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SALT LAKE CITY — Keeping up its annual tradition, 7-Eleven will be giving Slurpee lovers a free slushed ice drink Friday.
Between the hours of 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on July 11, participating 7-Eleven locations will give customers a free small Slurpee to celebrate 7-Eleven Day.
Across the world, almost 13 million Slurpees are sold each month, according to the convenience store chain. Each year, enough Slurpee drinks are sold to fill 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to Slurpee.com. When people reach for the slushy drink, many prefer Coca-Cola and Minute Maid Cherry.
For Utahns, a free drink may be exciting, but according to 7-Eleven, the city that consumes the most Slurpee beverages is Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The greater Detroit, Michigan area came second. Since its 1966 introduction, 6.5 billion Slurpees have been sold.
The Slurpee was created by a Kansas store owner whose soda fountain was broken, according to Slurpee.com. As an alternative, he began selling frozen, slushy soda in bottles. With the help of an industrial machinery manufacturer experimenting with the automobile air conditioner, he was able to serve up slushy soda all the time. Shortly after, 7-Eleven and the store owner worked together to name the drink and put it in convenience stores everywhere.