Today is National 7-Eleven Day . . . since it’s 07/11 . . . and to celebrate, 7-Eleven once again is serving up FREE SMALL SLURPEES. They have been doing it since 2002. Rewards members can also sign up to get another free Slurpee between tomorrow and July 31st.
And to celebrate, here are a few “Slurpee Facts”
1. This year’s Slurpee Day marks the 98th anniversary of 7-Eleven. The first store opened in 1927. It was called the Southland Ice Company. The name was then changed to Tote’m Stores . . . and then to 7-Eleven in 1946, to promote the new expanded hours: 7:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M.
2. The Slurpee was invented by accident in 1958, when a soda fountain at a Dairy Queen store stopped working . . . and the owner, Omar Knedlik, stashed some soda in a freezer, so he could sell them partially frozen. His customers loved it. And that led him to starting The ICEE Company, which would be the first distributor of what would later become the Slurpee.
3. The Slurpee came to 7-Eleven in 1965, when they began a licensing deal with The ICEE Company. As part of the terms, they were allowed to give it an original name, which would be sold at 7-Eleven exclusively.
4. There have been over 300 Slurpee flavors. The most popular ones in the United States are Coca-Cola and Wild Cherry.
5. In 1970, 7-Eleven released a vinyl record with two tracks written just for the Slurpee. The first, “Dance the Slurp”, is a catchy tune that was later sampled by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist for their 1999 album “Brainfreeze”.