Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Ice Cream Flag

We want ice cream.
  (+4, -1)
(+4, -1)
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against]

This is inspired by the very sad face of a child that I just watched fail to flag down the ice cream truck that had already driven past her house.

Installed on a pole or as an adjunct to a mail box or upon some other means of support would be a flag similar to that on a mail box. This flag might look like an ice cream cone or other suitable symbol and would serve the purpose of notifying the ice cream truck to "stop here, we want ice cream".

For those who don't realize that they want ice cream until they hear the truck, the flag would be remotely "pop-uppable" via a button inside the house.

half, Feb 18 2003

Where's the ice cream truck? http://www.halfbake...icecreamtruck_2ecom
(snarfyguy's reference) [half, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

[link]






       maybe you could install automatic bollards in the street to force the van to stop for you. or some sort of grappling device to hook it back in. or you could just go outside and get your damn ice cream.
sambwiches, Feb 18 2003
  

       That's funny, I don't remember saying that anyone was going to bring the ice cream inside. Maybe I should go back and read the idea again.
half, Feb 18 2003
  

       i mean to wait like a normal person would. either way is good. it's actually not a bad idea. you can have a freshly baked croissant to show that i'm kidding.
sambwiches, Feb 18 2003
  

       I guess you could generalize this to a system of signals for all sorts of merchants and canvassers -- knives ("sharpening service needed"), clipboards ("keen on surveys"), crosses ("why yes, we would like to hear the good news about Jesus"), plain white ("plague house, dead cart stop please"), and so on.
Monkfish, Feb 18 2003
  

       Somewhere on here is an idea for a website that shows you where the ice cream truck is.
snarfyguy, Feb 18 2003
  

       How about a sign that says, "stop here, we want ice cream"?
waugsqueke, Feb 18 2003
  

       Anything to stop those annoying ear-splitting electronic renditions of "The Entertainer" eminating from the trucks. Here they come around the block! Again! (+)
Cedar Park, Feb 18 2003
  

       //like a normal person would//
[sambwiches]: are you trying to say that I'm not normal? I am completely normal, just ask anyone here that knows me.
half, Feb 18 2003
  

       i can't trust the opinion of anyone on the site. they're not normal. catch-22, big guy. don't worry, i'm weird too.
sambwiches, Feb 18 2003
  

       I'm not worried, I was just messin' with ya. :-)
half, Feb 18 2003
  

       (+) especially for the image induced by misreading //just go outside and get your damn ice cream sambwiches //
reap, Feb 18 2003
  

       I’ve seen that “sad face” a few times. (+)   

       Hehe, reap, I read that the same.
Shz, Feb 19 2003
  

       lol i missed that.
sambwiches, Feb 19 2003
  

       [waugs]: WAY too obvious and simple.
half, Feb 19 2003
  

       In most cities you can order pizza delivery from a nearby location by phoning one central number, so why not use the same idea for ice cream? Put a system in each ice cream truck that shows which household(s) on its current route are in need of a frozen treat. Just call 1-888-I-SCREAM (get it?) and your phone number on their call display brings up your address and alerts the driver to stop or go around the block again.   

       Or, for a simpler, less technologically dependant solution, just keep a flare gun in your house and when you need ice cream you step outside and fire off a flare. Let's say white means you need ice cream, blue means you need a popsicle, green means you don't know what you need but you have cash, and red means you are sinking (that'll drive the Coast Guard crazy!)
Canuck, Feb 19 2003
  

       Why, back in my day - we didn't have money for fancy-schmancy ice cream, no sirree-bob, no-way, no-how. But there was a penguin in our neighborhood who could drive - now, the story I was told, as I recall...
((((((((((flashback)))))))))))
A vacationing penguin is driving through Arizona when he notices the oil-pressure light is on. He gets out to look and sees oil dripping out of the motor. He drives to the nearest town and stops at the first gas station. After dropping the car off, the penguin decides to take a walk around town.
He sees an ice cream shop and, being a penguin in Arizona, decides that something cold would really hit the spot. He gets a big cone with a double-scoop of vanilla ice cream and sits down to eat, but having no hands he is forced to make a real mess trying to eat with his little flippers.
After finishing his ice cream, he goes to the gas station and asks the mechanic if he's found the problem. The mechanic looks up and says, "It looks like you blew a seal."
"No, no, it's just ice cream, I swear!"
)))))))))))flashback((((((((((
thumbwax, Feb 19 2003
  

       Canuck, what color do you use to indicate the election of a pope?   

       half, I fear your idea would be too easy for terrorists to use as a means of ambush.
beauxeault, Feb 19 2003
  

       i once almost broke my face while chasing the ice cream man on my bicycle as a young boy. i hit a pothole and flew over the handlebars... fortunately i landed mostly on the grass at the side of the road.   

       to this day, i shudder and curl into the fetal position when i hear those chimes.... (jk)
SquidInk, Feb 19 2003
  

       A man hearing some unsettling noises originating from his snowmobile engine pulls into a station. The mechanic takes a look at the snowmobile and says, “Looks like you’ve blown a seal”. The man says, “No that’s just frost on my moustache”.   

       That’s how it was //back in my day//.
Shz, Feb 19 2003
  

       Saw a thing on TV at the weekend about the history of ice cream in the UK. Walls, one of the largest purveyors and coiner of the phrase 'Stop me and buy one' gave out cards with large blue W's on that you put in your window to tell the passing ice cream man that you were in need of an ice cream. He'd stop and come to your door.
oneoffdave, Feb 19 2003
  

       Ok, I gave this a croissant but the process better be good. There is no way Ice Cream Truck is going to turn around for you unless it is a slow day … get your buzzers ready! Remember when the Fonz was driving the Ice Cream Truck on Happy Days? His complaint was as soon as he got the truck up to 50 mph there was some kid waving a dime.
crabbie, Feb 19 2003
  

       Thanks for clearing up an old Bee Gees lyric, [oneoffdave]!
snarfyguy, Feb 19 2003
  

       How about a device that keeps large quantities of ice cream frozen in your house so you don't have to rely on the over-priced truck guy with the bad music? Some sort of freeze-box that sits, say, on the top of your fridge?
lintkeeper2, Feb 19 2003
  

       Great idea. That's what we do at my house. Having no children myself, and having grown up in a poor rural area without such luxuries, I have never purchased anything from an ice cream truck and wouldn't like paying their prices.   

       The pitiful look on that cute little girl's face made me uncharacteristically compassionate. What can I say, I had a weak moment.
half, Feb 19 2003
  

       //This is inspired by the very sad face of a child that I just watched fail to flag down the ice cream truck that had already driven past her house.//   

       Truck's gone - too late for a flag. Traffic Harpoon anyone/   

       //blew a seal//   

       Thumbwax ..... hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhha aha aha.   

       I'm still laughing. Top joke of all time. <chuckle>
FloridaManatee, Feb 20 2003
  

       I propose tire spike strips.
bristolz, Feb 20 2003
  

       Aaaahhh, poor little girl. Sorry, but she should have been paying attention. In our house we have a three year old ice cream truck early warning system. She can hear it coming from three streets away. Very handy until the stupid guy turned up one day in a two year old ice cream truck.
egbert, Feb 20 2003
  

       why the hell was the fonz driving an ice cream truck?
benfrost, Sep 16 2005
  
      
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