Iconic 4th of July treat got its start in KC, inspired by Cold War
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — While most people have heard of the Bomb Pop, or probably even enjoyed one themselves, fewer know that the iconic Fourth of July treat originates here in Kansas City.
National Bomb Pop Day is celebrated on the last Thursday of June every year. In 2024, that falls on June 27. In honor of the iconic summertime treat being 69 years old this year, here’s some history on the Bomb Pop.
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On July 30, 1955, D.S. “Doc” Abernathy and James S. Merritt created the stacked popsicle for Merritt Foods in Kansas City, Missouri. The original three flavors of the Bomb Pop were cherry, lime and blue raspberry.
Even though the iconic popsicle may make some think about classic American culture, cooling down on a long summer day, hearing an ice cream truck down the street or Independence Day, the Bomb Pop is linked to another, not so cheerful piece of American culture and history- the Cold War.
Following Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953, the mid-fifties certainly weren’t the most daunting period of the feud between the United States and the Soviet Union. However, the Warsaw Pact had been signed just a few months before the creation of the Bomb Pop and U.S. troops had been removed from Korea less than a year prior.
That being said, it’s safe to say the frozen treat that’s shaped like a missile and colored red, white and blue probably took a little bit of inspiration from the world events that were unfolding during the time of its creation.
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It’s only fitting that the popularity of the Bomb Pop created a war of its own. In 1989 Popsicle came out with its own treat mimicking the Bomb Pop, called the Firecracker Pop. The Firecracker Pop followed a similar design and featured the same color scheme that the Bomb Pop did.
In 2014, Unilever, the seller of the Firecracker Pop, filed a complaint against Wells, the seller of the Bomb Pop, claiming that the packaging for the Bomb Pop was confusingly similar to that of the Firecracker Pop.
Little under a month later, Wells filed a counterclaim for false advertising, trademark infringement and related state law claims. Wells said that Unilever participated in false advertising by claiming that the Firecracker Pop was “The Original” on packaging.
The court ended up agreeing with Wells, even after Unilever claimed that “The Original” simply meant that it was not another variety of the treat, like a diet or unsalted version.
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