10 Things You Didn't Know About Mister Softee (Slideshow)
The first day of operations was St. Patrick's Day 1956, so founders Bill and Jim Conway took to the streets of West Philadelphia and handed out green ice cream.
The Trucks are Top-of-the-Line
While the ice cream trucks may look a little shabby, they're actually just designed that way — they're made from rust-free aluminum, powered by the new General Motors Vortec engine, use a high-powered Electro Freeze soft serve machine, and just about every piece of equipment inside the trucks is custom-made just for Mister Softee.
The Jingle Has Lyrics!
Ever wonder what the lyrics to the Mister Softee jingle (which is officially named "Mister Softee Jingle and Chimes") are? Check it out:
The creamiest, dreamiest soft ice cream
You get from Mister Softee
For a refreshing delight supreme
Look for Mister Softee
My milkshakes and my sundaes and my cones are such a treat
Listen for my store on wheels ding-a-ling down the street
The creamiest, dreamiest soft ice cream
You get from Mister Softee
For a refreshing delight supreme
Look for Mister Softee
S-O-F-T Dubble-E
Mister Softee!
Drivers Must Have a Spotless Driving Record
Want to be a driver? Make sure you have a clean driving record; the site even emphasizes "NO DWI!!!"
There are Two Soft-Serve Styles, and One is More Fattening
Next time you get soft serve, ask the driver if it's six percent fat or ten percent fat. While the fat and calorie content of the vanilla and chocolate varieties are identical, the ten percent soft serve contains 170 calories and 9 grams of fat per half-cup and the six percent soft serve contains 130 calories and 5 grams of fat per half-cup. Here's the full nutrition info.
You Can Buy a Mister Softee Bobble Head
Mini-musical trucks and banks, t-shirts, beach towels, and bobbleheads are available for sale at the Softee Store.
Don’t Even Think about Ripping off Their Name
If you spot a Mister Softee truck, look closely at the name; a Master Softee truck has been spotted in New York, and is being sued for trademark infringement.
You Can Download the Jingle as a Ringtone
If you really love that jingle, you can download a ringtone of it here.
Locations in China Sell Green Tea Ice Cream
The first location of Mister Softee in China opened in Suzhou, Jiangsu in 2007, and they've been expanding through China's eastern region since 2008. There are standalone Mister Softee stores and kiosks there as well as trucks, whose unique offerings include green tea and red bean ice cream, kiwi sundaes, and milk tea floats.
The Jingle is in 6/8 time
The jingle follows a fairly standard A-B-A format with a coda at the end, and is actually in 6/8 time, meaning that each measure has two more beats than most songs, which are in 4/4. It was written in the key of E-flat major, but the version many trucks play is transposed up a half-step, to E.