Frank Epperson (Age 11) – Popsicle

On a winter’s night in 1905, the temperature in San Francisco had fallen to a record low, by chance freezing a concoction that 11-year-old Frank Epperson had left out on the porch. As the story goes, Epperson mixed soda water powder and water in a glass and then left the stirring stick in the mixture. After a night out in the cold, the mixture had frozen solid – and the accidental inventor had created the world’s first Popsicle.

Epperson didn’t do anything more with his invention until 1922, when he gave a treat at a fireman’s ball. Everyone loved it so much that he patented his idea under the name “Popsicle.” However, he changed the title after his children started calling the treat a “Popsicle.” Epperson sold the rights to the Popsicle brand name to New York’s Joe Lowe Company in 1925. Three years later, Popsicle sales had topped 60 million, bringing Epperson royalties on each sale.