By Archie D. 

I have a tradition with my dad that after every mountain bike ride at Pocahontas State Park: we go to a 7-Eleven and get their signature Slurpees. Often it is only me that gets the Slurpee, and he gets Donettes and Barbeque Lay’s, but it is a tradition all the same.

I was with my grandparents recently while my dad was bikepacking on the C&O trail, and I had a bike practice at Pocohontas. When I got back to the parking lot after riding, I told them about the tradition and asked if we could go. Being the awesome grandparents they were, they said yes.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, we pulled into the 7-Eleven parking lot. I went into the store and walked to the far back where all the soda fountains were. And then I saw it. The tall, neon box with vibrant colors and spinning silos of all the Slurpee flavors. Above every spigot was a small green light with the words ‘Ready to Serve’ written next to it. It was the ultimate machine. I grabbed a medium cup and began my work as a professional chemist. The ultimate combination of half Cherry, half Coke mixed in at specific intervals, with Pina Colada swirled in the middle was being masterfully crafted with acute precision. When I was done, I got a straw that was a foot too tall for my cup and proudly set my creation down on the counter. Next to it were two zero-sugar Cokes, for my grandparents, looking pale in comparison.

As I walked out, sipping my behemoth of sweetness, my grandma said that she had tried the Slurpee when it first came out all the way back in 1966. Back then, they only had the best two flavors, Cherry and Coke. Frozen drinks were invented in the late 50’s when a soda machine broke in a Dairy Queen. The shop owner, Omar Knedlik, was forced to put the soda bottles in the freezer, making them turn into slushies. The customers seemed to like it, so he hired a professional artist named Ruth E. Taylor to help him design a logo and name for the product. About a month later, ICEE became the first frozen drink company in the United States. In 1966, 7-Eleven asked ICEE if they could sell their own frozen drinks. ICEE said yes under two conditions:

1. 7-Eleven had to create a new name for their version of the slushie.

2. They could only sell it in 7-Eleven locations.

7-Eleven, being smart, took the offer and created the Slurpee. It was an immediate hit and people were rushing to get their first cup. Back then, most other drink machines were behind the counter, and the clerk dispensed it. The Slurpee was an experiment to see how well people would do if they could dispense their own drinks. The ability to mix different flavors however you wanted was new and exciting, and the addition of new flavors made it more fun to see what combinations you could make. In 1974, they invented a flavor that was a workaround to the banning of Red No. 2 and was hugely popular among the Slurpee fans: Blue Raspberry. It was a limited time release, but everyone loved it so much that they decided to make it an official flavor in 1975. It was also the same year they started ‘free Slurpee day’ on July 11th as a way to celebrate 7-Eleven’s 75th birthday.

In 1990, The U.S. branch of 7-Elevens went bankrupt, but 7-Eleven Japan decided to do a 487 million dollar renovation and revived the American 7-Eleven, even though over 2,000 locations had already closed. Japan’s renovations included new and bigger Slurpee machines. It also brought over new flavors, like Green Apple, Piña Colada and Passionfruit. Piña Colada became a huge hit, and millions of people (including me) started using it in their own personal combos.

People like Slurpees so much that over 100 million Slurpees are sold every year in America alone. But my combo, which I named “Big Red”, is unique to me. Even back in the sixties, when Slurpees were a new invention and when my grandma sipped it for the first time, she was given the freedom to make something that no one else had made before. No other drink can taste this good, give the opportunity for creativity, and continue to stay an American staple like the 7-Eleven wonder drink. I give the Slurpee five stars.