![]() Why not make it drinkable like a soda, where you still have that fizz? They’re light and fluffy, and people really like that. People love soda, and people love cold, frozen things. ![]() "It adds carbonation while freezing the mixture." Frozen drinks don’t necessarily have to be carbonated, but the Slurpee’s addition of CO2 " helps make the drink smoother," says Warren. The Slurpee machine itself is "kind of like a soda machine and an ice cream freezer all in one," Warren says. The Slurpee machine itself is "kind of like a soda machine and an ice cream freezer all in one." That simplicity of process has everything to do with ensuring that Slurpees made in Detroit, Michigan taste like Slurpees made in Dallas, Texas. It, like most machines, has gotten smaller over time, but the mechanics (which for Slurpees are, of course, a 7-Eleven corporate secret) have largely stayed the same. How does that machine work, exactly? In its 50-year history, the actual slushy machine has not changed dramatically. But it was from that same frozen drink machine that the Slurpee was born: 7-Eleven licensed the ICEE machine technology from Knedlik in 1965. He worked with an artist to develop a brand for his new slushy drinks, introducing the world to the ICEE, a gas-station staple in its own right. According to a 2010 Mental Floss article, the original idea was conceived after Knedlik, who operated a Dairy Queen franchise in Kansas City, stashed some soda pop in the freezer when the soda fountain in his restaurant went kaput. The beginnings of the slushy drink, in general, can be traced back to a man named Omar Knedlik, who, in the late 1950s, used parts from an automobile air conditioner to build a rudimentary frozen beverage machine. There are, of course, other frozen drinks - the ICEE, Slush Puppie, and Freezoni among them - but none have come close to matching Slurpee’s pop-culture prominence. The Simpsons weaved the drink into the fabric of its world - its parody, the Squishee, became so linked to the real-life Slurpee that 7-Eleven partnered with The Simpsons Movie in 2007 to sell the show's fictional beverage from collectible cups. On eBay, thousands of listings hawk special-edition plastic Slurpee cups from the 1970s and beyond emblazoned with images of Scooby-Doo, The Hulk, and Spider-Man for upwards of $20 each. In the '70s, a promotional single called " Dance the Slurp ," released on 45 rpm records, proved so popular it was played on mainstream radio. Outside of the store, Slurpee has closely linked itself with events unfolding in popular culture. The inventor of the frozen margarita machine, a Dallas restaurant owner named Mariano Martinez, cited the Slurpee machine as his inspiration for changing the face of the classic cocktail. Slurpee has firmly staked its claim in the American consciousness in a number of ways.
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