Dairy Queen

John F. McCullough began selling ice cream in 1927. A few years later, he and his son, H. A. “Alex” McCullough, founded the Homemade Ice Cream Company in Green River, Illinois. After some experimentation, John McCullough concluded that ice cream would be more flavorful if served at a temperature higher than the normal 5°F, as cold temperatures numb the taste buds. The McCulloughs began experimenting with what would later be called soft-serve ice cream. They found that when it contained about 6 percent butterfat and was served at 18°F, the ice cream still held its shape. In 1938, feeling that they had found a winning flavor blend, they asked a friend who owned an ice cream store to test-market their soft-serve product with his customers. It was a hit. Before the McCulloughs could commercialize it, though, they needed a machine to make large quantities of the soft-serve ice cream. They approached manufacturers, but none were interested in designing and manufacturing such a machine.