Huge Popsicle Melts on a Hot Summer Day

2005_06_snapplesicle.jpgChaos, 35,000 pound Snapple kiwi-strawberry popsicle be thy name! The dailies round out coverage of yesterday's Snapple PR stunt gone bad, the attempted Biggest Popsicle in the World that simply melted in Union Square. In analyzing the slushy mess that spread from 17th Street, the NY Times took the bemused approach, while the Post was self-righteous and angry. The papers also played to their strengths, with the Post creating a scene of confusion, "One woman who fell in the hazardous goo was rushed to the hospital with a badly sprained ankle, and three cyclists...were catapulted off their bikes," and the Times noting various facts about the offending popsicle in question ("The core temperature when it was prepared in New Jersey was minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit, 46 degrees colder than the temperature at which an 18-percent sugar suspension, like the pop, would normally freeze."). Newsday had a great quote from Ken Giddon, owner of clothing store Rothman's:

"A small wave of slush began moving across 17th Street...It wasn't a bad smell. But the people stepping in it were not pleased. People were pretty bummed out with what was going on with their shoes."
Ha, it smelled good yesterday, but think about the slush that wasn't hosed away by the Fire Department: It'll rot and stink. At any rate, Snapple says they'll help pay for the clean up.

Movies reminiscent of this incident: Ghostbusters II, Teenage Mutant Ninjas Turtles 2: Secret of the Ooze, and The Blob.

Photograph from reader Stefan; more here

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Comments (6) [rss]

At least they wrote their own account. It appears the Snapple press release went out last night since it offers a cleaner and less chaotic version. Gotta love this simplification:


The world-record-attempt event wasn't a total loss, though.

Kids who gathered to watch got free ice pops from Snapple

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050622/ap_on_fe_st/20_ton_popsicle_1


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On the plus side, whens the lat time That intersection was cleaned so thoroughly??

I wonder if we'll see this on next years Apprentice, it screams bad Trump task.

This doesn't make sense. Why would the center melt before the outside? Have you ever seen a hollow ice cube? The only way that could happen was if they made the "stick" out of something very thermally conductive, like aluminum or copper. Methinks the pop wasn't frozen all the way through, "core temperature" notwithstanding. And anyone with half a brain would have known that you have to plan for melting runoff from the popsicle sooner or later (I would have put something like a giant punch bowl under it and offered free Snapple to onlookers) and that the popsicle should have been wrapped in an insulated cover until it was upright. Would have made for a more spectacular unveiling as well. Dullards all around at Snapple, Inc.

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Iron Maiden and I got together this afternoon to write a song about this incident, if anyone's interested.

your site blows . I'm trying to find information about heat. you guys are so stupid!!!!

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