# Mr. Softee **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091 "2017-03-26T20:09:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/1 "2017-03-26T20:09:34Z")
Anyone ever see it outside NY or Philly? I’ve seen a couple of trucks in DC in my 18 years here, but I suspect they weren’t the genuine article. Our son sent me a picture of a truck from the Temple campus a couple of weeks ago; I think he was just taunting me. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/2 "2017-03-26T20:25:55Z")
I’ve seen them all over South St. Louis County in Missouri but that was over 50 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/3 "2017-03-26T20:40:25Z")
Reminds me of an old joke. Q: Why didn’t the Dairy Queen get pregnant? A: She went out with Mr. Softee. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/4 "2017-03-26T21:54:08Z")
Sure. Saw them growing up in Phoenix, AZ, 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/5 "2017-03-26T22:04:35Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Reminds me of an old joke. > > Q: Why didn’t the Dairy Queen get pregnant? > > A: She went out with Mr. Softee. And then, in another joke, she _does_ get pregnant because the Burger King didn’t wrap his Whopper. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/6 "2017-03-26T23:54:36Z")
We had them in Massachusetts back in the 1960s and 70s. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/7 "2017-03-26T23:57:47Z")
Johnstown, PA, again in the '60s (and maybe later; it’s been a long time since I’ve been there). ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/8 "2017-03-27T00:39:15Z")
Just heard ours jingling. At least it is a positively balmy 42°F out. The first day he appeared this year it was below freezing. Yeah, I’m running outside for ice cream when it’s 26°F out. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/9 "2017-03-27T00:58:04Z")
We had them in Liberal, KS in the 60s early 70s. Small town, population well under 20k at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/10 "2017-03-27T01:50:20Z")
As an aside, one of my favorite bits in the movie After Hours was how the sounds of the Mr. Softee theme preceded the appearances of the neighborhood mob hunting Paul. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/11 "2017-03-27T03:13:52Z")
Is the OP referring exclusively to Mr. Softee, or are we including Good Humor as well? We had one of them back in the 50s, but I don’t remember which one. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/12 "2017-03-27T15:03:33Z")
We get them here in NEPA. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/13 "2017-03-27T20:11:06Z")
My parents owned a Mr. Softee truck for a while in Kansas City, but we were never really able to make it a successful business. The generator consumed too much fuel to work as a street vehicle, and it was hard to get fair spots with shore power. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/14 "2017-03-27T21:46:04Z")
I’m from Eastern Washington and never saw a Mr. Softee truck out here. I also spent part of my childhood in California (LA, Bay Area, and Sacramento) and never saw Mr. Softee there either. Incidentally, how good is Mr. Softee? How does it compare with DQ, Tastee Freez, Foster’s Freeze, Carvel, and other sellers of soft ice cream? ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/15 "2017-03-27T22:17:32Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Is the OP referring exclusively to Mr. Softee, or are we including Good Humor as well? We had one of them back in the 50s, but I don’t remember which one. Only Softee. There’s probably a Good Humor truck within a few blocks of me right now. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/16 "2017-03-27T22:19:37Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > As an aside, one of my favorite bits in the movie After Hours was how the sounds of the Mr. Softee theme preceded the appearances of the neighborhood mob hunting Paul. When we lived in NY I can remember hearing Mr. Softee in the background on the evening news. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/17 "2017-03-28T00:41:17Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Reminds me of an old joke. > > Q: Why didn’t the Dairy Queen get pregnant? > > A: She went out with Mr. Softee. But Miss Lipton did get pregnant, since her boyfriend used a flow through bag. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/18 "2017-03-28T01:16:03Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I’m from Eastern Washington and never saw a Mr. Softee truck out here. I also spent part of my childhood in California (LA, Bay Area, and Sacramento) and never saw Mr. Softee there either. > > Incidentally, how good is Mr. Softee? How does it compare with DQ, Tastee Freez, Foster’s Freeze, Carvel, and other sellers of soft ice cream? Ours had a dual soft-serve machine, and the quality depends on the source of the mix and how carefully the machine is cleaned and maintained. Our mix came from Fairmont and was probably comparable to Dairy Queen. There was also a freezer for the regular pre-made frozen treats - bomb pops, ice cream sandwiches, etc. - a shake machine, pumps for toppings and the rest. One person working the window, one making the food. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-softee/783091/19 "2017-03-28T02:59:55Z")
From [The good old days](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/454863631101249632/) Last summer that Chocolate Thick Shake Float was 6.50… Probably a good thing for my waistline :o