Milkshakes are such an American icon that the U.S. has a few milkshake-related national holidays, and the common kitchen blender was invented to bring milkshakes into the home. As with any old-fashioned food, milkshakes haven't always been made the same way, and were virtually unrecognizable when they first debuted.

The name "milkshake" was first used to describe a category of drinks in 1885, and these early shakes were boozy adult drinks, not family-friendly treats. Restaurants prepared the milky beverages by shaking eggs, cream, and whiskey in a jar, and beyond lacking milk and flavorings, early shakes didn't even have ice cream.

Milkshakes became more child-friendly at the start of the 20th century, when soda jerks began mixing crushed ice, milk, sugar, flavored syrup, and malt for shakes. It wasn't until 1922 that Walgreens employee Ivar Coulson added vanilla ice cream to the recipe, creating the ice cream-based frappes that most of us call milkshakes.