I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. This delicious (and primarily dairy) snack has been around for a long time, so it’s not surprising that there are a few interesting facts out there about one of the world’s favourite desserts. In today’s blog, we’ve listed five we found particularly interesting.

1. Brain freeze

Have you ever had the misfortune of suffering what’s commonly called brain freeze – that intense sensation of your entire head throbbing in pain when you consume something cold like ice cream or a frozen drink? Well, this is caused when cold ice touches the roof your mouth, which in turn causes blood vessels in your head to dilate.

2. The largest consumer of ice cream

When it comes to ice cream consumption, the US holds the title as being the largest consumer in the world. On average, one American consumes approximately 23 litres of ice cream every single year.

3. Worldwide consumption

On a global scale, it’s estimated that somewhere around 15 billion litres of ice cream is consumed every year. If you were to put this in some sort of relatable measurement, it equates to about 5,000 Olympic-sized pools’ worth of ice cream.

4. First use of the term

While some version of ice cream has existed since the 10th century (it basically started as different flavours in crushed ice), the term ice cream wasn’t used until later. By all accounts, the earliest reference to the term “ice cream” occurred in England in 1672.

5. The world’s biggest sundae

When it comes to indulgence, the world’s biggest sundae certainly catered to even the most ravenous of appetites. Made back in 1988 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the world’s biggest sundae weighed a massive 24,910 kilograms.