Hoot Hoot Hut

I was out with a girlfriend yesterday when she said "Let's get some ice cream." I'm not an ice cream fan - not a fan of cold foods in general - but I was willing to check out the scoops. The sight of "cake batter", and "chocolate chip cookie dough" left me queasy; I can't help imagining raw egg. The "extreme red licorice" looked more suited as silly putty. When I said "The vanilla doesn't look bad," she shrugged and moved on. Maybe I needed more ambiance. Maybe I needed a Hoot Hoot I Scream hut:

"Attention-getting structures like Los Angeles's Hoot Hoot ice-cream stand—with a head that spun like a real owl's and eyes that glowed at night—appeared along roadsides all over America in the 1920s. As automobiles became more popular, the shape of these buildings conveyed the nature of their merchandise to customers zooming by.

Exactly why the Hoot Hoot's owner used a giant bird to help sell ice cream has been lost to history."

- National Geographic, February, 2005