Sometimes a very simple concept–so simple it can discovered by accident–can create a new American classic.
One particularly cold evening in 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson was sitting on his porch in San Francisco stirring a stick through his cup of water mixed with powdered soda. He left the cup out on his porch and discovered the next morning that he had accidentally created a delicious treat, which he named after himself — the Epsicle. As a child, he made the Epsicle popular among his friends. As an adult, he gave it to his own kids–they called it a “Pop’s sicle,” and the name stuck, Gizmodo reports.
Epperson applied for a patent in 1923, which he sold in 1929. The frozen treats, selling for five cents a pop, became popular quickly. Epperson passed away in 1983 at the age of 89.