--- title: The New Ice Cream Challenge Is the Best Dessert Comedy description: After people were caught licking ice cream in stores, social media users are rebelling with a new (and sanitary) ice cream challenge. canonical: https://time.com/5623462/ice-cream-challenge-videos/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-07-10T15:04:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:59:26.605Z og:title: People Mocking the 'Ice Cream Challenge' Is the Best Dessert-Based Comedy You'll See All Day og:description: Purchased, sanitary ice cream og:url: https://time.com/5623462/ice-cream-challenge-videos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c6ec4572f4dae5a/6989ffc8457a526235d627a7/ice-cream-challenge-new.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2122 og:image:height: 1194 og:image:alt: The New Ice Cream Challenge Will Give You Faith in Humanity og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Mocking the 'Ice Cream Challenge' Is the Best Dessert-Based Comedy You'll See All Day twitter:description: Purchased, sanitary ice cream twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c6ec4572f4dae5a/6989ffc8457a526235d627a7/ice-cream-challenge-new.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Mocking the 'Ice Cream Challenge' Is the Best Dessert-Based Comedy You'll See All Day > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=06f1d9b8-d76c-47b9-bc5a-f06cc1c61136&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Jul 10, 2019 3:04 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Jul 10, 2019 3:04 PM UTC The latest [social media](https://time.com/5619750/ice-cream-truck-viral/) [ice cream challenge](https://time.com/5623015/fish-kid-meme/) is one that is actually quite sanitary. After multiple [people were filmed licking ice cream](https://time.com/5619662/blue-bell-ice-cream-licking-video/) in a grocery store before putting the container back in the freezer resulting in the [arrest of one Louisiana man](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/us/ice-cream-licker-jail.html) — social media users are making light of it with a new “challenge.” Rather than licking the [ice cream](https://time.com/5592623/keanu-reeves-ice-cream/) in the store, leaving unassuming shoppers to scoop it up, people are sharing videos of themselves actually purchase the product, going home, grab a spoon and enjoy the delicious dessert. > [](https://twitter.com/suarezjoaquinn/status/1147000883240005632) > [](https://twitter.com/salice%5Froseee/status/1147943206086033408) “The new #icecreamchallenge,” one user wrote, before placing his ice cream of choice into the cart where it belongs. > [](https://twitter.com/lil%5Fvape/status/1147931341226434562) The [original June 29 viral video](https://twitter.com/BlindDensetsu/status/1144954255318671366?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1144954255318671366&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F5619662%2Fblue-bell-ice-cream-licking-video%2F) that made headlines featured Blue Bell ice cream. Blue Bell told TIME in a statement that [the incident occurred at a Walmart in Lufkin, Texas](https://time.com/5619662/blue-bell-ice-cream-licking-video/). The ice cream licker was identified as a teenage girl from San Antonio, the [Lufkin Police Department said in a Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/lufkinpoliceandfire/photos/a.1031206156891097/2568746619803702/?type=3&theater). Some people on Twitter have been reaching out to the brand [in support of plastic covers](https://twitter.com/ILoveBlueBell/status/1148345005674811392) on ice cream. Others are taking the precautionary measures into their own hands, slicing away the tops of Blue Bell containers before indulging. > [](https://twitter.com/WildPeacheZ/status/1147176709818650625) ## The new ice cream challenge Blue Bell can rest easy knowing that there’s still some good in the world after all — many, actually, who just want to buy their ice cream and eat it too. Here are some more good Samaritans — or, just everyday normal ice-cream-purchasing people — showing how the “ice cream challenge” should be done. > [](https://twitter.com/KipperQuillen/status/1147311038326616064) > [](https://twitter.com/TheCamCamera/status/1147302661471051777) > [](https://twitter.com/Pearce27/status/1148436309540855809) > [](https://twitter.com/Acoustic%5Fpatrol/status/1147250541237547010) > [](https://twitter.com/sergiiovanni%5F/status/1148026273110736901) > [](https://twitter.com/Riah%5FSantana/status/1148764275437178887) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5623462/ice-cream-challenge-videos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5623462/ice-cream-challenge-videos/"},"headline":"People Mocking the 'Ice Cream Challenge' Is the Best Dessert-Based Comedy You'll See All Day","datePublished":"2019-07-10T15:04:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:59:26.605Z","description":"Join in on the trend and you'll end up with legally-bought, sanitary ice cream","url":"https://time.com/5623462/ice-cream-challenge-videos/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c6ec4572f4dae5a/6989ffc8457a526235d627a7/ice-cream-challenge-new.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. 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