Fun facts about ice.
First artificial ice cubes
American physician and humanitarian John Gorrie built a refrigerator in 1844 to be able to cool air for his yellow fever patients. His refrigerator made ice, which he hung from the ceiling in a basin. Yes, Guy L. Tinkham got the credit for the first flexible, stainless steel, all-metal ice cube tray in 1933, but some historians think that Doctor Gorrie may have also invented the first ice cube tray since it was documented that his patients were also receiving iced drinks.
Ice cube tray
Ice cube trays are well known today for their simple design. Designed to be filled with water, then put in a freezer until the water freezes to ice, thus creating ice cubes. Most trays are flexible so the ice cubes can be removed easily by flexing the tray in one of several ways. Another design, though much older, is an aluminum tray that utilizes a lever that separates the ice cube from the bottom of the tray by raising the ice cubes up.
Since the invention of the ice cube, several other shapes have emerged, starting with spherical or cylindrical shapes early on to what we see now with animal, seasonal, festival, and some of our favorite cartoon characters!
As mentioned earlier, the first flexible, stainless steel, all-metal ice cube tray was made by Guy L. Tinkham in 1933. One would bend the tray sideways to release the ice cubes from the tray.
What does maple syrup and ice have in common? You would not think anything, but the idea of a rubber ice cube tray came to mind by Lloyd Groff Copeman who one day in 1928, while walking through the woods to collect some sap for maple syrup, noticed that slush and ice came off of his rubber boots instead of sticking to them. After returning home and speaking to others about patent rights, he went straight to work doing experiments with rubber cups. Months later, he patented several kinds of tray: a metal tray with individual rubber cups, a tray made of only rubber, and a metal tray that utilized rubber separators.
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