The Rise and Fall of Ice Cream Trucks

The history of ice cream trucks traces back to the late 19th century when the idea of selling ice cream from a mobile vehicle first emerged in the United States. The origins can be attributed to the ingenuity of independent vendors who sought innovative ways to bring this frozen treat directly to customers. By the early 20th century, these trucks became a staple in American neighborhoods, delighting children and adults alike with their whimsical melodies and cold confections. Over the decades, ice cream trucks evolved with advancements in refrigeration and transportation technology, becoming a cherished symbol of summer and community gatherings across the globe.
#icecream #history #icecreamtruck
» CREDIT
Produced and hosted by the Socash Family
Production by Kamil Krawiec
Script by Dillan Aultimate
» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[@_MaxHeadroom_]

Being a kid playing outside and hearing that initial sound of music from the truck way off in the distance was a high greater than I will ever experience again 😅

[@twistedyogert]

Heck yeah. I can hear it now.

[@penndawt]

With the rise of food rucks, the ice cream truck could make a comeback.

[@guilty-of-being-right]

I remember riding on the back of the ice cream man's truck bumper, when he was driving slowly in the neighborhood, when I was a kid, back in the 90's..

[@cocoaorange1]

I think the 90's was the last decade ice cream trucks were still popular. In Chicago, every once in awhile, you still see them.

[@averywhiteside7714]

Kids not going outside.

[@Game_Hero]

why don't they go outside? Ask their parents and neighbourhood with nothing to do.

[@de-fault_de-fault]

@@Game_Hero Exactly. Ice cream trucks are still going strong where I live, but where I live, people go outside without always being in a car, and I regularly see kids walking or biking places because it’s possible to do so. For vast swaths of the US that’s apparently unthinkable, and all it takes is a glance at a map to see why: subdivisions of wonky twisty streets that go nowhere unless you venture across a six lane highway to get to the next one, or try to go along the six lane highway to get to a shopping center.

[@JJZJ.]

Parents in fear of kidnapping

[@de-fault_de-fault]

@@JJZJ. which is statistically absurd. Kidnapping is less prevalent now than it was 40 years ago, and the vast, vast majority of cases involve someone the child knows…as has always been the case. But the “tough on crime” people in this country are the ones afraid of their own shadow, so they shelter their kids and then complain how sheltered their kids are.

[@JJZJ.]

@@de-fault_de-fault yep

[@400KrispyKremes]

They made a hip hop version of turkey and the straw for ice-cream trucks back in the 90's too.

[@davebaker9128]

I remember when you heard the ice cream truck music, you had just enough time to get some change and run out and join the other kids lining up at the window, wow! that was a long time ago

[@glennso47]

My neighbor drives an ice cream truck. The jingle is La Cucaracha .

[@ragingjaguarknight86]

🪳🪳🪳

[@terry_willis]

Yummy. Cockroach flavored ice cream.

[@podcastfan2544]

Yes I hear & see him at night too Even during a Christmas time close to DTLA ❤!

[@So-CalNevAri82]

My favorite ice cream truck jingle(well, tune) back in the day was Home On The Range, my favorite treats from the ice cream truck were the WWF(before they became WWE) Superstars Ice Cream Bars and the Choco Tacos. The WWF Superstars Ice Cream Bars always came with a collectable card with whichever Superstar(such as Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior and "Macho Man" Randy Savage), those were the days. Thank you for this awesome video Ryan

[@galactic_socialist]

In my area they must be contractually obligated to use " turkey in the straw" with simulated turkey noises If I hear that tune one more time....

[@lifeisdead01]

The ice cream truck in my neighborhood played "Helter skelter"

[@user-nn7dc7wo1d]

Where I live, the ice cream company must have liked the Home On The Range music since half of the ice cream truck fleet plays home on the range or a variation of it. I like the tune so much that I have 23 recordings on my phone on it.

[@grumpykitten4890]

I would get the icecream where the character had gumballs for eyes and bomb pops.

[@thephoenixhasflown]

Bomb pop, now that's a word I haven't heard in a long time.

[@cyclenut]

I grew up in the 60s and 70s and thankfully ice cream trucks were around.

[@davidbrown9796]

Yep. Mr. Softee.. 7 cent cones.. but I don't remember the truck having a tune.. just a "ding" bell.. and us kids were like Pavlov's dog..hahaha. Here in Houston we still get ice cream trucks in the summers.. but the music is usually latino rap.. hahaha

[@mimelio]

Being a kid in the 1960's and early 1970's I am glad I got to experience the joy of getting a soft serve cone for less than a dime at one time. Nothing was better than getting an ice cream come on a hot Summer evening 😋

[@Epic_C]

I think they were commonly around until the late 90s, at least around here. They were still around in the early 2000s, but pretty rare. I don't think they run around here anymore at all. iPad kids could care less, they don't even go outside.

[@kalegolas]

Here Ice-Creamtrucks is still going strong :) I live in Sweden

[@blackcoffy83]

When I was a kid, I lived in an apartment building on the 17th floor, and we still would try to catch up with the ice cream truck. Most of the time, we caught up to it.

[@darrellasmith77]

I own an ice cream truck Best job ever

[@bluetarantulaproductions6179]

They still exist dude, there are at least three or four of them in my home town

[@navajojohn9448]

Back in the day we had the ice cream trucks, Charles Chips, a mobile knife sharpener guy, and the Book Mobile from the library.

[@Kiddman32]

I still hear one of those jingling around every once in awhile during summers here in Concord, CA.

[@claytonhill936]

My home town... a great place to grow up in the '90s. Still is, as far as I know. I live in Antioch now

[@pastense]

I’m in Milpitas, and there’s one truck, probably the last man around here who only comes around about once a month on a weekend. It’s kinda sad kids these days aren’t outside anymore.

[@francoamerican4632]

There's an ice cream truck that came to Newhall Park regularly last summer. Hoping to see it again this summer.

[@jennifer_m.8613]

Our ice cream truck played Turkey in the Straw - and still does, on the rare occasion he comes around

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

Ours played Helter Skelter one summer...lol

[@threezerol944t]

The ice cream truck in my neighborhood in Jr High got busted for selling crack to kids.

[@Only1WithAnE]

OMG

[@zyxw2000]

We had Good Humor in the '50's. Just a jingle, no songs. That was before there were ice cream stores like Baskin Robbins and Carvel. There was something special about it, different from having ice cream at home. And I think we had a tiny freezer in our fridge anyway. I don't remember ever having ice cream in the freezer.

[@dannybrezelhorner2715]

My favorite vehicle in Twisted Metal

[@leannevandekew1996]

Flip flops, stubbed toes, coins you didn't understand.

[@zyxw2000]

But that was one way we learned about coins.

[@carlmcgregor2707]

I loved Mr Whippy coming down our street as a kid.... I always saved 50c out of my pocket money for a single cone flake with sprinkles. The song Greensleeves is what our ice cream trucks play in NZ

[@jasmquin]

An ice cream truck still comes around every once in a blue moon in my neighborhood, I get some every time I have cash just to make my childhood self happy 😂😂😂😂

[@marklopez7775]

Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Brian López. I was born in 2000. Whenever I hear the ice cream truck coming down my house, me and my family rush to the ice cream truck and we would get ice cream. One of my favorite ice cream treats would be the Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich. Which ice cream treats are your favorites? Please let me know in the comments down below.

[@johnmadow5331]

When I moved to the US., in the Summer of 1972, I love ice cream truck that came in about 2:30PM., in the afternoon but not every day. I have very limited allowance and the price of Banana Boat alone cost 69 cents that almost excess my allowance for 1 day! The cone was 35 cents that I may be able to effort. One issue was I lived in very bad neighborhood in Philadelphia and the ice cream truck was not that safe from robbery. I have double door lock with 2 doors inside the common area in my apartment and it took time to do the lock and unlock two dorrs with 2 sets of keys to get in and out the building and ice cream truck was long gone!

[@robertfrancois6064]

I live in a place where we still have a ice cream truck and the song stops every minute and screams HELLO

[@reakold]

They're very much still a thing in the UK, so come here if you want some! You'll find them at theme parks, beaches, or roaming the neighbourhood when the weather is nice.

[@user-pf3ye6yi9n]

Then there's the ones which roam some UK housing schemes even when the weather isn't nice, but I'm not sure ice cream is their main profit centre.

[@StevenAcunaBG05]

I live in Los Angeles, we are full of them as well

[@Miltypooh2001]

Growing up in the 2000s and hear the ice cream music was pure nostalgia, i either catch up to it and get whatever ice cream they had or completely miss it 😂

[@marklopez7775]

Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Brian López. I was born in 2000. Whenever I hear the ice cream truck coming down my house, me and my family rush to the ice cream truck and we would get ice cream. One of my favorite ice cream treats would be the Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich. Which ice cream treats are your favorites? Please let me know in the comments down below.

[@intrepid5144]

I soooo rember hearing the "jngle" of the Good Humor Ice Cream Trucks! We would get $5 from our parents, and give the money to the driver, and then pick out as many Ice Cream treats as we could! We'd get our change, and run back into the house, and we'd have Good Humors for a few day! It's a Wonderful Summer Memory!

[@leeatterberry1239]

Man I wish the one in my neighborhood would go away blasting that music

[@xaulted1]

"This would ensure no one would ever have to hear turkey in the straw from an ice cream truck again." gee... I'm sure glad of all of the horrors on Earth today, they saved us from that...

[@SummaGirl1347]

Oh, the humanity.

[@Ottophil]

Its racist. If you were a race other than your own, you might not like the song

[@niklass1641]

​@Ottophil "a race other than my own?" That’s the top gen z statement I've heard in quite a while. Are you that terrified to say what you mean?

[@francoamerican4632]

I think he means if you weren't Caucasian you might not like hearing the song.

[@xaulted1]

@@francoamerican4632 You assume I'm "Caucasian"? Meaning WHITE? Yes I can say WHITE. I can also say BLACK. If you word fearing children are quite finished, it may surprise you (for some reason) that I am indeed a BLACK man. The intent of my comment was to say of all the 5h17 I've been through in my 65 years and all the real tangible things that have been done and could be done in the name of race relations, THIS is nothing but a token gesture thrown out by a corporation to try to make a statement claiming they care about a BLACK man's life. To act like THIS petty nonsense is in some way important to the BLACK community is saying you know NOTHING about the BLACK community. Go back to your suburban, WHITE picket fence life and don't comment on things you know nothing about.

[@MrDan708]

An ice cream truck used to come by my office until the 80-something owner/driver decided to sell it and retire. That was in 2019! Timing is everything. Since the end of COVID, I could count on one hand the number of ice cream trucks who've shown up. The corona plandemic finished off whatever was left of ice cream trucks here in eastern PA.

[@StillYHWHs]

Stevie the icecream guy and his truck, Mr. Softy too. The book mobile, and the freedom train. Free coins in wrappers from those who retarred the streets. Real parades worth watching, and fireworks to die for, record stores, bowling alleys, giant slides and much more today's children should have have the chance to enjoy. Most of all.... playing out doors.

[@CappyLarou]

I can't believe how you just glossed over the invention of the ice cream cone. Without the ice cream cone ice cream would not be what it is today. It may have existed for years, but ice cream was truly born in 1904 with the cone.

[@francoamerican4632]

Indeed, the ice cream cone was/is a crucial part of ice cream history.

[@GrumpyIan]

When I was a kid my parents wouldn't let me get ice cream from an ice cream s truck. One day I tried sneaking and getting everyone some ice cream. My parents grounded me, I got so mad I tore up my allowance and threw it at them.

[@bluetarantulaproductions6179]

Why wouldn't they let you get ice cream from the ice cream truck?

[@bwofficial1776]

I never understood how ice cream trucks still make enough money to exist. The operator has to buy a truck and fit it out. Then there's the recurring costs of the product, insurance, and diesel which I'm sure is quite expensive. They probably go nights without making a single sale cruising around neighborhoods. My neighborhood has two ice cream trucks that come on different nights. I always wondered if there was a union or something that schedules them. Some nights we get a Mr. Softee blasting the neighborhood with its distorted speaker, some nights we get a sketchy van blasting Turkey in the Straw. Ice cream trucks in my state don't have authority to stop traffic so I always drive past whenever the guy puts his school bus stop sign and red lights out.

[@Kevfactor]

My theory is cars were cheaper in the past. Im sure you'd earn a lot of money a day, like maybe 200$-400$ a day. But you have a 100k modded vehicle that needs 60$ of gas and maintenance. To some extent the ice cream trucks could have been market share too. you might take a hit but people would buy a pop at the gas station or 6 pack at the grocery store. Take a loss on the trucks and make up for it elsewhere :)

[@DTD110865]

@@Kevfactor That's part of it. There are also a lot of franchises with mob ties keeping them afloat.

[@lunarstain7545]

Have you ever thought of doing ice cream pedal bikes?? That job got me through high school in Ocean City, NJ lol

[@robertrussell4035]

I live up in canada and I remember being younger and was always jealous of the USA because the have ice cream trucks and bikes. People tried to start those business but just never worked out.

[@carissaa8411]

I always loved buying from the ice cream truck as a kid. Some great summer memories. I understand prices of everything have gone up… but I paid $5.00 for one ice cream sandwich the other day! That’s absurd! My little cousin was like “that was the first time we got from the ice cream man this summer!” And I was like “yea, first and last” $5.00… ridiculous.

[@marklopez7775]

Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Brian López. I was born in 2000. Whenever I hear the ice cream truck coming down my house, me and my family rush to the ice cream truck and we would get ice cream. One of my favorite ice cream treats would be the Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich. Which ice cream treats are your favorites? Please let me know in the comments down below.

[@amoses11]

I always would ask my mother for a dollar to get two ice cream sandwiches which were the best! After a long week in school i just wanted an ice cream sandwich on a Friday evening.

[@TylerAStinson]

3:11 This makes the scene in the first SpongeBob Movie where SpongeBob and Patrick get “drunk” at the goofy goober more funny since it’s a reference to what people did when alcohol was outlawed

[@whitelightning6766]

I never saw an ice cream truck in my nearly 23 years on earth in person. I wish that I had the joy of having ice cream from one of them. I missed out big time.

[@bdwalton27]

Mr. Softy reminds of that Pete and Pete episode

[@baboon500]

I grew up in NYC with ice cream trucks, and they are still around.

[@Beth9228]

When I was little there was one ice cream truck that lived close to my neighborhood and another one was a Good Humor truck went through my neighborhood,too. The Good Humor man used to give out free bubble gum towards kids in my neighborhood. One truck had soft served ice cream and the other one with popsicles. My favorite popsicle was this one that was red,white, and blue shaped liked a rocket. Even the push ups,too.

[@justincarawan-carawanco.pu1639]

I, sadly, have only had the pleasure of even seeing an ice cream truck once in my life, in my twenties. I didn't realize they still existed and thought I'd found my own "cave of wonders"! I'm 34, now, and have, sadly, yet to see another one since.

[@DTD110865]

I've never seen a pickup-based cowl-and-chassis ice cream truck made after 1970, except for one time in an American Dairy Council commercial evoking nostalgia for ice cream using one with the cab of a Ford F-100 from sometime between 1973 and 1977.

[@drbassface]

I drove an Ice Cream Truck for one summer pre going to Berklee / Boston. It had the bells that I rung with a wood piece connected to the bells on the front of the truck, with a cord. I enjoyed playing various rhythms all day long! IF I had to listen to any prerecorded song ALL DAY, I might have gone insane! lol

[@AllForTheBetter]

That truck in the thumbnail is 100% the truck that used to drive through my neighborhood as a kid.

[@AllForTheBetter]

Where did you find that picture of you don't mind me asking?

[@twistedyogert]

I remember where I lived, the ice cream truck was always a rusty 1970s or 1980s-era Chevrolet or Ford, and the person driving it was really old or young. The ice cream was always priced way too high so I didn't eat it often but I loved it when my mom relented and gave me a few dollars to go grab some ice cream.

[@radiorob7543]

If you're insulted by ice cream truck songs, there's something wrong with YOU.

[@churblefurbles]

Yea wait till these people find out most food was invented by racists lol

[@williamlloyd3769]

We still have an ice crème truck that frequents our street

[@hoodmistressreloaded]

I have to say that ice cream trucks are still prevalent in Los Angeles, specifically here in parts of South Central and nearby cities. We don't have Mr. Softee in my neighborhood; the more well-known tunes on my block are The Picnic, The Entertainer and Music Box Dancer

[@thegreatgrapehippo1614]

If I had an ice cream truck I would want to have a Variation of the Slateport City theme from pokemon Emerald as my truck song and hope that Nintendo doesn't find out

[@Hyper_Drud]

I hope you’ll be seeing some Nintendo-themed treats too.

[@francoamerican4632]

The song that I remember being played by many of the ice cream trucks in the '70s and '80s was "Three Blind Mice" also the theme song for The Three stooges television show.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

I still have Mister Softee driving by pretty much every day.🍦

[@ChuckE.CheesesIllinois]

12:55 i still don't believe Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah is inspired by that song, and rather it was just a big coincidence

[@garychilpa5012]

I always think of WWF ice cream bars when I think of ice cream trucks

[@luisreyes1963]

Sad that the Good Humor truck has faded into history, but at least local ice cream trucks & wagons fill the void. 🍦

[@RyanLesnerhatesneebsgaming]

13:30 Ice cream trucks never played the words of the song. Why would the jingle matter?

[@robertrussell4035]

The ice cream truck and the bikes are both that is no longer around. I remember some people tried to start the business of ice cream trucks and bikes but it just never worked around my area. Maybe it will now since food trucks are popular now then before.

[@aaadamt964]

Theyre still around in poor neighborhoods. Im only a couple mins into the video so sorry if thats already mentioned in the video.

[@juanlugo2575]

This is so interesting to see as I own an ice cream truck.

[@bunnysb2587]

I use to love to stop the ice cream man. It use to be cheap now it's very expensive to the point you was better off going to the store

[@RoadTripTelevision]

It's quite remarkable that Mister Softie🍦is still going strong. 😀👌

[@carlsaganlives4036]

For some unfortunate drivers, a lobotomy was the only way to avoid complete psychological breakdown from repeated exposure to the jingle, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in particular. Attempts at unionizing were unsuccessful, except for the gold standard - Good Humor - who negotiated for top-of-the-line custom trucks and uniforms, as well as a rotating playlist of the "Humorista's" choosing.

[@manicstatic370]

Bro is terrified at saying the “c word” lolllll

[@frequentlycynical642]

I still hear one in my adjoining neighborhood behind me. Just north of Austin, TX. With no kids ever playing outside, I can't imagine how any one would survive.

[@Cracker41]

Always enjoyed hearing that 'Turkey In the Straw' jingle as a kid. However, my absolute favorite jingle was Jonny Rebel's 'N-word Hatin Me' that was often loudly playing throughout my neighborhood in the eighties and early nineties. Hearing that tune and lyrics always brings back fond memories of my youth and simpler times. 😊

[@pastense]

Never really had a sweet tooth as a kid (I know, I’m weird lol) But I used to buy the toys, like cap guns and those pop-pop snappers. I remember buying 10 boxes of those one day and just went crazy lol

[@d.ajr.8138]

Growing up in nyc, this was a staple

[@mikeks8181]

I work in new construction. I really miss those trucks coming down the street on a Hot summer day! The current ice cream truck is nothing More than the Food Trucks one sees parked in certain places at certain times! Last part is the beurocritcy of the local government! Damn! I still work outside and Miss them!

[@YSLAkvbn]

This is pretty neat

[@Ann-ub4mf]

Thank you.

[@matthewwynne939]

It's been a long time since I've seen a real ice cream truck, usually it's just some minivan with a bunch of stickers.

[@fantasyfiction101]

I saw an ice cream truck drive by last year. I wish I stopped and got one

[@chrisg8995]

How did you not go over at all that the image of the ice cream truck and the driver has completely deteriorated. The only ice cream truck I’ve seen in the past 15 years have been dirty, rundown and operated by incredibly shady and creepy people. Gone are the days where the ice cream truck felt like a neighborhood staple. These days I would tell my children to run in the other direction if one was coming near them.

[@hypocritehaterofficial3283]

I’m pretty sure I still hear ice cream trucks in my neighbourhood in Canada, but I do have to say they’re a lot more expensive. I also see them a lot in festivals and carnivals. the ice cream from the ice cream trucks are not sold in the majority of stores so there’s a bit of exclusivity demand their but they’re quite pricey ever since Covid and also pretty sure ice cream trucks were around during Covid. at least in my neighborhood.

[@pamelamays4186]

When I was a kid in the seventies, there was an urban legend that some ice cream trucks were selling temporary lick and stick tattoos laced with LSD.

[@Phil-nd2ug]

Here in the Los Angeles area they don't have them anymore because some of the people leasing the trucks were selling drugs to kids

[@JohnPotts-kq7kk]

TO EXPENSIVE! When they charge as much as $8 for an ice cream bar, no wonder they are disappearing

[@Game_Hero]

13:11 I bet they felt like comedic geniuses that day...

[@ninjapwnsatlyfe]

Well when Uncle Al died and Tommy took over the route things just got to crazy. So it only makes sense it died off

[@davidmathis-xd6nf]

I still see them occasionally here and there

[@microbios8586]

Ice cream trucks never went away. I don't know what this is about.

[@fivefiveniner1537]

I grew up in Silicon Valley during the late 70's and the 80's.....at the beginning. So there was one guy that had a huge pink truck that would drive at night. He had soft serve make banana splits waffles n cream cotton candy popcorn Al true concessions truck. During that se time the rise of the traditional truck came about. It wasn't till the late 80' early 90's we started to see those street vendors selling Mexican palletas. Well in Al honesty I think I've cream trucks are a waste of gas and create traffic and pollution. But we're talking about ice cream the Ice Tickles were bomb and astro pops were good. 💯

[@JG-tt4sz]

Roe vs. Wade also did a number on the clientele.

[@maxcorey8144]

How about the marijuana covered ice cream truck in Nice Dreams with Cheech and Chong?

[@yukidogzombie4708]

where I live ice cream trucks have always played nursery rhymes

[@austinformedude]

We still have one in my neighborhood :)

[@noodle3384]

i have one in my neighborhood. good ole Wes. i always buy because if i dont he wont come back. also he plays la cucaracha

[@LIGHTNINGART7]

There was an ice cream truck near my school last month.

[@ArtimusDragon]

Thank you for this. When you build something off of bad intent, don't expect everlasting success.

[@RatKindler]

I don't have any nostalgia for ice cream trucks since they didn't have them in my area when I was a kid. I saw them on US TV and was jealous that we didn't have them. I first saw one come by in my 30s and it just made me angry.

[@rustyshackelford312]

Am I the only one that thought the turkey in the straw was do your ears hang low?

[@DaTangzilla]

Jolly Olly man

[@hypocritehaterofficial3283]

10 years ago, my sister when she was younger me and her went to the ice cream truck and she thought it would be cool to buy $100 worth of this one certain ice cream from the ice cream truck that you can’t get in stores and ice cream man was hesitant But eventually did. it was three dollars each. It was somewhere below 50 of that ice cream but nowadays that same is like 5 to 6 dollars unfortunately

[@seanalailima5929]

How did they decide to put It's A Small World and Music Box Dancer on the trucks?

[@carmensandiego3691]

The ice cream🍦 truck 🚚 that came to my neighbourhood played the lambada 🍨🍧💃🕺

[@DCI226]

The few times I've seen an ice cream truck in recent years it looked nothing like the old photos of clean cut gentlemen in white suits and bow ties serving up ice cream with a smile, instead the modern ice cream guy appeared to be stoned and I suspected that his whole operation was just a cover to sell drugs.

[@terrybellar7661]

Whatever happened to "Pappa go da vesil"? Maybe I tink of da tree snooges?

[@capitannegro100]

Ice cream truck is outside right now 😀

[@manicstatic370]

To fight racism prejudice and fent overdosing