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Lifestyle

9 Things You Didn’t Know About Ben & Jerry’s

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at Texas chapter.

1. Ben supports the idea of a weed-infused flavor (where it is legal.)

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Photo by Amanda Shulman

In an interview with HuffPost Live, Ben admitted that cannabis-infused ice cream makes sense to him. “Combine your pleasures,” he said.

2. They lobbied for same-sex marriage in Vermont.

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Photo courtesy of benjerry.com

They even changed the name of their flavor “Chubby Hubby” to “Hubby Hubby” for a day.

3. They made a 90-pound baked Alaska dessert to protest oil drilling in the Alaska.

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Photo courtesy of National Geographic

Under the mantra “Don’t bake Alaska,” Ben & Jerry’s served the dessert on the U.S. Capitol lawn back in 2005 after the House of Representatives passed a bill that allowed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

4. They filed a lawsuit against Haagen-Dazs after they tried to limit distribution of Ben & Jerry’s products.

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Photo courtesy of brandsforbreakfast.com

The lawsuit was filed against Pillsbury, the parent company of Haagen-Dazs, in 1984, spawning the famous “What’s the Doughboy Afraid Of?” campaign.

5. If you’re famous enough, they might turn your name into a pun and create a flavor for you.

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Photo courtesy of benjerry.com

The list of celebrities with their own flavors include: Willie Nelson, Elton John, Ron Burgandy, Dave Matthews Band, the cast of Monty Python, Jimmy Fallon, Phish, a character Alec Baldwin plays on SNL, Stephen Colbert, President Obama, Jerry Garcia, Olympic snowboarder Hannah Teter, John Lennon and Napoleon Dynamite

6. They have a graveyard for flavors that have been discontinued.

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Photo courtesy of NPR

It’s called the Flavor Graveyard, and it is full of tombstones for the “dearly de-pinted.”

7. They care about the environment.

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Photo courtesy of businesswire.com

On April 1, Ben & Jerry’s kicked off their “Save Our Swirled” tour. The tour intends to raise awareness for the effects of carbon pollution and solutions for clean energy.

8. They have a machine in the Netherlands that turns ice cream bi-products into energy.

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Photo courtesy of benjerry.com

The machine, called the Chunkinator, contains billions of microorganisms that transform the waste into biogas, which then powers the factory.

9. Employees get 3 pints of ice cream free per day.

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Photo by Becky Hughes

Yes, you read that right. PER DAY.

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