Ice cream sandwich
Credit: © Brent Hofacker, Shutterstock

Today, August 2, 2022, is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day! Ice cream is a versatile treat. Whether you play it safe and eat it in a bowl with a spoon to decrease the chance of unwanted dripping, or you mix it up by eating it on a cone, sandwiched between two cakey wafers, or in a cone shaped like a taco, ice cream is the perfect summer treat. Ice cream sandwiches are the cool snack of choice for a treat in the park, at a sports game, or anywhere else on the go!

Click to view larger image
Ice cream consists chiefly of cream, milk, sugar, and water. Ingredients called emulsifiers and stabilizers hold the mixture together. All the ingredients of ice cream are carefully blended together in a large vat at the beginning of the manufacturing process.
Credit: WORLD BOOK diagram

Ice cream is a popular frozen dairy food. It consists mostly of milk products, sugar, and flavorings. Ice cream may be served by itself or with cake, pie, or other pastries. It also is used in making milk shakes, sodas, cake rolls, and sundaes. Manufacturers make ice cream in many flavors. About one-third of the ice cream sold in the United States is vanilla. Chocolate and Neapolitan (layers of different flavors) rank next in popularity.

Ice cream.
Credit: © Elena Veselova, Shutterstock

The United States produces about 1.4 billion gallons (5.3 billion liters) of ice cream annually. Almost one-tenth of the nation’s milk supply is used to produce ice cream and other frozen desserts. These desserts include ice milk, sherbet, and frozen yogurt. About 7 quarts (6.6 liters) of milk are needed to make 4 quarts (3.8 liters) of ice cream. Ice cream is served in many parts of the world, but Americans eat more of it than do the people of any other country. Americans eat an average of about 23 quarts (21.8 liters) of ice cream annually.

When did ice cream become a sandwich? Vendors started selling ice cream sandwiches in New York City in the late 1800’s. The ice cream was served between two pieces of sponge cake as an affordable treat to eat on the go. Later in the 1920’s, a street vendor in San Francisco decided to make the treat with cookies instead of thin pieces of cake, introducing the world to the cookie ice cream sandwich.

In 1983, a man from Philadelphia invented the Choco Taco, an ice cream treat where the cone is shaped like a hard taco shell dipped in chocolate. Since then, many other versions of ice cream sandwiches have popped up around the world. In Iran, there is a popular frozen treat of saffron and rosewater ice cream between two wafers dipped in pistachios. In Vietnam, ice cream is served on a bánh mì baguette with peanuts.

American singer and songwriter SZA
Credit: © Tinseltown/Shutterstock

The summer of SZA! SZA, pronounced like SIH zuh is an American singer and songwriter. SZA’s second album SOS (2022), is at the top of the Billboard charts this summer. SOS sits with Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time and Taylor Swift’s Midnights in mid-year reports.

Solána Imani Rowe was born on Nov. 8, 1989, in St. Louis, Missouri. She spent much of her childhood living in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her stage name, SZA, makes use of the Supreme Alphabet, a system of text interpretation used by the Five-Percent Nation. The Five-Percent Nation is a Black nationalist movement based in Islam. Black nationalists seek to develop an independent Black social structure.

SZA rose to fame in 2014 after releasing the EP Z. EP stands for extended play and is a type of musical recording that includes several songs but is not considered a full-length album. SZA’s music is described as alternative R&B with jazz and rap influences. Critics have praised her controlled, dreamy vocals.

In 2012, SZA released her first EP, See.SZA.Run. Her second EP, S, released in 2013, received praise from critics. SZA released two singles before her third EP, Z. SZA began collaborating with major recording artists, including Beyoncé, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna.

SZA signed a major-label recording contract in 2017. She released her debut album, Ctrl, that same year.  In 2021, SZA released “I Hate U” on SoundCloud. The song went viral on the social media platform TikTok. When SZA released her second album, SOS, in 2022, the album hit number one on the “Billboard 200” music chart.

Oppenheimer and Barbie Movie (2023)
Credit: © Universal Pictures; © Warner Bros. Pictures

Summer means big movies hit the box office! This summer two blockbuster movies are getting released on the same day, and the two movies couldn’t be more different! Today, July 21st, 2023, Barbie directed by American actress and director Greta Gerwig and Oppenheimer directed by British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan, hit the theaters. While Barbie is a pink fantasy land about one of America’s favorite dolls, Oppenheimer is a biographical film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American physicist who became known as the father of the atomic bomb. Some people noticed how the movies were both released on the same day and suggested doing a double feature to see them back to back. Thus, Barbenheimer was coined.

Many viewers plan on seeing Oppenheimer first since it is serious and long. The film used a biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer to portray the physicist’s life. From 1942 to 1945, Oppenheimer directed the Manhattan Project, the United States government’s program to build the first atomic bomb during World War II (1939-1945). Oppenheimer was eventually charged with disloyalty. Oppenheimer’s initial opposition to the development of the hydrogen bomb, together with his past associations with Communists, led to an investigation in 1954 by an AEC security panel. The panel cleared Oppenheimer of all charges of disloyalty, but it denied him further access to secret information. His career in government and academics drew to a close after the hearing.

The character of Oppenheimer is played by Irish actor Cillian Murphy. Other stars in the film include British actresses Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh, as well as, American actor Robert Downey Jr. The film is partially shot in black and white, a nod to Oppenheimer’s lifetime from 1904 to 1967.

After learning about Oppenheimer’s life, moviegoers plan to stock up on popcorn, candy, and maybe a soft drink, before heading into a theater to see the most pink they have ever seen in their entire lives. Barbie is a fantasy movie about the world-famous doll created by Mattel, Inc. The Barbie doll is a 11 1/2-inch (29-centimeter) vinyl doll introduced in 1959.

In the film, Australian actress Margot Robbie plays Barbie, with Canadian actor Ryan Gosling as Ken. The glamorous, pink-clad blonde Robbie is featured alongside other stars, including American actor Will Ferrel, Canadian actor Simu Liu, and Canadian actor Michael Cera. The movie will be the first live-action portrayal of the Barbie doll in a movie, 64 years after Barbie dolls graced the shelves of toy stores!

While it appears the two movies could not be more different, some reviewers are suggesting one similarity. Both movies ask big questions about what it means to be a human and how our choices affect our lives. If you had to pick just one of the movies to see, which one would you pick?

Classic ice cream sandwiches
Credit: © Brent Hofacker, Shutterstock

Sunday, July 16th, is National Ice Cream Day! Will you celebrate with a classic cone or a new dairy-free ice cream flavor? There are too many options! Ice cream is a popular frozen dairy food. It consists mostly of milk products, sugar, and flavorings. Ice cream may be served by itself or with cake, pie, or other pastries. It also is used in making milk shakes, sodas, cake rolls, and sundaes. Ice cream sandwiches are popular since they do not require a spoon or bowl! Manufacturers make ice cream in many flavors. About one-third of the ice cream sold in the United States is vanilla. Chocolate and Neapolitan (layers of different flavors) rank next in popularity.

The United States produces about 1.4 billion gallons (5.3 billion liters) of ice cream annually. Almost one-tenth of the nation’s milk supply is used to produce ice cream and other frozen desserts. These desserts include ice milk, sherbet, and frozen yogurt. About 7 quarts (6.6 liters) of milk are needed to make 4 quarts (3.8 liters) of ice cream.

Ice cream is served in many parts of the world, but Americans eat more of it than do the people of any other country. Americans eat an average of about 23 quarts (21.8 liters) of ice cream annually.

The milk products in ice cream make it rich in calcium, phosphorus, protein, and vitamin A. Ice cream is also high in calories because of the carbohydrates and fats it contains. There is also a great deal of sugar in ice cream. Many dairy-free options have populated grocery aisles as more and more people are lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is a condition in which a person feels discomfort after eating or drinking dairy products.

Most of the ice cream consumed today comes from commercial manufacturing sources. But some people still enjoy making their own ice cream at home. The first step in making ice cream consists of combining the two chief ingredients—milk products and sugar—to form a mix. The following steps include freezing and adding air to the mixture. In some ice creams, about half of its volume is made up by air! If manufacturers don’t add air, ice cream would be like a milky ice cube!

No one knows when ice cream was first made. In 1295, the Italian trader Marco Polo returned to Europe from China and may have brought recipes for water ices. During the 1600′s, Europeans used a combination of ice, snow, and a mineral called saltpeter to freeze mixtures of cream, fruit, and spices.

British colonists probably brought recipes for ice cream to America in the early 1700′s. Ice cream became a popular luxury food, but almost all of it was made at home until 1851. That year, Jacob Fussell, a Baltimore milk dealer, established the first ice cream plant. Ice cream became a national favorite during the early 1900′s after soda fountains introduced sodas, sundaes, and other new ways of serving it. Ice cream cones were first served at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. Ice cream bars appeared in 1921. Ice cream production increased greatly in the late 1940′s. During the first decade of the 2000′s, the United States produced about 1.4 billion gallons (5.3 billion liters) of ice cream yearly.

Periodical cicada
Credit: © Thinkstock

They’ve waited underground for 17 years. Now, they’re coming to the surface to burst out of their skins, give off earsplitting screeching sounds, bore into trees, and cover the ground with their carcasses. But—like many blockbusters over the past year and a half—you can’t view this spectacle in movie theaters. You can’t even stream it on Netflix. If you live in the eastern U.S. Midwest or Middle Atlantic, this summer’s invasion is coming to a backyard or forest preserve near you. It’s called Brood X.

Brood X is not a movie, but a group of cicadas emerging this month. A cicada is a large insect with four thin wings which it folds over its body like a peaked roof. It can measure 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) long. It has a wide head and short, bristlelike antennae (feelers).

Just as crickets serenade us on warm summer nights, cicadas make up the soundtrack of hot summer afternoons. The male cicada makes two drumlike membranes (thin sheaths of skin) on the abdomen vibrate rapidly. This produces a characteristic buzzing sound. The sound attracts females or calls large numbers of males together. Each species (kind) of cicada has its own song. Male cicadas often assemble in large groups and produce a loud chorus of sounds.

Many of us hear cicadas every summer. So why is this summer different? There are thousands of species of cicadas. They can be roughly divided into two types: annual cicadas and periodical cicadas. As their name suggests, annual cicadas can be heard every year. But periodical cicadas emerge on 13- or 17-year cycles. Brood X is a 17-year periodical cicada, having last emerged in 2004. Other brood numbers (X is the Roman numeral for 10) emerge in different years in different regions. But Brood X is one of the largest and most famous.

Why do periodical cicadas emerge this way? It has to do with evading predators. Cicadas are a hearty, protein-packed snack for birds, raccoons, foxes, opossums, fish, spiders, and practically any other animal. Humans eat them, too! Cicadas are vulnerable when they are emerging. They don’t bite or sting and are clumsy flyers. But when so many cicadas emerge at once, there are just too many for predators to eat. Even with every predator’s belly filled with cicadas, billions or trillions survive to reproduce.

Seventeen years is a long time. Potential predators can’t rely on a food source that appears so infrequently. So, although animals take advantage of the cicada smorgasbord, nothing has evolved to rely on them exclusively.

Where do periodical cicadas go for all those years? After the adults mate, the female bores into twigs of bushes and trees with a sawlike organ near the tip of her abdomen. She lays her eggs in the holes. The eggs hatch in a few weeks and the young cicadas, called nymphs, drop to the ground. They live in the soil and eat roots for years—17 years in the case of Brood X.

The periodical cicadas will spend the summer shedding their skins and making lots of noise. However you decide to spend your summer, have fun and keep an ear out for Brood X!