John Fremont McCullough and his son Alex invented a softer and less dense ice cream, which they called soft serve, in 1938. (Though Tom Carvel says he is the original inventor, claiming he got the idea in 1934 when his ice cream truck got a flat tire and he had to sell his melting product).

The father-son duo convinced Sherb Noble (NOT the inventor of sherbet) to sell soft serve in his store, and after selling 1,600 servings in the first two hours, they decided to create a more permanent business relationship. The three of them opened the first Dairy Queen in 1940 in Joliet, Illinois. The building still stands today as an historical landmark.