October 08, 2015
From the slide in our Vermont headquarters to the fact that many of us bring our furry dog friends to work with us, there's a lot of fun stuff at Ben & Jerry's. You've probably heard some of our weird stories, but we'll bet you haven't heard all of them. Here are a bunch of odd facts to add to your arsenal, perfect for impressing your friends next time you meet up for a scoop of your favorite flavour:
1. Ben and Jerry are Childhood Friends
Our founders met while running around the track in 7th grade gym. Well, maybe “walking” is more like it. They were the slowest kids in the class.
2. Ben & Jerry’s…Bagels?
Ben & Jerry's was almost a bagel company! Fortunately for us, Jerry and Ben couldn't afford the fancy bagel making equipment and settled on ice cream instead.
3. Each Waffle Cone Has an Average of 259 Little Squares
As if the cones weren’t big enough to begin with; each tiny box holds even more ice cream, chunks and swirls than a smooth surface would.
4. We Pay Our Respects at the Flavour Graveyard
There is an actual Flavour Graveyard at the Factory in Waterbury, Vermont where we lay our discontinued flavours to rest. There are over 300 flavours that have been sent to the graveyard. Once in a while, when the moon is full, a flavour is "rein-cone-ated," and brought back from the grave for a limited time. It's eerily delicious.
5. No Two Scoop Shops are Exactly Alike
Case in point: there’s a Scoop Shop in São Paulo, Brazil with a free ‘take a book, leave a book’ lending library, while the Bannister’s Wharf Scoop Shop in Newport, RI, sits on stilts above the Atlantic.
6. We Follow Our Hearts
Whether it’s Climate Justice, Marriage Equality or standing up for the little guy, we’re not afraid to let our progressive values show us the way.
7. None of Our Original Pints Survived
Just look at this list of our original pint flavours: Oreo Mint, French Vanilla, Chocolate Fudge, Wild Blueberry, Mocha Walnut, Honey Coffee and Honey Orange. You won’t find any of them in your grocer’s freezer aisle.
8. Sausage Inspires Us
The machinery we use to create our Cores line of flavours is based on a German sausage maker. Thanks, meat!
9. Top it Off!
The first Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop location inBurlington, Vermont was a renovated gas station, where they shared space with a local farmer who sold produce out of one of the bays of the station. There's nothing but a parking lot where the original Scoop Shop once stood, but there is a plaque honoring its historic existience.
10. That’s so…Vanilla
With all of the chunky, funky euphoric flavours we’re known for, it may surprise you to learn that the very first flavour ever created by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield was Vanilla. Good thing they were quick to start stirring in some serious chunks and swirls.
11. Cherry Garcia Can Fly
Ok. The ice cream didn’t fly. But the hot air balloon did. It was 10 stories tall, roughly the size of 11.7 million scoops of Cherry Garcia in a waffle cone.
There you have it! Ten things you may not have known, that you now know and will never forget.
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