Is it hot enough for you?

All participating 7-Eleven Stores will offer free 7.11-ounce Slurpees all day Sunday, July 11.

According to a press release, the frozen, carbonated beverage was first invented in 1959 by a Kansas hamburger stand owner. Using an automobile air conditioner, he created a sophisticated piece of equipment that would freeze a carbonated soft drink and serve it in a sherbet-like form that could be sipped through a straw.

7-Eleven® began selling Slurpee drinks, then called Icee, in its stores in 1965, and is the only place to buy a Slurpee drink.

To get that uniquely Slurpee® beverage consistency, each Slurpee machine has a compact refrigeration system that mixes syrup, carbon dioxide and water under pressure in a freezing chamber.

Slurpee drinks are served fountain-style at a frosty 28 degrees.

The Slurpee name was created in May 1967 during a brainstorming session of the Stanford Agency, 7-Eleven stores’ in-house agency. While drinking the product through a straw, agency director Bob Stanford commented that it made a “slurp” sound coming through the straw.

To capitalize on the popularity of the Slurpee beverage, 7-Eleven began introducing Slurpee collectors’ cups in 1972. Through the years, special Slurpee cups have featured monsters, rock ‘n’ roll stars and endangered species. 7-Eleven also offered surprise Slurpee cups with false bottoms, free prizes and peel-off game pieces.

Cola and Cherry continue to be Slurpee-lovers’ favorite flavors. Other top-selling Slurpee flavors are blue raspberry, Crystal Light Raspberry Ice and Mountain Dew.

7-Eleven coined the word BrainFreeze® in 1994 to communicate the somewhat painful joy drinking a Slurpee drink brings.

For more information, join Slurpee on Facebook at http://bit.ly/dxYHE7