- National Archives, Prologue (Spring 2005), "The Frozen Sucker War: Good Humor v. Popsicle," Jefferson M. Moak: "The birth of the Popsicle belongs in legends"; the 1905 story (syrupy drink with a stirring stick left out on a cold night in California); "Epsicle" and his children's "Pop's Sicle"; patent filed 1924 and granted two months later; rights sold to the Popsicle Corporation; in the Horn Ice Cream case defendants claimed the frozen sucker "had been used by at least 10 individuals or companies" before Epperson, and Popsicle's attorney Morris Hirsch argued the parties' statements showed Epperson's invention date was January 1905; lawsuits 1924 to 1933. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/spring/popsicle
- US Patent 1,505,592, "Frozen Confectionery," Frank W. Epperson of Oakland, California, granted August 19, 1924; frozen around a wooden handle stick (birch or poplar suggested). https://patents.google.com/patent/US1505592A/en
- KQED Bay Area Bites: age 11 in 1905; sugary soda powder mixed with water, left out overnight with a wooden stirrer; "Epsicle" (icicle plus his name); city disputed (AP obituary says San Francisco, others Oakland); 1923 sales at Neptune Beach; the article calls the origin story "charming yet unverifiable" and apocryphal. https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/98186/how-a-bay-area-11-year-old-invented-the-popsicle
- Mental Floss (secondary, for the kids' "Pop's sicles" and the skeptics' view): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/66615/how-distracted-11-year-old-invented-popsicle
Food Stories · Episode 10 · Food brand history
Who Really Invented the Popsicle? The Legend and the Court Case
The famous story says 11-year-old Frank Epperson invented the popsicle in 1905. What the record shows: a 1924 patent, lawsuits, and a legend.
The short answer
The story everybody tells is that in 1905, near San Francisco, 11-year-old Frank Epperson left a drink outside with a stick in it and found it frozen by morning. Nobody wrote that night down at the time. What is documented is Epperson's 1924 patent for a frozen treat on a wooden stick and the lawsuits that followed, in which rivals said others had made frozen treats on sticks before him. The National Archives says the popsicle's birth belongs in legends.
- Epperson first called it the "Epsicle".
- US Patent 1,505,592 for a frozen confection on a stick was granted in 1924.
- His own children called them "Pop's sicles", which is where the name came from.
The story (transcript)
Narration from the episode, as it is spoken.
You left your juice outside all night. In the morning it's a block of ice with the spoon stuck in it. Gross? Or genius?
So who really invented the popsicle?
Here's the story everybody tells. In nineteen oh five, near San Francisco, an eleven-year-old named Frank Epperson mixed soda powder and water, left it outside with the stirring stick still in it, and went to bed. The night got cold. By morning, the drink had frozen around the stick.
Frank called it the Epsicle. Part Epperson, part icicle.
Now here's what the record shows. Nobody wrote that night down in nineteen oh five. The story shows up years later, when grown-ups were fighting over who owned the idea.
In nineteen twenty-four, Frank got a patent for a frozen treat on a wooden stick. That part is on paper.
Then came the lawsuits. Rival companies said at least ten people had made frozen treats on sticks before him. The popsicle company's lawyer pointed back to nineteen oh five. The National Archives says the popsicle's birth belongs in legends.
Fun fact. Frank's own kids called them Pop's sicles. That's where the name came from.
Try this. Pour juice in a little cup, stand a wooden stick in it, and freeze it overnight. Congratulations. You just acted out the legend.
Brought to you by Wonderade, the juice you wish you had when you were growing up.
Questions people ask
- Who invented the popsicle?
- Frank Epperson patented the frozen treat on a stick in 1924. The story that he invented it as an 11-year-old in 1905 is popular but unverified.
- Is the popsicle origin story true?
- It can't be confirmed. The 1905 date entered the record during 1920s patent lawsuits, and the National Archives calls the popsicle's birth a legend.
- Where does the name popsicle come from?
- Epperson's children called the treats "Pop's sicles". He had first named them Epsicles.
Sources
Each source is listed with the facts we took from it.
How we checked this
What we simplified, hedged or left out, and why.
- The legend (age 11, 1905, the cold night, the frozen stick) is framed as "the story everybody tells" and is never stated as fact. The documented parts (1924 patent, the lawsuits, the "at least 10" rival claim, the Archives' "belongs in legends" line) are stated as the record.
- "Near San Francisco" because sources split between San Francisco and Oakland; the patent lists Oakland as his residence in 1924.
- The 1905 date entered the record through the Popsicle company's lawyer in a 1920s patent fight, which is why the narration says "the popsicle company's lawyer", not "Frank's lawyer".
- Patent filing date differs (NARA: June 11, 1924; Google Patents metadata: July 1924), so narration says only "in nineteen twenty-four" and the stamp shows the grant date, which both agree is August 19, 1924.
- When Epperson sold his rights is reported inconsistently (NARA: September 1924 to the Popsicle Corporation; KQED: 1929 to the Joe Lowe Company), so it is left out.
- "Try this" uses a cup, a craft stick and a freezer: an adult-supervised kitchen activity, no health claim.
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