Given how much progress humanity has made with the confectionery miracle that is ice cream, it’s safe to say that you can’t really go wrong with it. Even if you can argue that you can, you can’t because all you need to do is go for a different flavor and bam, you are set.
Now, if the ice cream man is the problem, there is really only one way of solving that problem—borderline putting him out of business in your part of the neighborhood. How? Well, with petty ice cream revenge, of course!
More Info: Reddit
You can't really go wrong with ice cream. You can with ice cream men, but even that can be easily fixed with a mother determined enough to ruin their business
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
OK, maybe not ruined, but definitely a certain part of the neighborhood ends up being a pain for the ice cream man, all because he was greedy with the change
Image credits: SlyLadyFox
After a kid was bamboozled out of her change, a mom decided to treat everyone to store-bought ice cream for weeks, making the ice cream man regret his decisions
Image credits: Robert So (not the actual photo)
A mom was recently surprised by the audacity that is this one ice cream vendor’s behavior. The story goes that an ice cream truck was making rounds and entered OP’s neighborhood. Naturally, her kid ran out to get some ice cream. However, instead of seeing pure joy and excitement on her daughter’s face upon return, she saw sadness. Wait, how can ice cream bring sadness?
Well, it wasn’t the ice cream. It was the ice cream man who was the culprit here. You see, instead of giving back her change—a significant amount of it—he gave the kid a lollipop and called it a day, driving off and not even giving anyone a chance to say anything about it. To add insult to injury, the kid doesn’t even like lollipops.
This irked the mom something fierce. However, being a mom means being creative beyond belief, and so that entailed some ingenious petty revenge.
Next thing you know, the mom’s over at Costco buying several boxes of ice cream—all of this not only so that her kid would enjoy the joys of summer, but so that all of the kids on her side of the neighborhood could enjoy it too. The one not enjoying it ended up being the jerk ice cream vendor who would drive by the neighborhood, but would otherwise be greeted by nobody. Because everyone was already more or less set for life with ice cream.
The most beautiful part about all of this? An unintended, but surely a very lovely side effect was that once OP ran out of ice cream, other parents started chipping in and provided snacks for the kids who played outside. Now that's what I call a lovely neighborhood.
Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk (not the actual photo)
Folks online thought it was an overall win. Besides the 20,800 upvotes and a handful of Reddit awards that it got, folks were praising OP for her spot-on rage-purchase decision-making. As it turned out, a lot of people had some sort of trouble with the ice cream man, kinda sorta technically low-key turning him into a super villain of sorts. Not everyone, but most.
Some suggested other methods of vengeance, like doing what Joy Turner did in My Name Is Earl, i.e. every week using a mega horn to shout about being ripped off while the ice cream man is trying to sell ice cream. Another good one was organizing every kid on the block to stand ready with a hose and just blast the ice cream man with it once he approaches.
And yet others shared their own stories of horrible ice cream men. Believe it or not, it happens more often than you might think. And sometimes it might be the case where the mafia even gets involved. No, not cement shoes, but close enough. Moral of the story, though, is never rip children off. Not only because it’s just a jerk move, but also because you might get run out of town.
Image credits: Cheresha (not the actual photo)
Fun fact (actually, several), originally ice cream trucks weren’t trucks at all—rather carts filled with ice to keep dishes of ice cream cool as they made rounds around the block. Yes, you got actual plates of ice cream back in the day. Recent breakthroughs in technology and sanitation allowed for this, giving rise to mobile ice cream stalls and later full-blown ice cream trucks. An alternative to this were ice cream sandwiches, which first used sheets of paper, and then cookies for the “bread” part.
Ice cream also had a very dark past. Until about the 1890s, cow's milk was not pasteurized and hence it was often full of fauna you’d never want in your body. Places like county fairs and other social gatherings that celebrated occasions with creamy treats would often become localized epidemic hot spots. The misconception was that folks thought it was the vanilla and other flavors that made people ill.
A decade later, the ice cream cone was born, replacing the not-so-hygienic dishes used in previous years. This was when ice cream was now clean of any sediments of biological poisoning and this advancement only pushed for more progress down the line. Another decade or so later, fridges became a thing and so carts used technological wizardry to keep the ice cream cold.
It was in 1920 that the first ice cream truck as we know them today was out in the public doing its thing. Harry Burt, a candy maker in Youngstown, Ohio, pimped his ride with an ice cream fridge and some bells and hit the streets to bring joy and excitement to the public. And the rest is history. Don’t know where all the ice cream became bitter, but if people like OP keep the rotten apples at bay all the while allowing the good ones to thrive, everyone wins in the end.
So, what are your thoughts on any of this? Have you ever encountered an ice cream man who was a bit of a jerk? What is your favorite ice cream to get? Let us know in the comment section below!
The beautiful part was that the neighborhood continued giving the gift that kept on giving by treating every kid to snacks and whatnot, and folks online loved it
