Ah, popsicles! How long has it been since you enjoyed one on a hot day, letting it freeze your tongue with fruity sweetness and drip down your hand as you raced to finish it down to the stick before it melted?

Formed from the words “pop” and “icicle, the frozen-ice-on-a-stick treat officially got its start (according to Wikipedia) in 1923 with Frank Epperson of Oakland, California, who called it the Epsicle. He later sold the rights to New  York’s Joe Lowe Company, which renamed it the Popsicle. Today the term “popsicle” is used generically (along with “ice pop,” “freeze pop,” or “ice lolly” in Great Britain). You can make them yourself by freezing a fruit drink in a mold (even an ice-cube tray) with a stick of some kind as a handle.

Are you a popsicle fan? What’s your favorite flavor? Mine’s always been grape, although cherry runs a close second.