
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 8, 1994                   TAG: 9407140049
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON RICHERT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

THE COLD TRUTH

It's only natural that in the midst of a heat wave (relatively speaking) our minds conjure up visions of snow cones, Slurpies, swimming holes and - for some of us - welcome memories of this year's snow and ice storms.

In this spirit, Baskin-Robbins, the holder of more than 650 ice cream flavors, presents the following frosty facts to help us chill out a little:

In 62 A.D., Roman Emperor Nero sent palace runners to gather ice and snow, which he would then flavor with nectar, fruit pulp and honey.

In 1670, Francesco Procopie dei Coltelli, from Sicily, opened the first ice cream cafe in Paris, Cafe Procopie.

In the summer of 1790, U.S. President George Washington ran up an ice cream tab of almost $200.

Ice cream begins to freeze at about 28 degrees Fahrenheit; that's four degrees below the melting point for ice.

875 million gallons of ice cream were produced in the U.S. in 1992 - enough to fill more than 30,000 average-size swimming pools.

Indulging in your favorite ice cream provides 88 mg. of calcium for every half-cup serving (you'll have to check the label for fat calories, though).

12 pounds of whole milk go into making one gallon of ice cream.

One-half of all the ice cream eaten in the U.S. is vanilla.

by CNB