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We believe in giving credit where credit is due (especially when it involves something as tasty as the ice cream cone). Unfortunately, like a double scoop left out in the sun, the answer's a bit messy. Most sites credit the St. Louis 1904 World's Fair as the birthplace of the ice cream cone. According to legend, an ice cream vendor named Arnold Fornachou ran out of paper plates. Luckily, a pastry maker by the name of Ernest E. Hamwi was in the next booth. Hamwi gave Fornachou a zalabia (similar to a waffle) rolled up into a cone, and
voilà -- one of the world's most beloved treats was created. But is that really how it went down? This site on the history of ice cream argues that the cone's inventor was actually a chap named Italo Marciony. In 1896, "he began baking edible waffle cups with sloping sides and a flat bottom." Marciony actually filed for a patent and was granted one on December 15, 1903. The lack of certainty doesn't surprise us. From the telephone to the car to the ice cream cone, most great inventions come with a side of controversy.
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