Why Are Ice Pops Called Quiescently Frozen Confections?

You won't find the word 'popsicle' on the packaging for some ice pops -- instead, they're called 'quiescently frozen confections'. Learn why this sciencey term is used instead of the more simple one in today's refreshed episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Lauren Vogel Bomb. Here. Let's say it's a hot summer
day and you're enjoying a delicious frozen treat on a stick,
something we might normally identify with a word that you
get by combining what the weasel goes in the nursery
rhyme and one of the two tools on the former

(00:24):
flag of the Soviet Union. And no, I am not
talking about round the mulberry bush hammers, because that sounds
real weird. The word I'm referring to is popsickle. But
if you look down at the label of your icy snack,
there's a decent chance that will not be labeled popsicle
and will instead say that it's a quiescently frozen confection.

(00:46):
But what does that mean? While the jargon, why can't
they just say a popsicle? First off, let's break down
the phrase quiescently frozen confection. Confection just means a sweet
food or dessert. I assume you know what frozen means
and quiescently means at rest, this is worth specifying. In
the world of frozen treats. A quiescently frozen food just

(01:09):
sits there while it freezes. It is at rest. If
you've ever made homemade ice pops out of orange juice
or mountain dew in an ice cube tray in your freezer,
those were quiescently frozen. This is in contrast to something
like ice cream, which is not quiescently frozen. Ice Cream
is frozen and whipped at the same time. In factories

(01:30):
that make ice cream, a blade called a dasher turns
inside the ice cream vat to vigorously stir the mix
while it freezes. This incorporates air bubbles, which is a
crucial part of forming the internal structure of ice cream,
making it light and creamy. If you just poured ice
cream mix into an ice cube tray and frozen, it
would not taste or feel right. Okay, but we all

(01:54):
know what popsicle means, so why mess with this scientific mess.
We do this because popsicle is what we might refer
to as a proprietary eponym, a word that is actually
a registered trademark of a company that we've come to
use as a generic term in common parlance. Other examples
include xerox for photocopies, band aids for adhesive bandages of

(02:17):
Velcrow for hook and loop fasteners, Kleenex for tissues, Frisbee
for throwing discs, and Styrofoam for extruded polystyrene foams. And now,
if you're a kid asking your friend's mom if you
can have another popsicle, this probably doesn't matter unless your
friend's mom is a trademark lawyer for the Unilever Supply

(02:39):
Chain Incorporated. That's because popsicle is a registered trademark of
Unilever Supply Chain Incorporated. And they are serious about their
rights and they've definitely got some lawyers. So how did
this come to be? People have likely been freezing desserts,
sometimes on sticks since we've had freezer and sticks. But

(03:02):
the capital P popsicle ice pop as we know it,
was developed starting in nineteen oh five by an eleven
year old kid in San Francisco named Frank Epperson. When
Eperson grew up, he began selling them as frozen drinks
on a stick. In nineteen twenty four, he took out
a patent for his frozen confectionery. By nineteen twenty five,
he had started calling these frozen confections popsicles. The apparent

(03:25):
logic there being a combination of soda, pop and icicle,
or possibly his children called them the icicles that their
pop made. That very year, he sold the rights to
the Joe Lowe Company in New York. Fast forward to
nineteen eighty nine, when Unilever's subsidiary Good Humor bought the
rights to the name popsicle. Unilever still owns those rights.

(03:48):
But do they really care if you use the term generically? Oh? Yes,
yes they do. According to Unilever's public facing website, you
should never use popsicles a noun, but rather as a modifier.
You don't want a popsicle, you want a popsicle ice pop. Similarly,
you should not pluralize the word. You're not going to

(04:09):
the store to buy popsicles, You're gonna buy popsicle pops.
And if you said that you love popsicles great taste,
you're talking about the flavor of a company. If you're
talking about the food product, you would be more correct
to say the great taste of popsicle ice pops. If
you happen to decide to start a business selling your

(04:29):
own quiescently frozen confections, definitely do not think ah normal
people call them popsicles. It'll be fine. After all, lawyers
are not normal people, and uni leavers. Trademark warriors have
gone after small businesses before and demanded that all infringement
of the popsicle trademark be scrubbed from existence. But so remember,

(04:50):
and next time you're about to leave some event early
and you want to sound cool, I don't say let's
blow this popsicle stand. Say let's blow this quiescently frozen
confection stand like a good law abiding citizen. Today's episode
was originally published in twenty eighteen, but I decided I

(05:10):
wanted to update some of the phrasing, so here we are.
It's based on a videoscript that Joe McCormick wrote for
how Stuffworks dot Com. To hear more from him, check
out his podcast Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Brain Stuff
is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot
Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts
my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
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