1. The first known printed reference to a “milkshake” dates back to 1885 and contains whiskey as one ingredient. For medicinal purposes only.

2. Milkshakes got their name from being served in bars. If the customer enjoyed the milkshake, he shook hands with the bartender. If not, the bartender didn’t get a tip.

3. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, in 2000 Ira Freehof (owner of Comfort Diners), (with a lot of help from Parmalot USA and The American Dairy Association), made the world’s largest milkshake. At 6,000 gallons it was the equivalent of 50,000 normal-sized shakes. Do you want fries with that?

4. Malted milk powder was invented in 1897 by James and William Horlick, but it was Ivar Coulson, a soda jerk for a Walgreen’s drug store, who first added it to milkshakes in 1922. This created the malked milkshake or just plain “malt.”

5. Steven Poplawski invented the electric blender in 1922 just for milkshakes. Before that, the effort of shaking them up must have required a lot of upper body motion. Do you think the Hooters restaurant chain could be persuaded to offer milkshakes made the old-fashioned way?

6. Ray Kroc did not start McDonald’s. He was a milkshake machine salesperson who called on the McDonald brothers. Impressed by how many milkshake machines they bought from him, he looked closely at their operation decided they’d invented an exciting way of making hamburgers — and the rest is fast food history.

7. Bostonians call milkshakes “frappes,” but this can also simply mean a glass of milk with syrup. In the United Kingdom, milkshakes are called “thick shakes.” In Latin America, the Spanish word is “batido.”

8. A surefire cure for hangovers is to drink a banana milkshake sweetened with honey. It helps soothe your stomach, plus it builds up depleted blood sugar levels and electrolytes such as magnesium and potassium. Use the 1885 milkshake formula and you’re also drinking the hair of the dog that bit you.

9. The Horlick brothers from Gloucestershire marketed their malked milk powder under the name, “Diastoid.” It was originally billed as a tonic and strengthening food for infants. British children are still fed this form of malted milkshake under the brand name of Horlicks.

10. Contrary to popular rumor, McDonald’s milkshakes do NOT contain “seaweed.” They DO contain carrageenan, which is derived from carrageen, a form of seaweed known as “Irish moss.” Carrageenan is a common food additive that controls crystal formation in frozen foods, and is found in many other processed foods.

11. It’d take 3,200,000 average-sized milkshakes to fill up an Olympic-sized pool. How fast Michael Phelps could swim in that?

12. In Rhode Island, the state drink is “coffee milk” — made like chocolate milk but with coffee instead. Add ice cream and in Rhode Island you have a coffee “cabinet.” It’s called that because the creator of this drink kept his blender in a kitchen cabinet.

13. In his novel CANNERY ROW John Steinbeck has a character described as so devoted to drinking that he’d down a beer milkshake. Someone on the Internet claims that adding McEwan’s Scotch Ale to a vanilla milkshake is delicious. Why not drink an old-fashioned milkshake with whiskey, then case it with a beer shake, for a boilermaker shake?

14. Milkshakes were a popular food of the extras dressed in ape costumes during filming of the original PLANET OF THE APES movie. Their masks didn’t allow them to eat a regular meal, but they place a straw in their mouths.

15. One milkshake = 240 grams of carbohydrates, 158 grams of sugar, and 1160 calories. Small wonder Johnny Depp drank lots of milkshakes to beef himself up for his part in the movie DONNIE BRASCO.

16. Contrary to popular urban legends, McDonald’s shakes have never contained ground-up styrofoam balls or cow eyeballs. The original formula (changed in the early 80s) did contain more fat and calories than currently available.

17. New York Mets manager Casey Stengel once said, “They say some of my stars drink whiskey, but I have found that ones who drink milkshakes don’t win many ball games.” They should have tried the 1885 recipe.

18. FACT: McDonald’s shakes have never contained whiskey or beer. Since McDonald’s in France do serve wine, perhaps they’d consider a wine shake. Does “le Big Mac” call for a rose or blanc shake?

19. Australians can still buy traditional milkshakes in “milk bars,” which are much like old-fashioned drugstores with counter service. They’re usually served still in the steel cup, but may be poured into a paper cup for carry out orders.

20. Again contrary to popular rumors, McDonald’s shakes DO contain milk. It’s listed as their primary ingredient, so if you’re lactose intolerant don’t believe anyone who says it’s safe for you to drink McDonald’s shakes.

21. Malt powder consists of malted barley, wheat flour and avaporated whole milk. Diastatic malt contains active enzymes is used by bakers to break starch down into sugar. The kind of malt added to milkshakes to make malted milkshakes has no active enzymes and is simply a (delicious!) flavoring.

22. Bestseller novelist Wally Lamb understand milkshakes as a form of love. His advice: “Accept what people offer. Drink their milkshakes. Take their love.”

23. When Grimace debuted as a character in McDonald’s commercials in 1971, he was far from the loveable right-hand man to Ronald McDonald. He was known as “The evil Grimace” and to prove it, he stole milkshakes! In one such early commercial, Ronald thwarts The evil Grimace with the help of a young, not-yet-a-movie-star actress named Jodie Foster.

24. At least one Vietnamese restaurant has created a durian flavored milkshake. Durians are a fruit grown in Southeast Asia famous for their delicious flavor — but notorious for their horrendous smell. So hold your nose while you drink.

25. September 12 is Chocolate Milkshake Day. Maybe if we write our congressional representatives we can get a Vanilla Milkshake Day declared.