Not Half the Fun

One of the traditional challenges of youth was learning how to split a Popsicle in two without splintering one half or both. One way was to position the halves astride a table edge and give it a sharp rap with the fist. If Mom wasn’t around, the bold might attack with a butcher knife.

The trick then, on a sultry summer day, was to eat one icy half before the other melted into its paper jacket or the hand, or dribbled all over one’s clean shirt and jeans.

The Popsicle people say that the twin-stick treat was conceived in the Depression when pennies were scarce. Small-fry were urged to share one half with a friend. First you had to agree on a flavor. That argument usually went to the one with the pennies or nickel.

Now the Popsicle-makers are phasing out most of the twin-stick variety and replacing it with a solo version. Not so messy, they say. Maybe, but not nearly as much fun.