--- 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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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. 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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