Icestix

The plastic Elsie Stix—known as "Icestix" in many other parts of the world—were originally invented in 1967 by an Israeli artist, also as a construction kit. When Borden marketing director Lyle Smith saw them, however, he thought immediately of using them for the company's ice cream bars, and bought the licensing rights. Following a testing period, Borden began using Elsie Stix in their ice cream, making them at a rate of 500 million a year