ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, August 18, 1996                TAG: 9608190079
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-7  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: DALLAS
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUT ONE ON ICE: SLURPEE'S TURNING 30

Brain freeze! Slurpee turns 30 this year.

That's right, the slush-and-syrup concoction with the onomatopoeic name has been around longer than moon walks, ``The Brady Bunch'' and Lisa Marie Presley.

Dallas-based 7-Eleven, the convenience-store giant that perfected the frozen-foam formula, has collected some scary Slurpee facts to highlight the drink's status as a still-cool libation. Slurp these:

Color is as important as taste to Slurpers under 20.

Coca-Cola Classic is the favorite flavor, followed by Wild Cherry and any blue variety. (The choices include Blueberry, Blue Raspberry, Blue Bubblegum and Blue Blunder.)

Prime Slurpee Time - when most are purchased - is from 4 to 11p.m.

Slurpee central is Detroit, the city with the highest per capita consumption.

Requisite astronomic analogy: Enough Slurpees have been sold - 5 billion - to circle the Earth eight times.

7-Eleven says the frosty treat started out as a small-town Oklahoman's attempt to increase business at his ice-cream store. The man, whose name is lost to history, invented a machine that dispensed a slush of sugar syrup, carbon dioxide and water.

Two Dallas engineers perfected the concept with the help of an old car air-conditioning system, the story goes. By the end of 1966, every 7-Eleven had a Slurpee machine.

Today's Slurpee is available in a rainbow of hues, in more than 15,000 7-Elevens in 13 countries.

Slurpee even comes in seasonal flavors, like ``Slime Lime'' and ``Orange Ooze'' around Halloween, said 7-Eleven spokeswoman Pat Pape.

Of course, the average Slurper cares little for such esoterica.

``I hardly ever get Slurpees. I had a craving,'' explained 26-year-old Michelle Pena, a student in suburban Dallas. But her technique gave her away, as she expertly swirled first cherry, then Coke, then cherry-flavored Slurpee into her large cup.

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