Slurpee

A Slurpee is a slushy frozen carbonated beverage sold at 7-Eleven stores.

Machines to make frozen beverages were invented by Omar Knedlik in the late 1950s. The idea for a slushed ice drink came when Knedlik's soda fountain broke down, forcing him to put his sodas in a freezer to stay cool, which caused them to become slushy. The result was popular with customers, which gave him the idea to make a machine to help make a "slushy" from carbonated beverages. When it became popular, Knedlik hired artist Ruth E. Taylor to create a name and logo for his invention. She created the ICEE name and designed the original logo, which is used today. Early prototypes for the machine made use of an automobile air conditioning unit.

After a successful trial of ICEE machines in 100 stores, 7-Eleven in 1965 made a licensing deal with The ICEE Company to sell the product under certain conditions. Two of these were that 7-Eleven must use a different name for the product, and that the company was only allowed to sell the product in 7-Eleven locations in the US, a non-compete clause ensuring the two drinks never went head to head for distribution rights. 7-Eleven then sold the product that in 1966 became known as the "Slurpee" (for the sound made when drinking them). The term was coined by Bob Stanford, a 7-Eleven agency director.

The Slurpee machine has a separate spout for each flavor at the front of a tumbler or freezer, where patrons pour their own Slurpees. When Slurpees were first introduced, the dispensing machine was located behind the counter, and the clerk was tasked with dispensing the product. Common flavors are frozen Cherry, Coke, and Mountain Dew. But new flavors are introduced regularly. In the Slurpee's early history, flavors rotated much more frequently than today. Slurpee flavors were given novelty names such as Pink Fink, Adults Only, Moonshine, Kissin' Cousin, Gully Washer, Sticky Icky, and Redeye.

A dual-chambered Slurpee cup was announced for June 2011 release that uses a double straw and switchable valve to allow consumers to drink either of the flavors alone or both flavors simultaneously.

Slurpees are offered in many but not all covered countries.Canadians purchase an average of 30 million drinks per year. Manitoba was crowned the Slurpee Capital of the World for the seventeenth year in a row in 2016. 7-Eleven stores across Winnipeg sell an average of 188,833 Slurpee drinks per month. The rest of Canada sells an average of 179,700 per month, which makes Winnipeggers the world leader of Slurpee sales. Unlike their counterparts in America, Canadian Slurpees do not contain yucca extract which gives it the airy consistency American Slurpees are known for.

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