Among the many desserts that are truly American, the most beloved is the milkshake, a 100-year-old staple from the drive-in to the kitchen counter.

A milkshake is a cold dairy dessert that comes in many flavors, but the two main flavors – vanilla and chocolate, yin and yang, Star Wars and Star Trek – have been locked in a battle for supremacy since the first mainstream milkshake came to be. On this legendary day in 1922, Ivar “Pop” Coulson added ice cream to the classic “malted milk” of milk and malt powder; chocolate was already included.

Milkshakes have evolved since their inception a hundred years ago. Today, the most expensive milkshake in the world costs around $100 and Guinness World Records has the world’s largest milkshake, made by The Comfort Diners, clocked in at 6,000 gallons.

Earlier this month, Sept. 12th marked an important day for milkshake enthusiasts. Their most revered holiday, National Chocolate Milkshake Day, dates back to 1990 when The Hershey Company, famous for its chocolate products, created the day to celebrate the dessert and popularize their products.

Some students around Emmaus High School have different opinions on the beloved dairy dessert. Some, like freshman M.J., like a homemade chocolate milkshake with a good consistency. Others like Haley, a freshman, would rather drink a vanilla shake with a good texture. Senior Jacob Klinedinst drinks around one chocolate milkshake a month, scavenging for a quality shake with a good taste.

Luckily for some people, you can drink any milkshake you want on National Chocolate Milkshake Day. For business teacher Jayne Espenshade, there is only one acceptable option. 

“There is one milkshake that I make certain I have once a year. That is the Shamrock Shake,” saidd Espenshade. “I don’t drink milkshakes. I don’t drink protein shakes. I don’t even drink alcohol. That is my milkshake.”

Sometimes she shakes up her ice cream preferences, too. 

 “I used to take Girl Scout Thin Mints, crush them up and that’s bussin’. Before they had the shakes and mix-ins, I was the O.G.” She drinks her Shamrock Shake in many different ways, but she is adamant on not drinking the chocolate milkshake.

When asked whether the chocolate shake deserves its own national day, she said, “No. Shamrock does have its special holiday with McDonald’s. It’s a novelty.” 

 Klinedinst agrees with this sentiment, but regardless of whether or not the dessert deserves its own national day, he thinks people should still enjoy the drink. In Espenshade’s opinion, “Who the hell cares?”

  National Chocolate Milkshake Day means the world to some and nothing to others. At the end of the day, this creamy cold dessert is perfect in its varying simplicity and that’s all that really matters.