Shops Take Extreme Measures To Protect Ice Cream From Threat Of ‘Lickers’

JamPress/@s0ntra

The latest tiresome fad of licking ice cream and putting it back on the shelf in the vain hope of achieving some level of fame has apparently forced some shops to lock away their ice cream to stop ‘lickers’ getting their filthy tongues on it. 

In case you missed it (lucky you) last week some gobshite went viral after posting a video of themselves opening a tub of Blue Bell ice cream in a Texas shop, licking the ice cream, before returning the tub to the freezer.

The video predictably led to a number of copycat lickers – each more desperate than the last – recreating the stunt in different shops across the world, presumably in the hope of getting their 15 minutes of fame.

The spate of copy-cat lickers has reportedly become so frequent shops across the US are taking drastic steps to protect their frozen treats.

Mashable reports a number of shops are now treating their ice cream like cigarettes here in the UK and locking them away while others have taken things even further and hired guards to protect the delicious frozen cream.

Thankfully most of these attempts to keep the ice cream safe seem to be tongue in cheek (better that than the ice cream) jokes about the recent viral craze.

Unfortunately, the craze seems very real with at least one ‘licker’ being arrested after filming himself tonguing ice cream and popping it back on the shelf. It transpired that particular licker had apparently bought the ice cream beforehand so there was no harm done, but police don’t seem to find the joke particularly funny.

It’s worth remembering that tampering with foodstuffs is a felony and the original licker, the aforementioned gobshite in Texas, could face up to 20 years in jail and a $10,000 fine if she’s caught.

Lufkin Police Department is reportedly still investigating the identity of the original licker.

A police spokesperson said, as per NBC News:

Our detectives are working to verify the identity of the female suspect before a warrant is issued for her arrest on a charge of second-degree felony tampering with a consumer product.

As that portion of the investigation continues, detectives are focusing on identifying the male (in the green shirt) behind the camera seen in images of the two entering the store together.

Remember in fifty years time we’ll have to explain to our grandchildren that we lived in an age where people were so desperate to be famous that it didn’t matter if they were known for something gross, all that mattered was that they were known.

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Tom Percival

More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.

Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.

He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.