ICEE vs. Slurpee
The 7-11 store in Mission, KS carried ICEE frozen fountain drinks, not Slurpees. ICEE was the brand we drank in various flavors like Cola and Cherry. When I was about nine years old, I found an old 45 single at a garage sale called Dance The Slurp. The flip side had humorous anecdotes from voice-over actors about the strange things that happened to people who drank ICEEs from 7-11. It was a hoot.
I lost that 45 and didn't think much of it until I got to talking with an avid record collector years later. He traded me a copy for something else I had and much to my surprise, when I played it in the production room at the radio station where I worked at the time, all the voice overs mentioned Slurpee, not ICEE.
Yes, it's true. ICEE and Slurpee are one and the same. The original concoction was invented by Omar Knedlik of Coffeyville, Kansas. That sounds like a name out of Mad Magazine. Omar marketed ICEE and ICEE machines in Kansas and a few other Midwestern states and eventually sold the rights to 7-11 in 1965. They rebranded it the Slurpee and sold it coast to coast. There must have been a wrinkle in the contract that kept the ICEE brand (complete with polar bear mascot) in Omar's legacy outlets here in the Midwest. ICEE may be dead, but I saw the logo on an office building at Johnson Drive and I-35 in Merriam, KS the other day. Perhaps the spirit of Omar Knedlik lives on.
Found here...
http://fowlerjones.blogspot.com/2006/04/icee-vs-slurpee.html
An anonymous left this comment
I don't think Slurpees and Icees are the same. Icees (with the bear) are still found at Mr. Bulky's and some Walmarts. Icees are way better than Slurpees with the carbonated taste (probably some chemical) in the cola flavor. You could drink a whole Icee quickly and not just end up with a chunk of ice at the bottom like you can with Slurpees. I remember the 7-11 at 89th and Roe and collecting the Icee coupons in the sorghum and soybean fields that used to be there to redeem free Icees.
I lost that 45 and didn't think much of it until I got to talking with an avid record collector years later. He traded me a copy for something else I had and much to my surprise, when I played it in the production room at the radio station where I worked at the time, all the voice overs mentioned Slurpee, not ICEE.
Yes, it's true. ICEE and Slurpee are one and the same. The original concoction was invented by Omar Knedlik of Coffeyville, Kansas. That sounds like a name out of Mad Magazine. Omar marketed ICEE and ICEE machines in Kansas and a few other Midwestern states and eventually sold the rights to 7-11 in 1965. They rebranded it the Slurpee and sold it coast to coast. There must have been a wrinkle in the contract that kept the ICEE brand (complete with polar bear mascot) in Omar's legacy outlets here in the Midwest. ICEE may be dead, but I saw the logo on an office building at Johnson Drive and I-35 in Merriam, KS the other day. Perhaps the spirit of Omar Knedlik lives on.
Found here...
http://fowlerjones.blogspot.com/2006/04/icee-vs-slurpee.html
An anonymous left this comment
I don't think Slurpees and Icees are the same. Icees (with the bear) are still found at Mr. Bulky's and some Walmarts. Icees are way better than Slurpees with the carbonated taste (probably some chemical) in the cola flavor. You could drink a whole Icee quickly and not just end up with a chunk of ice at the bottom like you can with Slurpees. I remember the 7-11 at 89th and Roe and collecting the Icee coupons in the sorghum and soybean fields that used to be there to redeem free Icees.
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