I fell down a rabbit hole last night. Not a real one. An internet one.
It started because I was talking to someone about ice cream. I’m not sure exactly how we got started, but we ended up talking about ice cream we had when we were kids. Some types you can still get. Others seem to have disappeared.
Like the little tubs of ice cream. And just to really date myself, I remember them specifically being referred to as the “ten cent tub”. There was a slightly larger version available, but the dime version was what we bought most. And they came with those little wooden spoons. Not really spoons. That were little flat sticks. Like tongue depressors with wider areas at each end. Sure the ice cream was good, but you could also taste the stick.
And that’s what started it. What were those sticks made of? What was that taste?
Near as I can figure on that, I think they might have been birch. At least a lot of the current versions of the wooden ice cream spoon seem to be birch. And there are many different types of wooden utensils available these days, because they are currently back in vogue. But birch does seem to be popular.
Strangely, birch is edible. Gray birch in particular can produce a compound that can taste like wintergreen or even root beer. Which might explain why beavers like them. But it’s probably a good thing I didn’t know that as a kid or I would have eaten the stick as well as the ice cream.
But there were other ice cream treats that also made the conversation. Like the drumstick. There are still versions of that one available.
And, the big one… the Buried Treasure.
I’m not sure if anyone makes them anymore. It was vanilla ice cream with a sherbet swirl on a plastic stick. Not like a popsicle. More cone shaped. But there was a plastic stick on the bottom and at the top of the stick was a little character. You eat the ice cream and you got a little toy at the end, once you licked all the ice cream out of the little crevices in the character.
So I googled Buried Treasure sticks. Which made me wish I had kept the sticks. People collect them.
There were sixty-five different characters that were made and all made in various colours, so there are a lot to collect.
I’m not sure they are still made. I don’t think they are. Yes, the ice cream was good. But I wish I had kept the sticks. I could probably sell them and be able to afford more ice cream.