Editing Slurpee (section)

==History==
[[Omar Knedlik]] invented machines to make frozen beverages in the late 1950s. The idea for a slushed ice drink came when Knedlik's soda fountain broke down, forcing him to put his sodas in a freezer to stay cool, which caused them to become slushy. The result was popular with customers, which gave him the idea to make a machine to help make a "slushy" from carbonated beverages. When it became popular, Knedlik hired an artist named Ruth E. Taylor to create a name and a logo for his invention. She created the [[Icee]] name and designed the original logo, which is still used today. Early prototypes for the machine made use of an automobile air conditioning unit.<ref>{{cite web |title=7-Eleven Slurpee |url=http://www.slurpee.com/ |access-date=March 5, 2012 |publisher=Slurpee.com |archive-date=June 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608032146/http://www.slurpee.com.tw/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

After a successful trial of Icee machines in 100 stores,<ref>Liles, Allen.  ''Oh Thank Heaven! The story of the Southland Corporation'', 1977, p. 182</ref> 7-Eleven made a licensing deal with [[The Icee Company]] to sell the product under certain conditions in 1965. Two of these were that 7-Eleven must use a different name for the product, and that the company was allowed to sell the product only in 7-Eleven locations in the US, a non-compete clause ensuring the two drinks never went head to head for distribution rights. 7-Eleven then sold the product that in 1966 became known as the "Slurpee" (for the sound made when drinking them). The term was coined by Bob Stanford, a 7-Eleven advertisement agency director.

The Slurpee machine has a separate spout, or spigot, for each flavor at the front of a tumbler or [[freezer]]. To the right of the spouts is a small table and a tray with various snacks. Above the tray with snacks are the cups, lids and straws customers can take with their Slurpees. Sizes include Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large. When Slurpees were first introduced, the dispensing machine was located behind the counter, and the clerk dispensed the product. Common Slurpee flavors are frozen Cherry, [[Blue raspberry flavor|Blue Raspberry]], [[Coca-Cola]], and [[Mountain Dew]], but new flavors are introduced regularly. In the Slurpee's early history, flavors rotated much more frequently than today. Slurpee flavors were given novelty names such as Pink Fink, Adults Only, Moonshine, Kissin' Cousin, Gully Washer, Sticky Icky, and Redeye.

In 1990, Dallas-based Southland Corporation, 7-Eleven's founder and US operator, went bankrupt, but 7-Eleven Japan, and its parent Ito-Yokado, bought 70% of Southland in 1991 for $430 million and quickly launched renovations of the US stores. As a result, the US chains became more efficient, although 1,218 stores are closed. Following the Japanese model, the new 7-Eleven stores set up a weekly system to monitor inventories to ensure popular items are always in stock.<ref>Schuman, Michael. "Sushi Slurpee." Forbes 156.5 (1995): 12. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. October 19, 2010.</ref>
[[File:7 Eleven Slurrpe.jpg|alt=A Slurpee Inflatable at a location in Florida in 2023.|thumb|A Slurpee Inflatable]]
Following their respective acquisitions by 7-Eleven, [[A-Plus (store)|A-Plus]] and [[Speedway (store)|Speedway]] both started selling Slurpee-branded drinks prior to their conversion to 7-Eleven. Many fans of Speedway's own frozen drink, Speedy Freeze, complained on [[social media]] about the drink being replaced by Slurpee-branded products, although other frozen drink fans have said the two drinks are identical.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/say-goodbye-to-speedy-freezes-hello-to-slurpees |title=Say goodbye to Speedy Freezes, hello to Slurpees |website=Wcpo.com |date=August 4, 2020 |access-date=January 2, 2022 |archive-date=December 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227173449/https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/say-goodbye-to-speedy-freezes-hello-to-slurpees?_amp=true |url-status=live}}</ref>