May 1, 2016

"Who could imagine a man who is genuinely fond of ice cream becoming a Bolshevik?"

"Even strawberry ice cream would arouse no latent anarchistic tendencies, while vanilla or peach would be soothing to the very reddest of the Reds. There is as yet no record of a dangerous plot being hatched over a dish of ice cream."
In the 1920s, officials at Ellis Island became convinced that serving new immigrants ice cream “was an efficient method for making our future citizens more at home in their new environment.”...

24 comments:

AmPowerBlog said...

Are Ben and Jerry Bolsheviks, lol?

YoungHegelian said...

Home-made Indian Kulfi, like home-made ice cream, is worth the effort. But it is a lot of effort! There's no churning while freezing to whip in air that gets frozen into the custard. It's made by evaporating milk down to a paste by constant (& I do mean constant) stirring in a heavy pot over low heat, flavoring the resultant milk paste, & then freezing it.

“Who could imagine a man who is genuinely fond of ice cream becoming a Bolshevik? Even strawberry ice cream would arouse no latent anarachistic tendencies, while vanilla or peach would be soothing to the very reddest of the Reds. There is as yet no record of a dangerous plot being hatched over a dish of ice cream.”

Oh admit it! We're routinely treated to much more simplistic political analyses then this on a daily basis.

Roughcoat said...

I don't know about ice cream, but Lenin loved cats. But then, he was a Dr. Evil type. And Dr. Evil types always love cats.

Achilles said...

Bolsheviks like ice cream. They just want to make sure they are in control of who gets to eat it.

Rob said...

It's a great idea for the Hillary Clinton Administration along the effectively open southern border. Have the Border Patrol repurposed to hand out ice cream to the folks streaming across. What more welcoming gesture could a hot, tired traveler wish?

YoungHegelian said...

@Rob,

Have the Border Patrol repurposed to hand out ice cream to the folks streaming across. What more welcoming gesture could a hot, tired traveler wish?

Tamarindo raspas, in this case, are more likely.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

Bolshevik ice cream is best ice cream.

dbp said...

Donald Douglas nails it in the first comment.

Though maybe ice cream had more persuasive power to impoverished 1920's immigrants than to middle class baby boomers.

Anonymous said...

Donald Douglas nails it in the first comment.

****

Agreed. Ben and Jerry are notorious, hacky-sack playing Bolshies.

Fernandinande said...

"In the 1960s, Fidel Castro created Coppelia – a state-run ice‑cream parlour that came to embody Cuba’s revolutionary ideals. As relations with the US begin to thaw, can it survive?"

"Here's the scoop: China is now the world's biggest ice cream market"

"Buying ice cream on the street is a common thing in North Korea, but not for a foreigner."

Sounds like the officials at Ellis Island were pretty typical officials.

sinz52 said...

I guess these officials at Ellis Island were unaware that Eskimo Pie brand ice cream bars were first introduced to the Soviet Union in 1936. And they proved quite popular there.

chickelit said...

Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch understood the boisterous effect that ice cream had on Italian immigrants: Down By Law

MAJMike said...

Couldn't hurt.

Coconuss Network said...

I stay away from ice cream, 20 grams of fat per serving. Frozen yogurt is also great, but sometimes too sweet. But frozen custard, hmm, perhaps something mischievously Bolshevik about that one. Frozen custard is a cold dessert similar to ice cream, but made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. A frozen custard stand at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago introduced the dessert to a wider audience. Following the fair, the dessert's popularity spread throughout the Midwest; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in particular, became known as the "unofficial frozen custard capital of the world" Wikipedia

Lucien said...

As long as they don't put fluoride in it:
"Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream."

buwaya said...

Fat is OK, the problem is sugar.
No more ice cream for me. I would do badly on the Ellis Island test today. Ironic.
BTW I once treated a gang of communists to a round of ice cream. Back in the protest days of 83-86 when we were allies. They like ice cream well enough, and all flavors.

Dr Weevil said...

Donald Douglas (#1):
Just because Ben and Jerry make the stuff in large quantities doesn't mean they love it, or even like it. It's possible that they got sick and tired of ice cream decades ago, but can't give up making and selling it because (like most Bolsheviks) what they really love is money, and the power it brings (or vice versa, for some Bolshies).

Oso Negro said...

I think it would be much more effective to hand all new arrivals a bacon double cheeseburger.

tds said...

They already turned Bolsheviks before they even embarked on the ship. Immigration Officers were afraid of the wrong thing.

Known Unknown said...

The route to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Meade said...

We watched the classic romantic comedy, The Philadelphia Story last night in which I learned that the route to a woman's heart is through her champagne glass. I also learned that domestic violence is not only acceptable but hilarious and that upper class Philadelphians are queer and that we all go haywire at times and if we don't, maybe we ought to. And by "go haywire" I think she meant "become blotto drunk".

Known Unknown said...

I also learned that domestic violence is not only acceptable but hilarious

That push-to-the-face move is really underrated.

Meade said...

Yes, and don't sell short the sucker-tackle-and-rub-dirt-in-his-brand-new-bought-with-hard-earned-labor-johdpurs maneuver.

mikee said...

Push to the face? Like on Game of Thrones this past Sunday, where the zombie guard of Queen Cersie pushed a guy's face so hard his head exploded against the nearby wall?