It's always nice to see a good old fashion ice cream truck coming through your neighborhood on a hot summers day. With bright pictures of ice cream stuck all over the circus style colorful ice cream truck, it's always an exciting sight for youngsters and seniors alike. The ice cream truck's music plays merrily as the it rolls slowly along the curb to attract hungry kids of all ages. You can hear the excitement as the children get their dimes and quarters and dollars all ready in anticipation of buying and enjoying those fantastic ice cream treats.

As delicious as all of those ice cream sandwiches and Popsicles are, how in the world do they keep all of those great tasting treats frozen? The answer is an amazing substance called dry ice. Dry ice isn't like the ice you get when you freeze water. Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and can get warm and thaw quickly on a hot summers day. Dry ice however is made of compressed carbon dioxide gas and the freezing temperature of dry ice is a very very cold -109 degrees Fahrenheit.

As dry ice thaws and melts it turns into a vapor instead of a watery mess like regular ice does. This keeps the ice cream storage area and freezer chest cold and free from moisture. Dry ice allows the ice cream truck to stay out for long hours without concern of their precious ice cream melting. Dry ice is also used to keep frozen perishables cold and fresh during transit. Frozen meats, fish, vegetables, fruits and candies can be delivered across the country without fear of thawing or melting.

Because dry ice has such a cold freezing point at -109 degrees Fahrenheit, caution always should be taken when handling it. Protective gloves must be always worn to protect the skin from freezing as you can get a frost bite like burn upon contact. Dry ice is manufactured in blocks and can be quite heavy to lift so great care should be taking whenever you have to lift it out of it's container.