An ice cream sundae is the latest image to appear as a Doodle on Google’s home page, in honor of the 119th anniversary of the first documented sundae. It’s widely believed that the first sundae was created by Unitarian Church minister John M. Scott and Platt & Colt Pharmacy co-owner Chester Platt on April 3, 1892 in Ithaca, New York.
The Doodle is a pastel-colored cherry-topped sundae that replaces the two Os in the Google logo. The sundae is a simple jpeg file of 33 KB, much like the previous Houdini and St. Patrick’s Day Doodles. The sundae Doodle comes after Google a obtained a patent in mid-March for its Doodles in an effort to entice users to access a Web site.
The sundae Doodle also brings to light the rivalry between Ithaca and Two Rivers, Wisconsin, as both claim to have been the birthplace of sundaes. Ithaca claims that Rev. Scott visited the Platt & Colt Pharmacy on April 3 and ordered vanilla ice cream. He decided to add cherry syrup and candied cherries, and he and Platt were so happy with his creation, they named it the next day. By April 5, the pharmacy was selling 10-cent Cherry Sundaes.
Two Rivers claims that in 1881, someone at Ed Berners’ Ice Cream Parlor wanted an ice cream soda. But it was the Sabbath and drinking fizzed drinks was frowned upon, so Berners put chocolate syrup on ice cream instead.
Written by: Karen Benardello
