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National 7 Eleven Day 2024: The summer heats are on and all that we could think of is a chilled cold drink. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about cool drinks? Lemonades, ice tea, mojitos, Slurpees- ah yes, Slurpees! This article is all about Slurpees and a special day that has a lot of connection to Slurpees. Coming in a variety of flavours and colours, what could be better than sipping your favourite Slurpee. However, there is a special day in the United States that is marked specially for this blend, which is celebrated every year on July 11, called the National 7 Eleven Day.
This day is also called Free Slurpee Day and just as the name denotes, people are given Slurpees totally free on this day. But why the name 7 Eleven though? 7-Eleven is an American international chain of convenience stores with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas and Slurpee being one of their signature items. Although this special day mainly focuses on the franchise customers, the chain offers discounted and often free Slurpees to its customers. This day is celebrated in July as it is the best time to beat the heat.
History of National 7 Eleven Day
The Slurpee was launched in 1966. While the machine already existed, 7 Eleven redesigned Knedlik’s machine, which was used to make the Icee, and then branded and licensed the frozen carbonated drink under the name Slurpee. Bob Stanford, an advertising executive at that time, gave the sugary, icy drink the name Slurpee for the sound it makes as it is sucked through a straw- slurp.
National 7 Eleven Day 2024 Date
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The Free Slurpee Day is celebrated this year on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Every year this special day is celebrated on the same day to beat the heat and get your sugar fix.
How the Free Slurpee Day Came Into Being?
The Slurpee, which was first known by the name ICEE, was created by Omar Knedlik. As quoted by Mark Twain, ‘Accident is the name of the greatest of all inventions ‘. Like most great inventions, the Slurpee was discovered purely by accident. However, when one of Knedlik’s soda fountains broke down, forcing him to put his sodas in the freezer to keep cool, this idea struck him. As a result, the slushy soda was enjoyed by his customers, prompting him to create a machine that would freeze carbonated drinks. At first, this slushy drink was called Icee.
Owing to its popularity, 7 Eleven made a licensing deal with Knedlik’s ICEE Company in 1965 with a contract of selling it under a different name and only in its stores. Hence, Slurpee was born in the year 1966. However, the name was coined by an advertising executive who suggested the name owing to the sound that this drink made while sipping it through a straw.
With more than 300 flavours —ranging from sweet (Vanilla) to sour (Warhead, Sour Apple), to the exotic ( Lychee, Mango)— there’s a Slurpee for treating every palette. By the spring of 1967, each and every 7-Eleven store in the US had a Slurpee machine. To fire up the rising Slurpee fanfare, 7-Eleven would introduce eye-catching —if not, spicy— names for its new flavours. Creative and original names like Pink Fink, Gully Washer, Moonshine, Sticky Icky, and Adults Only were added to the growing list of Slurpee flavours.
The beginning of the National 7 Eleven Day or Free Slurpee Day was marked on July 11, 2002, as 7 Eleven celebrated its 75th Birthday, by giving free Slurpees to its customers. Ever since it has become a custom and tradition to hand out free Slurpees on this special day.
As the name of the day implies, customers can go to a participating 7-Eleven store, between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., and receive a free, 12-ounce Slurpee till the last supply of Slurpee. If you are lucky enough you’ll get a free Slurpee to slurp. This year though, due to the pandemic 7-Eleven isn’t cancelling free Slurpee drinks altogether. Members of the free 7Rewards loyalty program will get a free medium Slurpee coupon redeemable once in July, to help with social distancing.
National 7 Eleven Day 2024: Fun Facts About Slurpee
- The sales of the Slurpees were at an average rate of 50 per store per day until 7-Eleven launched its TV commercial series “Strange Things”.
- In 2011, 7-Eleven launched a highly creative double-flavoured Slurpee for the 45th anniversary of the product.
- 7-Eleven invented a spoon straw just for the Slurpee so that every last drop could be sipped. Later, it also introduced edible and tongue straws.
- 7-Eleven Slurpees range from a modest 8 ounces to a whopping 44 ounces. The larger drinks add up a lot of sugar and calories which ain’t so healthy.
- The Slurpee was sold only in two flavours when it first reached 7-Eleven stores: cola and cherry.
- Over the last half-century, the Slurpee machine’s design has remained much the same, though flavours have come and gone.
- The grooviest of all songs which were marketed was ‘Dance the Slurp,’ which was a full-length jingle composed by Tom Merriman, one of America’s most prestigious jingle composers.
- 7 Eleven trademarked the word ‘BrainFreeze’.
- Many flavours of Slurpee are Kosher certified.
- The convenience chain store produced a delicious yummy cake doughnut laced with pink sprinkles and overlaid with wild cherry icing.
- Between 2007 and 2008 at a Kennewick, Washington, 7-Eleven distributed more Slurpees than anywhere else in the world.
National 7 Eleven Day 2024 Quotes
“A Slurpee a day keeps the -ve vibes away.”
“I have met guys who work the overnight shift at 7 Eleven, selling Slurpees and Camels to insomniacs who have more introspection than a lot of people in the mainstream media.” – Bernard Goldberg
“Hell hath no fury like someone who didn’t get a free Slurpee on 7 Eleven.”
“Happiness is a Slurpee and a hot pink straw.” – Jenny H
“When it’s finals week and you’ve been studying for five hours straight, you need three things to get you through the night. The biggest Slurpee you can find, half cherry half Coke. Pajama pants, the kind that has been washed so many times they are tissue-paper thin. And finally, dance breaks. Lots of dance breaks.” – Jenny Han
“The worst part about Slurpees is that they’ve gone too fast.”
