Mmmmmmmm, I'll have one!

From icecreamusa.com, home of the Popsicle:

The ice pop was accidentally discovered by 11-year-old Frank Epperson when he left a cup containing powdered soda and water with a stirring stick on his porch. He discovered the frozen mixture the next morning, but it wasn't until 1923 that he realized the commercial possibilities of his invention and applied for a patent, which was granted in 1924. By 1928, Epperson had earned royalties on more than 60 million Popsicle® ice pops.

In 2001, 1.4 billion sticks were used to manufacture Popsicle® products. If lined up end-to-end, that's more than 9 million miles.

When I was growing up out in West Texas, we waited every afternoon for the ice cream truck to come by. Sometimes my brother and I had to share a popsicle, breaking it in half. Other lucky days we got to have one all to ourselves! Yee haw! After the popsicle was gone, we sat on the curb with our feet in the gutter and sharpened the popsicles sticks on the concrete curb, making them into more than adequate knives to play with. Probably no one gets to do that anymore, huh?