June 22, 2022 – Dairy Queen

What an appropriate Wiki Corner for the weather we’ve been having! The very first Dairy Queen opened on this day in 1940 in Joliet, Illinois. It was owned by a guy named Sherb Noble, who had previously owned 3 ice cream stands in Illinois. One day, his suppliers approached him with a brand new product they had developed – soft serve ice cream! Sherb suggested they promote it with a big sale, all you can eat for 10 cents. It was a raging success, with 1600 servings sold in just an hour and half.
The first Dairy Queen opened 2 years later. They called it Dairy Queen because their soft serve was a queen among dairy products, according to one of the creators. The recipe for their soft serve is a trade secret. The original location closed in the ’50s, but the building is now a designated landmark.
Dairy Queen franchises expanded rapidly, with 2600 locations by 1955. Texas is home to the most Dairy Queens, and Minnesota has the most DQ’s per person.
DQ’s trademark Blizzards weren’t introduced until 1985. That year, more than 100 million Blizzards were sold! Depending on the location, it’s policy for employees to flip your Blizzard upside down. If they don’t, you can request a coupon for a free Blizzard on your next visit. The most popular flavor is Oreo.  The celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Blizzard, Dairy Queen created a Blizzardmobile, which stopped at 25 cities across the U.S. and Canada, giving out free mini Blizzards along with coupons and prizes.
According to Guinness World Records, the largest Blizzard weighed just over 8,260 pounds. It was created by a DQ in the Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Massachusetts. DQ also has the record for largest ice cream cake! It was made by a Dairy Queen in Toronto, and weighed more than 22,300 pounds, and was over 3 feet tall! The world’s largest Dairy Queen can be found in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s 2 floors and 7500 square feet, with seating for 240 customers. Learn more here.