The Cold War Frozen Treat That's Now A 4th Of July Staple

During the summer, especially as those Fourth of July cookouts draw near, you've likely tried those red, white, and blue Bomb Pops. Some people call them rocket pops, and maybe you've seen them sold under the name of Firecrackers instead (there have been legal fights over this, which we'll get to). In any case, they're colored like the American flag, shaped like missiles, and named after things that explode. They've also seemingly been around forever. In fact, they date back to the early days of the Cold War.

Even though red, white, and blue are the colors of more than 40 flags for different countries around the world, Bomb Pops are indeed a uniquely American creation. Your basic popsicle was invented in the early 1900s, but the tricolor Bomb Pop was created in Kansas City, Missouri, by D.S. Abernethy and James S. Merritt in 1955. The shape is indeed meant to resemble a rocket or missile, and those indents on the side are somewhat shaped like the fins that rockets use to keep a stable path when they're launched. It's a grim idea, but it was an era when the American public was increasingly worried about nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Bomb Pops tapped into that, and these frozen missiles with cherry, lime, and blue raspberry flavors are still associated with the United States' most patriotic holiday.

Ownership of the Bomb Pops brand has shifted around over the years. Originally part of the co-inventor's company, Merritt Foods, the Bomb Pops arsenal was eventually acquired by Wells Enterprises. Nowadays, these not-so-nuclear ice pops are manufactured in Le Mars, Iowa, where Wells produces its massive stockpile of sugary, frozen desserts.

However, the ice pop industry once dealt with a cold war of its own: Near the end of the Cold War in 1989, the competing brand Popsicle released a line of ice pops called Firecrackers that were similarly colored, shaped, and flavored (cherry, white lemon, and blue raspberry). The Popsicle brand was created by the original inventor of the frozen treat, Frank Epperson, who sold the rights to the Joe Lowe Company. Eventually, Unilever acquired the Popsicle brand.

In 2014, tensions rose when Unilever sued Wells Enterprises over the allegations that a Bomb Pops box redesign looked too similar to Firecrackers — though Bomb Pops themselves were released decades before. After an exchange of legal battles, a détente was reached: Bomb Pops boxes could call the treat itself "the original," while Popsicle's Firecrackers could only claim that the company was the original maker of ice pops broadly. 

Naturally, there are lots of different flavors of Bomb Pops, all of which go with the iconic three-color scheme. Besides the original, you've got Hawaiian Punch-flavored Bomb Pops and Nerds-flavored ones, sour-tasting "Extremes" flavors, and plenty of others. Here at The Takeout, we've carefully taste-tested and ranked these Bomb Pops; our verdict is that the red-hued Berry Burst has the best flavor explosion, and the Banana Fudge Bomb Pop is an odd misfire. Still, the red, white, and blue is considered the classic.