(PCM) Certainly one of the greatest food inventions of all time is the ice cream cone, but did you know that it was actually created by accident? The very first ice cream cone made its’ debut at the 1904 World’s Fair held in St. Louis, Missouri on September 22, 1904 by a man name Ernest Hamwi. Hamwi was running a waffle booth at the World’s Fair that was located next to an ice cream vendor that just so happened to run out of paper dishes to serve his icy treat.
In an attempt to help out the ice cream vendor, Hamwi rolled a waffle into a conical shape that could hold the ice cream and voila! The world’s very first ice cream cone was born! This wonderful invention now made it possible for people to enjoy ice cream without needing any type of bowl or utensils. The first waffle ice cream cones were initially called “World’s Fair Cornucopia” in 1904 and were later renamed “ice cream cones” in 1909.
Of course there was some controversy surrounding who was actually the first person to invent the ice cream cone, as many vendors at the 1904 World’s Fair were selling both ice cream and waffles, however several sources agree that Syrian immigrant Ernest Hamwi was definitely the first, when he rolled up some of his “zalabia” (a waffle-like pastry) into cones and gave them to Arnold Fornachou, who had run out of paper dishes to serve his ice cream. Like any great idea, the news of Hamwi’s invention spread quickly though the Fair and many other vendors began selling ice cream in waffle cones. These edible ice cream cones became so popular that everyone wanted to take credit for there invention, so there was some debate over who actually created the first one.
After the fair, Hamwi joined with J. P. Heckle and helped him develop and open the Cornucopia Waffle Company. Ernest traveled throughout the United State introducing the World’s Fair Cornucopia as a new way of eating ice cream. In 1910, Hamwi opened the Missouri Cone Company and called his container, the ice cream cone, to avoid a conflict with Cornucopia.On June 1, 1920 Ernest Hamwi was issued a patent (#1,342,045) for a pastry cone making machine.
The ice cream cone gained incredible popularity across the United States and by 1924 Americans were consuming upwards of 245 million cones per year and they continue to still be incredibly popular to this very day!