It’s the ice cream truck jingle. Even Mike’s hated Mr. Softee one. Mike provides the secret origin of the jingle, touching on the Great Depression, the growth of the American middle class, the Good Humor Man, refrigeration, and bobsled bells.

-- Sources --

Ice Cream: A Global History by Laura B. Weiss
http://www.amazon.com/Ice-Cream-Global-History-Reaktion/dp/1861897928

Ding, Ding!: The Commodity Aesthetic of Ice Cream Truck Music by Daniel T Neely
http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199913657.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199913657-e-005

The real song of the summer: a brief history of ice cream truck music
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/blogs/2013/7/The-real-song-of-the-summer-a-brief-history-of-ice-cream-truck-music

A Brief History of the Ice Cream Truck
http://mentalfloss.com/article/52281/brief-history-ice-cream-truck

Nichols Electronics Co
http://www.nicholselectronicsco.com/

Putting the ‘Mr.’ in Soft Ice Cream
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/nyregion/putting-the-mr-in-soft-ice-cream.html

Racist History of “Turkey in the Straw”:

Recall That Ice Cream Truck Song? We Have Unpleasant News For You
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/05/11/310708342/recall-that-ice-cream-truck-song-we-have-unpleasant-news-for-you

That Viral Story About the Racist Ice Cream Song Is Wrong
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117792/racist-ice-cream-song-story-nprcom-wrong

-- A previous version of this episode contained the following music --
Intro: Ice Cream Man by Tom Waits from Closing Time
Break #1: Shut Up And Drive (Far Away) by the Deftons from Around the Fur
Break #2: Star Spangled Banner, Rock Version