Happy Fun Science Friday – Ice Cream!?

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!!!!

Photo Credit: Sherbert Photography (from WikiCommons)

Photo Credit: Sherbert Photography (from WikiCommons)

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, this FSF is about a childhood (or for some, adulthood) favorite, Ice Cream!

Some rather ingenious… or mad scientist-esque ice cream makers have invented a glow-in-the-dark ice cream flavor. That is correct, you heard right, glow-in-the-dark ice cream, welcome to reality! 🙂

This delightful treat was created by inventor Charlie Harry Francis of Lick Me I’m Delicious, a boutique ice cream company that specializes in unusual flavors, like lamb, chili and beer.  Francis teamed up with some innovators in China who synthesized the luminescent protein (Aequorin ) that causes some Jellies to glow.  The calcium-activated proteins react when they are agitated which results in the ice cream glowing when you lick it! Eureka!

Francis and his glowing Ice Cream Photo Credit:  Lick Me I'm Delicious/Facebook

Francis and his glowing Ice Cream
Photo Credit: Lick Me I’m Delicious/Facebook

The taste of the ice cream is unknown, and it is debatable if the ice cream is safe for consumption, though Francis has stated that he has tried it, and isn’t glowing… yet. Either way, do not expect this unique treat to make it to your neighborhood ice cream truck anytime soon. A single scoop of this stuff is valued at over $200. YIKES!  A prohibitive cost that would exhaust a summers worth of lawn cutting or car washing for most youth.

That makes for one expensive, glowing treat.