# The Viral Licker - Blue Bell is on the case. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530 "2019-07-04T18:33:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 6, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/21 "2019-07-06T02:49:07Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I am Lickutus of Borg. She tried to resist licking the ice cream, but it proved to be futile. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/22 "2019-07-06T07:16:30Z")
Tiiiiiiin Roof! Busted! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/23 "2019-07-07T08:42:14Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I’ve never bought Blue Bell, but any ice cream I’ve purchased has already had a cellophane seal under the lid. Sounds like negligence to me. The problem with those is that the customer may not know it was supposed to be there, or not notice it had been removed and replaced on something like ice cream, which is sticky. But there’s still an easy solution: put the tamper resistant stuff on the outside, and make it obvious. Plastic over the whole thing works, as would designing the lid to tear away a small part to get it open. It seems weird to me that they’re pushing more about vigilance than improving their packaging. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/24 "2019-07-07T21:15:23Z")
All the ice cream I buy at Safeway has strips of plastic around the lid which can be torn open without scissors, but which makes it obvious if there were tampering. Why would any brand not do this? Oh, Wally World, right. Probably saved a tenth of a cent. As for the perp, I wonder how an ice cream enema would feel? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/25 "2019-07-07T22:10:20Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > All the ice cream I buy at Safeway has strips of plastic around the lid which can be torn open without scissors, but which makes it obvious if there were tampering. Why would any brand not do this? Oh, Wally World, right. Probably saved a tenth of a cent.? > [@](#): > > After the video surfaced, Blue Bell issued this statement: > > "We want to thank our consumers for alerting us to the incident this past weekend of a video posted to social media showing a Blue Bell item being tampered with. We take this issue very seriously and are currently working with law enforcement, retail partners and social media platforms. This type of incident will not be tolerated. > > Food safety is a top priority, and we work hard to provide a safe product and maintain the highest level of confidence from our consumers. > > During production, our half gallons are flipped upside down and sent to a hardening room where the ice cream freezes to the lid creating a natural seal. The lids are frozen tightly to the carton. Any attempt at opening the product should be noticeable. > > We will continue to monitor this situation.” [link](https://www.wafb.com/2019/07/03/blue-bell-claims-customers-should-know-if-ice-cream-has-been-tampered-with/). In my experience, most every brand from every store does it the Blue Bell way. The ones that don’t have a disposable paper “zipper” on a simple rectangular cardboard carton. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/26 "2019-07-08T20:17:55Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [link](https://www.wafb.com/2019/07/03/blue-bell-claims-customers-should-know-if-ice-cream-has-been-tampered-with/). > > In my experience, most every brand from every store does it the Blue Bell way. The ones that don’t have a disposable paper “zipper” on a simple rectangular cardboard carton. That’s stupid of them. You are not going to know about any tampering until you bring the stuff home, if then. I wonder how many consumers know about their sealing technique, and would notice an irregularity. Especially of the ice cream melts a bit on the way home and gets jostled. And who is going to bring the ice cream back once the evidence has literally melted away. The ice cream I buy is sealed. I’ll have to check the brands I don’t buy. Maybe it is a California consumer protection thing. My store doesn’t carry Blue Bell. As I said the stuff I buy has plastic, but a cardboard zipper would work too. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/27 "2019-07-08T20:32:37Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The ice cream I buy is sealed. (Shrug) Don’t know what to tell you–the ice cream that I buy isn’t. If you [google photos of ice cream cartons](https://www.google.com/search?q=ice+cream+cartons&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjjp8egk6bjAhXOB50JHQsHA7UQ_AUIECgB&biw=1408&bih=703), you’ll see the distinct absence of seals on the containers. The only photo in the top hits showing a container with a seal turned out to be [an article complaining about how hard it is to open the seal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-talenti-gelato-challenge-open-the-lid-without-a-hacksaw-1518103927). (Can’t read the whole article, but you can see the essence in the preview.) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/28 "2019-07-08T21:38:54Z")
In our household, ice cream has bee referred to as “the grand elixir of life.” In my experience, seals are all over the place. Baskin Robbins has a plastic tear off rim on the lid. Hagen Das has a cellophane layer under the lid. Deans has nothing. (We’re pretty much ice cream snobs, and would never buy Blue Bell.) Was down in Texas over the weekend - this incident was BIG NEWS! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/29 "2019-07-09T00:21:50Z")
Friendly’s ice cream does it the same way Blue Bell does. No cover, no seal, you just open the lid. I believe Ben & Jerry’s does it that way, too. It’s not like we have thousands of surreptitious lickers out there. Or we didn’t, at least. I had to look this up to find out how they knew this had even happened (idiots videoed themselves and posted it online, crap, people are stupid) and found a story saying that at least one person has decided this is a fun prank and [copycatted](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blue-bell-ice-cream-licker-lenise-martin-licking-blue-bell-creameries-louisiana-belle-rose/), down to making a video and posting it online, and just how in hell did our country get to be so fucking _ **stupid** _. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/30 "2019-07-09T03:38:33Z")
> **[Copycat Ice Cream Licker Arrested In Louisiana | iHeart](https://700wlw.iheart.com/content/2019-07-08-copycat-ice-cream-licker-arrested-in-louisiana/)** > > The 36-year-old was charged with unlawful posting of criminal activity for notoriety and publicity. | iHeart There is another fucking douchebag who licked an ice cream. Apparently he bought his, but not until after making a video. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/31 "2019-07-09T06:44:44Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Friendly’s ice cream does it the same way Blue Bell does. No cover, no seal, you just open the lid. I believe Ben & Jerry’s does it that way, too. It’s not like we have thousands of surreptitious lickers out there. > > Or we didn’t, at least. I had to look this up to find out how they knew this had even happened (idiots videoed themselves and posted it online, crap, people are stupid) and found a story saying that at least one person has decided this is a fun prank and [copycatted](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blue-bell-ice-cream-licker-lenise-martin-licking-blue-bell-creameries-louisiana-belle-rose/), down to making a video and posting it online, and just how in hell did our country get to be so fucking _ **stupid** _. Hard to believe so many don’t seal after the Tylenol scare. Licking is hardly the worst thing that someone could do to unsealed ice cream. Under the lid seals would work just fine, since at least the buyer would know there has been tampering. Next time I’m in Texas I’m going to the grocery store with a spoon and eat my fill. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/32 "2019-07-09T07:42:32Z")
Ice cream licking is not the summer fad we needs. Girls in tube tops is the summer fad we need. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/33 "2019-07-09T10:29:43Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > …As for the perp, I wonder how an ice cream enema would feel? Rocky road, preferably. mmm ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/34 "2019-07-09T13:57:46Z")
There is a new video going around of a guy spitting into a jug of Arizona Tea and putting it back on the shelf. WTF?!? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/35 "2019-07-09T15:41:10Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Girls in tube tops is the summer fad we need. In case you haven’t noticed, we have been trying to reduce the misogyny around here lately. While this isn’t exactly a major offender, let’s try to avoid boy’s locker room type comments like this, please. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/36 "2019-07-10T01:45:19Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > In case you haven’t noticed, we have been trying to reduce the misogyny around here lately. While this isn’t exactly a major offender, let’s try to avoid boy’s locker room type comments like this, please. No, I haven’t noticed. Sorry. Was there some sort of announcement? ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/37 "2019-07-11T03:10:02Z")
Check out this story from USA TODAY: Woman caught on tape peeing in ice cream bucket The tape also showed the suspect picking her nose and putting her hands in the ice cream. > **[Woman caught on tape peeing into ice cream bucket, spitting on ice cream,...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/10/florida-woman-arrested-spitting-ice-cream-peeing-bucket/1691049001/)** > > The tape also showed the suspect picking her nose and putting her hands in the ice cream. Eww!!! ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/38 "2019-07-11T04:13:23Z")
I would suppose there may be quite a few copycats. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/39 "2019-07-11T05:15:05Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Hard to believe so many don’t seal after the Tylenol scare. Licking is hardly the worst thing that someone could do to unsealed ice cream. > Under the lid seals would work just fine, since at least the buyer would know there has been tampering. > Next time I’m in Texas I’m going to the grocery store with a spoon and eat my fill. What about all those jars of olives and pickles? The produce section? Loaves of bread? Those twist ties aren’t exactly vandal proof either. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530/40 "2019-07-11T15:08:25Z")
Bell Bell is my favorite ice cream. The lid does take a little effort to pry off. It’s stuck well to the ice cream. It is pretty obvious afterwards that the container has been opened. They’ll probably will start including a plastic seal around the lid to reassure the public. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-viral-licker-blue-bell-is-on-the-case/836530.md?page=3)