# Why all the love for the Dairy Queen Blizzard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410 "2019-02-12T16:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [February 12, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/21 "2019-02-12T19:11:04Z")
1980’s was my college years. I grew up eating sundaes and banana splits at Tastee Freez. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/22 "2019-02-12T20:27:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 1980’s was my college years. > > I grew up eating sundaes and banana splits at Tastee Freez. Ever try their chili dog? ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/23 "2019-02-12T20:40:16Z")
I haven’t been to a DQ since Culver’s came to town. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/24 "2019-02-12T20:40:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I could live in Mint Oreo blizzards. I get them often enough that sometimes I accidentally order them at other places when I meant to get a shake. Wait, your DQs still have mint?? The ones around here all stopped carrying/offering mint flavoring as well as marshmallow fluff. I used to LOVE mint M&M Blizzards. I was so pissed when they got rid of the mint… Also. The absolute best Blizzard is the Candy Cane one that comes out in December. Holy crap. Close second is the Pumpkin Pie one. Though that one’s an interesting experience. Your first bite you’re like ‘omg wth is this… it’s terrible…’ and then you’re like… ‘ok I bought it…might as well eat some more…’ and then next thing you know the whole thing’s gone and you’re just in love with it. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/25 "2019-02-12T20:42:49Z")
I like them, but I don’t consider them much more than ice cream with fruit or candy in a cup. I like the Banana Split (bananas, strawberries) and the Heath. The real deal is the $5 and $6 lunches. Burger or chicken tenders, fries and a small sundae. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/26 "2019-02-12T20:46:58Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > DQ Blizzards were introduced in the 1980s. So, they weren’t around when I was a kid, and when they did get introduced, they were kind of a big deal because no one else around was offering anything similar. Sorry, folks. There were Blizzards at the Dairy Queen in my home town back in the 1960s. They are not, by any reckoning, a new product. They may have showcased them later on. I know they added innovations like different “cores” more recently. But it’s an old product. Here’s a 1963 ad for a DQ Blizzard: [https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjRgOWbh7fgAhWMdd8KHTylCLsQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worthpoint.com%2Fworthopedia%2Funusual-1963-dairy-queen-litho-20815312&psig=AOvVaw2XFbliu6g0ijqhHfC53BTy&ust=1550090471164270](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjRgOWbh7fgAhWMdd8KHTylCLsQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worthpoint.com%2Fworthopedia%2Funusual-1963-dairy-queen-litho-20815312&psig=AOvVaw2XFbliu6g0ijqhHfC53BTy&ust=1550090471164270) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/27 "2019-02-12T20:53:33Z")
the Wikipedia entry for Dairy Queen claims the Blizzard was introduced in 1985, which doesn’t jibe at all with my memory, which I know is not playing me false on this occasion (note the 1960s Blizzard ad in y last post). But it does have this to say: > [@](#): > > Prior to the reintroduction of the Blizzard in 1985, Dairy Queen served conventional “thick” milkshakes called “Blizzards” in the 1960s. These were the original Blizzard milkshakes, so thick and creamy, the attendant would demonstrate amazingly by tipping them upside down. They sold for the premium price of 50 cents in 1962. These were served in traditional flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, with or without added malt on request. The Blizzard was also invented by Samuel Temperato, the St. Louis franchisee who invented the Dilly Bar. I never bought a 1960s’-vintage Blizzard, so I wouldn’t know. Note, however, that it was still so thick they presented it upside-down. > **[Dairy Queen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_Queen)** > > International Dairy Queen, Inc. (DQ) is an American multinational fast food chain founded in 1940. It is currently headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota. The first Dairy Queen was owned and operated by Sherb Noble and first opened on June 22, 1940, in Joliet, Illinois. It serves a variety of hot and fried food, as well as original frozen dairy products that vary from location to location. > The soft-serve formula was first developed in 1938 by John Fremont "J.F." McCullough and his son Alex. T... Dairy Queen evidently trademarked the name “Blizzard” in 1952 (!) [https://wendihiebert.com/2009/05/31/the-story-behind-dairy-queens-blizzard/](https://wendihiebert.com/2009/05/31/the-story-behind-dairy-queens-blizzard/) ---
**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:** [February 12, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/28 "2019-02-12T21:21:19Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Ever try their chili dog? I think so. I ate at Tastee Freez a lot during my childhood. It was a ten min walk from my house. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/29 "2019-02-12T21:43:45Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Sorry, folks. There were Blizzards at the Dairy Queen in my home town back in the 1960s. Yeah, I checked the same Wikipedia page you quoted from. I perhaps should have specified that That Which We Now Know As The Blizzard was introduced in the 1980s. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2019, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/30 "2019-02-12T22:28:01Z")
I used to eat them on a semi-regular basis but not recently. My favorite was chocolate-covered cherry mixed with Nestle’s Crunchies. I’d usually buy a large size of one of these and stick it in my freezer for a few hours so it would “ripen”. That way the cherries could thoroughly mix with the vanilla soft serve and the chocolate would harden into chunks. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/31 "2019-02-12T23:10:00Z")
I went to IU in the 70’s/80’s and there was a local place called The Penguin (2 locations) that was very popular… every student had to go and try a “Blizzard!” Super thick with all sorts of things they would blend into it for you. So thick they would stick a spoon in it and serve it upside down. Then in the early 80’s DQ notified them that they held the trade mark on “Blizzard” and they had to cease and desist immediately. Everyone in town was furious but they just started selling “Blizzarts.” Why would DQ do this since they don’t even use the trade mark? Then a month later DQ started a big national campaign for their Blizzard… a direct rip off of the ones from The Penguin. I still refuse to order one from DQ (my wife and kids aren’t so passionate about it). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/32 "2019-02-12T23:38:18Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > DQ notified them that they held the trade mark on “Blizzard” and they had to cease and desist immediately. Everyone in town was furious but they just started selling “Blizzarts.” Why would DQ do this since they don’t even use the trade mark? Because DQ had been using the mark as far back as July of 1946 and The Penguin likely didn’t ask to license it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/33 "2019-02-12T23:52:53Z")
I like the banana split Blizzard. ETA: In fact, I’d like one right now. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/34 "2019-02-13T00:21:03Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Because DQ had been using the mark as far back as July of 1946 and The Penguin likely didn’t ask to license it. Well, it really wasn’t asked as a serious question. I know why corporations would want to protect their trade mark. At the time though (before DQ introduced their version) people couldn’t understand why a big corporation would pick on a small family shop. The original shop was opened in 1933 (no idea if they served Blizzards then or not) and became the Penguin when their son took over. It closed in 1983 around the same time that they were notified by DQ they couldn’t use the name. Reopened by the same family a few years later and is now the Chocolate Moose. Looks like they still serve several varieties of “the Blizz.” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/35 "2019-02-13T04:21:10Z")
I’m indifferent to Blizzards in general, but I used to get a Hawaiian Blizzard (pineapple, coconut and banana) once in a while; those were pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/36 "2019-02-13T04:24:19Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > No vanilla at all. If you wanted vanilla why did you order strawberry? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/37 "2019-02-13T04:41:50Z")
I could really go for a cherry sundae right now. I don’t know of any chain other than DQ that offers them. When I lived in MPS/SP I used to get the them at Bridgeman’s, but I don’t think they’re around any more. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/38 "2019-02-13T05:00:05Z")
> [@eulalia](#): > > I haven’t been to a DQ since Culver’s came to town. Exactly what I was going to post! Goddamn I love Culver’s. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/39 "2019-02-13T06:32:07Z")
(bolding mine) > [@Spud](#): > > Well, it really wasn’t asked as a serious question. I know why corporations would want to protect their trade mark. **At the time** though (before DQ introduced their version) people couldn’t understand why a big corporation would pick on a small family shop. You could have mentioned that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/40 "2019-02-13T07:11:30Z")
actually in ice cream circles people say the dq blizzards popularity and the whole frozen yougurt thing led to places like coldstone I remember for the first year or two they were out the dqs where I lived in Indiana gave them away as “sample size” free coupons at all the town festivals and holidays and people were hooked …… if they didn’t want almost a mil in cash for a dq franchise id open one here …… the ice cream only one we had in the mall closed ant to know something interesting ? the original creator of dq retired in the 40s sold the chain got bored and created tastee freeze o now owned by the garaldi group owners of the weinerschnitzel hot dog chain) had a disagreement with his partner and sold out and started the fosters freeze chain …he passed on a few years after that … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410.md?page=3)