In this Hands on History video with Ron Hazelton, learn that for almost two centuries, Americans have been indulging in ice cream. In fact, the United States produces over 1.6 billion gallons of ice cream every year; that's about 22 quarts per person! In this video, discover that ice cream wasn't always enjoyed by over 90% of the population, but was instead only afforded by a very select group. For example, during the summer of 1790, George Washington spent nearly $100,000 in today's money on ice cream in a New York parlor. Also, the legendary Thomas Jefferson had hand written a recipe for vanilla ice cream. Though the Founding Fathers enjoyed the treat, ice cream's history belongs to New Jersey housewife Nancy Johnson who liked to make the dessert with her family. Johnson invented the hand cranked ice cream churn and with its production, ice cream became affordable to people across the country. After that, local towns began opening up their own ice cream parlors backed by local dairies. Then in 1928, Dreyer's, a company who produced ice cream on a larger scale, opened their first parlor. Today, Dreyer's is one of the leading ice cream manufacturers in the world, producing over 100 flavors in their 5 factories.