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 episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works Pay brain
Stuff Lauren Vocabam. Here, let's say it's a hot summer
day and you're enjoying a delicious frozen treat, something we
would normally identify with a word that you can make
by combining what Michael Jackson was the king of and
one of the two tools on the former flag of
the Soviet Union. And no, I am not talking about

(00:24):
Neverland ranch hammers, though that sounds delicious anyway, If you
look down at the label of your icy snack, there's
a good chance that it will not be labeled with
that word I just alluded to, and instead we'll say
that it's a quiescently frozen confection. But what does quiescently
frozen confection mean? While the jargon, why not just say
a popsicle? Let's break down the phrase quiescently frozen confection.

(00:49):
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.
Quiescently frozen food just sits there while it freezes. It's
at rest. If you've ever made homemade ice pops out
of orange juice or mountain dew and an ice cube
tray in your freezer, those were quiescently frozen. This is

(01:12):
in contrast to something like ice cream, which is not
quiescently frozen. Ice Cream is frozen and whipped at the
same time. In factories 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 the ice cream. If you just poured ice cream

(01:33):
bis into an ice cube tray and froze it, it
would not taste or feel right. This is also why
when ice cream refreezes after melting, it's never quite the same.
But okay, we all know what popsicle means. Why mess
with this scientific term. 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

(01:55):
that we've come to use as a generic term in
Carmon parlance. Other examples include xerox for photocopy, band aid
for adhesive bandages, velcro for those hook and loop fasteners,
Kleenex for tissues, Frisbee for throwing discs, and styrofoam for
extruded polystyrene foam. Now, if you're a kid asking your
friend's mom if you can have another popsicle, this probably

(02:18):
doesn't matter unless your friend's mom is a trademark lawyer
for the Unilever Supply Chain Incorporated. That's because popsicle is
a registered trademark of Unilever Supply Chain Incorporated. They are
serious about their rights and they've definitely got them some lawyers.
So how did this come to be? Popsicles are quiescently
frozen confections were invented in nineteen o five by an

(02:41):
eleven year old kid in San Francisco named Frank Epperson.
When Epperson grew up, he began selling them as frozen
drinks on a stick. In ninety four, he took out
a patent for his frozen confectionery. By n he had
started calling these frozen confectioneries popsicles, the apparent logic being
soda pop us icicle, or possibly his kids called them

(03:03):
icicles that they're pop made that year he sold the
rights to the Joe Low Company in New York. Fast
forward to when Uni leaver subsidiary Good Humor bought the
rights to the name popsicle. Uni Leaver still owns those rights,
But do they really care if you use the term generically? Oh? Yes.

(03:24):
According to UNI Leaver's public facing website, you should never
use popsicle as a noun, but rather as a modifier,
meaning you don't want a popsicle, you want a popsical
ice pop. Similarly, you shouldn't pluralize the word. You're not
going to go to 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

(03:45):
a company. If you're talking about the food product, you
would be correct to say the great taste of popsicle
ice pops. And if you happen to decide to start
a business selling your own quiescently frozen confections, don't think
all normal people call them popsicles. It'll be fine. Don't
be so sure. Lawyers are not normal people, and you will.

(04:06):
Leavers trademark warriors have gone after small businesses before and
demanded that all infringement of the popsical trademark be scrubbed
from existence. So remember, next time you're about to leave
some event early and you want to sound cool, don't
say let's blow this popsicle stand. Say let's blow this
quiescently frozen confection stand like a good law abiding citizen.

(04:31):
Today's episode was written by Joe McCormick and produced by
Tyler Clang. To hear more from Joe, check out his
podcast Stuff to Blow Your Mind, and, of course, for
more on this and lots of other law abiding topics,
visit our home planet, how Stuff Works dot com