, here's a link for a tv commercial that likely aired on after school and Saturday morning cartoon time....

      Zit Licking [boardsmag.com]
      • Not the pimple popping into a cup, but equally as gross, here's a link for a tv commercial that likely aired on after school and Saturday morning cartoon time...

        Where may one aquire a bloody zit?
        • Where may one aquire a bloody zit?

          Well, either by eating too much sweets and greasy foods. 8)

          Or, in Ontario, Canada at Mac's Milk convenient stores.

          Not sure about the rest of Canada. Though the logo has changed from a cat to an owl which reminds me of the Quebec based Provigo convenience store chain's logo in Quebec... and as a previous message from Quebec mentioned, they had it first.

    • Ad campaign-wise, with the bus shelter posters of a kid trying to pop a pimple into a cup of blood red sour cherry slush.
      Just infront of the machine, are shakers of candy bits. Oily black head bits, green flesh eating bacteria, pus powder and dried scabs. Wish I had a link to put up....

      Oh, you're talking about "sloche". It came from Québec first, where it is marketed in french with intentionally disgusting names like:

      • Poussin frappé — Yellow coloured; it's a pun
  • Wow, 40 years, didn't realize that. It wasn't until the late 70's I lived where Slurpees were available. Before that, I enjoyed Icees with the polar bear mascot. Or Chillie Willies (now there's a funny name in retrospect). Icees are the same as Slurpees, I believe, and had collectible stuff and points on the cups.
  • Although I'm dating myself by saying this (And I don't mean I'm going out with myself!):

    One of my first jobs while in high school was at a place called Borden's Heap-O-Cream. These ice cream shops were all the rage long before 7-Eleven came along. We used to make something called a Freezie (or maybe Freezy). Anyway, it is really simple to make and tastes really good. The ingredients are:

    1 pint of Sherbert
    1 bottle of carbonated water.

    Put the Sherbert into a blender with enough carbonated water to allow t
  • clasic web cartoon with their take on the 40 year old slurpee. [ibiblio.org]

  • Regular or spicy? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Deadstick ( 535032 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @10:09AM (#13584668)
    A coworker of mine claims he once held the Southern California record for Slurpee sales back when he was a 7-11 manager. His store was close to a business park and he kept a bottle of Wild Turkey under the counter...

    rj
  • All of the 7-Elevens in my part of Toronto (Scarborough) closed and disappeared on the same weekend! Now if I want a delicious Slurpee, Double Gulp or Bawls, I have to take a 1-hour trip downtown.
    You don't really appreciate how much better they are than most convenience stores until they're not an option.
    • You don't really appreciate how much better they are than most convenience stores until they're not an option.

      Really? I remember the closure in the early 80s of many 7-Elevens where I live. I never really missed them. The only unique thing they offered was a slurpee. Fountain drinks were ordinary though I guess you could say they were among the first to offer a huge drink. A really huge drink came in really handy.

      I "could" go to a 7-Eleven if I so wanted, but why bother? Technicaly they were a semi de

  • lowish in calories (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Hohlraum ( 135212 )
    you know that slurpees cuz they are frozen carbinated are pretty large for the amount of calories that they contain. if you contact the company they will send you pdfs containing nutritional information on them. I think they reason they don't just publish them is because the machines that create the slurpee vary in the thickness (the amount of base product) they dispence. so its possible to have two slurpees in the same size glass that are actually different in calories.

  • Slurpee - The Original 40 Year Old Virgin (Score:3, Funny)

    by Esion Modnar ( 632431 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @11:26AM (#13585132)
    How appropriate for /.

  • Learn something new... (Score:3, Funny)

    by writermike ( 57327 ) on Saturday September 17, 2005 @11:37AM (#13585192)
    Heh.

    I grew up in New Orleans where ICEE was king. They were in each and every Time Saver (local convenience chain)and were heavily advertised outside of Time Saver ads. I always thought they were a New Orleans' product. So, when Slurpee started to show up in New Orleans in the early 1980s, I figured THEY were the usurper. How dare they come in and try to kill ICEE.

    I really regret my boycotts and protests now, not to mention the dead cats outside of the stores. Sigh.

  • Check Out "Brainfreeze", a long mix from DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist. About 52 minutes long. Among many other bits, it features samples from Slurpees radio (or TV?) commercials. Very good stuff (if you like DJ-ing and scratching that is, but it features many styles at once, so listen to it).

    The vinyl even has "SLURP" [radiolaurbana.com.br] written on it ...

  • Coke slurpee + rum Extreeeeeme alcoholism!

  • that Zonk can't recognize a dupe when he sees it.

    Obviously Slurpees have frozen HIS brain as well.

    "News for Nerds, Stuff That Matters" - yeah, tell me again...

    In other news, Arby's roast beef sandwiches ROCK!
  • 10 months out of the year, the ground is frozen. The other two months, we eat ice.

    Go figure.
  • ...of a UKian, this story is fascinating. Mainly because I've never heard of any of these product names (nor even some of the shop names), which makes the story read a little like a comic novel!

    Seriously, I find it interesting how US culture seems so keen to embrace branding, product names (especially ones), slogans, etc. Over here, we still tend to use generic names more often than not. For example, if I need to blow my nose, I reach for a box of tissues, not a box of Kleenex -- even if they're made b

  • Michael Jackson reportedly plunked down $75.62 to install a Slurpee machine at Neverland Ranch.

    I'd pay that much for one...

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