Beat the Heat: Root Beer Float over Root Beer Ice Cubes

You're never too old for a good old fashioned Root Beer Float. Due to the excessive heat warnings, I decided to make this float a little more frigid. I loaded the glass with root beer ice cubes that I had made earlier in the day. This made the drink really cold, and also made it last longer because the root beer just kept on melting in the glass.

Root beer floats are as much a part of summertime as sprinklers, hopscotch and fireflies. When I wanted something cool during the day, but didn't want to make a whole float, I simply popped one of the cubes into my mouth; it was almost like a root beer slushy, but smaller, less caloric, better.

Here's a little science knowledge for you. Do you ever wonder what the exact reaction of root beer and ice cream is? No, oh well, here is the explanation for it anyway: The microscopic bubbles present in the ice cream act as "nucleation sites" which trigger the formation of large bubbles of carbon dioxide. Which is why root beer floats almost always bubble over the top of the glass.

There seem to be some imposters out there in the world of floats, trying to infringe on the market. They include Coke and Ice Cream which is referred to as a Black Cow; Gingerale and Ice Cream known as a Boston Float (having nothing to do with Boston, but some reference to a street in Detroit); Cream Soda and Ice Cream known as a Brown Cow. Hmm, I'll stick with good old fashion root beer.

Want to read some other ways to Beat the Heat? Head on over and visit Meeta at What's For Lunch Honey to get the complete Beat the Heat Roundup.