Google's homepage doodles are getting a tad random, but delicious. Today's image honors the 119th birthday of the first documented ice cream sundae.
The pastel-colored image replaces the two Os in the Google logo with a cherry-topped ice cream sundae.
The history of the ice cream sundae has actually spawned quite the rivalry between two U.S. cities that claim to be its birthplace – Ithaca, N.Y. and Two Rivers, Wisconsin – and Google appears to be siding with Ithaca.
On April 3, 1892, the Rev. John M. Scott visited the Platt & Colt Pharmacy – and its owner Chester Platt – in Ithaca after services at the Unitarian Church. Platt served up two bowls of vanilla ice cream, but decided to jazz it up with cherry syrup and candied cherry, according to What's Cooking America. The duo were so pleased with the creation that Scott suggested it be named after the day it was created, and the "Cherry Sunday" was upon us.
By April 5, the pharmacy was advertising its 10-cent Cherry Sunday in the Ithaca Daily Journal, icecreamsundae.com reports.
The Wisconsin story, meanwhile, puts the creation of the sundae in 1881. Someone at Ed Berners' Ice Cream Parlor ordered an ice cream soda, but because it was the Sabbath and fizzy drinks were frowned upon, Berners instead put chocolate syrup on ice cream. It's a nice story, but according to What's Cooking America, Wisconsin birth records suggest that Berners would've only been 17 in 1881 and, therefore, unlikely to have owned an ice cream parlor, so the Ithaca story is more probable.
Those aren't the only cities who claim to have created the sundae, however. As icreamsundae.com notes, shops in Buffalo, Norfolk, and Plainfield, Ill., among others, have also laid claim.
Google has made headlines for its recent doodles, including an interactive undersea-themed drawing in honor of author Jules Verne's 183rd birthday and 17 holiday-themed doodles that were live for two days in December.
Recently, it was revealed that Google obtained a patent for its popular homepage doodles, covering "systems and methods for enticing users to access a Web site."
For more on Google's doodles, see the slideshow below.