What Happened On February 2nd?

February 2nd in the year 1897 holds the date when the United States Patent Office issued Patent No. 576,395 to Alfred L. Cralle. An African American inventor and businessman, Calle’s product, the “ice-cream mold and disher,” took off and shaped the $19.77 billion ice cream industry today!

Prior to Cralle’s invention, serving ice cream was typically very messy and inefficient. Spoons and ladles often resulted in uneven portions as there was no standard “ice cream scooper.” Working as a porter at a Pittsburgh drugstore, Cralle was able to see these issues firsthand and was determined to find a solution.

His innovation wasn’t the modern ice cream scoop we know today, but it was definitely a very positive basis! His “ice-cream mold and disher” combined two functions: a mold to shape the ice cream into perfect spheres and a disher to scoop them effortlessly.

Unlike earlier attempts, Cralle’s design incorporated a built-in scraper, ensuring clean separation from the container and minimizing mess. More importantly, it allowed for a “one-handed” operation, freeing up the server’s other hand for serving or handling cones.

The patent application described the invention as “extremely simple in its construction, strong, durable, effectual in its operation and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.”

The “ice-cream mold and disher” received positive reviews, with the Pittsburgh Press reporting that it could scoop “40 to 50 dishes of ice cream in a minute,” all while “avoiding the soiling of the hands.”

What is even more impressive about this feat, is that it was done by an African American man! Only 32 years after the 13th Amendment was imposed, Cralle’s patent holds even more value.