The Slurpee is a carbonated slushy that has been sold by the convenience store 7-Eleven and its subsidiaries since the mid-1960s. Every day, over 11 million of these drinks are consumed around the world, making them one of the more popular drinks. What’s even more impressive is that approximately 40% of all Slurpees sold every year are during the months of June, July, and August.

No wonder someone has gone ahead and invented a holiday known as National Free Slurpee Day. Yes, there’s a holiday dedicated to giving people a free Slurpee, and that day falls on July 11th every year. Let’s go get some free Slurpees!

The History of National Free Slurpee Day

During the late 1950s, Omar Knedlik invented machines that could make frozen beverages. The idea originally came to him when one of his soda fountains broke, and he was forced to store the soda in a freezer.

This caused the soda to become slushy, and he soon found out that the slushy soda was a popular commodity among his customers. So, after he invented the slushy machine, he hired an artist named Ruth E. Taylor to create a name and logo for his new invention. She created the Icee name and then designed the original logo for it.

After being successfully deployed in approximately 100 stores, the convenience store chain known as 7-Eleven made a licensing agreement with the Icee Company to sell the product under some very particular conditions in 1965.

The conditions were that 7-Eleven had to sell the product under a different name and that they could only sell the product in the United States. In 1966, 7-Eleven began to sell the Slurpee, and the rest, as they say, is history. 7-Eleven would celebrate its 75th birthday on July 11th, 2002.

This is when they decided to give customers a free Slurpee as part of the celebration. This would become the first National Free Slurpee Day, and it caused quite a stir. It was so successful that the holiday has been celebrated yearly after that initial launch, even though it was originally supposed to be a one-off holiday.

The last we heard, this holiday is still being celebrated, and people are still being given free Slurpees. The only condition is that there’s only one per customer and that they are only given out while supplies last.

Observing National Free Slurpee Day

How can this holiday be celebrated? Well, probably by people getting a free Slurpee from 7-Eleven — if it’s still available. If it’s not still available, or a person doesn’t live near a 7-Eleven, they can always make their own by placing some soda in the freezer. And while they’re waiting for it to set, they can use the hashtag #FreeSlurpeeDay to spread the word about this holiday.