🎆 Don’t wear bomb-pop after July Fourth | Down the Shore

It’s essentially a social commandment: Thou shall not wear white after Labor Day.

Well, if that’s the first rule chiseled into the stone tablet, I have No. 2: Don’t wear bomb-pop after July 4.

Seriously. New rule: Put away the rocket-pop or bomb-pop or firecracker-themed attire after you’ve had your fill of hot dogs and sparklers and star-spangled alcohol containers.

And we get it. It’s a classic summer treat. The iconic ice pop was invented in 1950s in the Midwest, it’s enjoyed during the summer, it has several names people know it by, it’s a tasty mixture of cherry, lemon/lime, and blue raspberry, and it’s been fought over by major corporations. It’s America on a stick.

We get how the frozen treat became a thing. But how did rocket-shaped ice pops go from a poplar item in ice cream trucks and fudgy-wudgy carts to socially acceptable outerware?

In true American fashion, let’s blame soccer.

Ever since the 2014 U.S. World Cup team entered the world stage sporting a jersey with stacked blocks of red, white, and blue, to which they were lovingly dubbed the “bomb-pops,” it’s become a thing.

Ice cream manufacturer Wells Enterprises, which owns the “bomb-pop” trademark and produces the icy treat, said in an email that bomb-pop merchandise has increased over the last five years as it grown in popularity on social media.

There are T-shirts and dress shirts and towels and hats. A quick search on Etsy yields 2,521 results. Even Target sells bomb-pop-themed clothing for kids, as well as a pool float.

Look, I’m not the most fashionable person. I actually own a T-shirt festooned with bomb-pops. This is more about etiquette.

In the fashion world, wearing white after Labor Day is decried with a French word: faux pas. (And Philly should know, as it was designated recently by a Michelin guide as the Frenchest American city.)

And where the rule came from has been disputed. Some say it’s a classist creation of generationally wealthy snobs, enforcing an arbitrary dress code as a social device to help separate themselves from the new-money crowds at the turn of the 20th century.

Others just consider it tradition, as Labor Day, designated a holiday in 1894, was designed as the unofficial end of summer. White clothes were worn by vacationers and typically restricted to summery wardrobes.

But style is as much about self-expression as it is about balance.

The Founding Fathers appreciate your desire to honor their sacrifice by draping yourself in patriotic ice pop attire..

Between Memorial Day and July Fourth, go ahead and rock those rockets.

Simultaneously celebrate your love of country and frozen treats.

Just don’t overindulge.

📮 Let me know what you think about this bomb-pop chic trend, and I’ll include your most interesting responses in my follow-up story. Reply to this email, or find me on Twitter.

🍽️ Taste Philly with Craig LaBan: Craig LaBan, The Inquirer’s intrepid restaurant critic, is launching a newsletter. Join Craig and hear from chefs, home cooks, and vendors as they dive into the history and culture behind Philly’s global flavors. He’ll take readers to a different country or region once a week for six weeks. Sign up here. You won’t regret it.

🩴 And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out our 2023 Shore Guide. Get your summer on with all the best things to do, see, and eat down the Shore.

⛅ Forecast looks cloudy for this weekend, with a chance for rain. If it does, don’t let a little precipitation ruin your weekend. After all, a rainy day on vacation still beats an ordinary day at home. So here’s a list of the best things to do on a rainy day at the Shore to help make the most of it.

— Tommy Rowan (🐦 Tweet me at @tommyrowan. 📧 Email me at downtheshore@inquirer.com)

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🛝 A.C. waterpark finally opened: After a scrapped grand opening due to issues with state permits, the Island Waterpark, developer Bart Blatstein’s $100 million hoped-for game changer for Atlantic City, opened Tuesday.

🏖️Beach signs: Sunbathers in North Wildwood were greeted at every beach entrance on July Fourth with unusual red, white, and blue signs, which singled out Gov. Phil Murphy and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette for what the town says is their failure to act on dune erosion.

🚗 Parking ticket surge: In May, Stone Harbor replaced its parking-payment kiosks with a new mobile-app payment system, and it resulted in quite the uptick in tickets. According to NJ.com, a 1,600% increase. The town issued 564 tickets, up from 33 tickets issued in May 2022.

🙏 Darren Drozdov dies at 54: The former South Jersey football star, who played in the NFL and wrestled in the WWE before an in-ring accident in 1999 left him paralyzed, died last week at his home in Mays Landing, N.J.

🎶 Summertime playlist: Inquirer music critic Dan DeLuca’s 25-song summer playlist, which is front-loaded with big names and has many Philly acts interwoven along the way, is beach-ready. Queue it up.

🦅 Soaring Eagles: This week, it’s a former Eagles offensive lineman who is helping to raise money for a good cause in Sea Isle City. Jon Runyan will be in town to help host the second annual “Give a Shuck to End Alzheimers” event Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at the Ludlam Bar and Grill. Last week, it was current Eagles lineman Jason Kelce helping to raise more than $100K in Sea Isle for the Eagles Autism Foundation.

🎹 Free A.C. concerts: Atlantic City is offering several free concert options this summer, including weekly shows at Kennedy Plaza, and the Gardner’s Basin Concert Series on July 29.

🍺 Packing the cooler: Gathering vacation supplies? Be sure to consult my colleague Henry Savage’s list of the top summery offerings from Philly’s local breweries, which are making the beers, seltzers, and hard juices for every summer occasion.

🥬 Healthy eating: Green Street Market in Rio Grande, an organic health food store started by two sisters 20 years ago, offers a fresh, organic, and non-GMO menu, according to Kathy Novak, a retired nurse who works at the market part-time.

Walking taco (noun): A snack-sized bag of Fritos that’s crushed into pieces, garnished with seasoned ground beef, shredded cheddar cheese, and homemade pico de gallo, and eaten with a plastic spoon while walking to the beach; served most notably at a hot dog stand in Sea Isle City.

Let’s head toward 38th Street so we can grab walking tacos going back and forth from the beach.

About last week. Technically, Freddy B. was first, but he misspelled the original name of the bar that Jerry Blavat rechristened as Memories. The pre-Geator club was called the Elbo Room. Freddy added an errant “w.” So we’ll also recognize Patricia Sofia, who was the first to spell it correctly. 💪

❓This week’s question: Which beloved movie star, whose blockbuster career has included iconic roles in classic films, once peddled gag gifts at a tiny magic-and-novelty store called the Fun Shop, described by former Inquirer sports columnist Frank Fitzpatrick as “perhaps the wackiest and tackiest store in Wildwood boardwalk history.”

A. Danny DeVito

B. Kirsten Dunst

C. Bruce Willis

D. Zoe Saldaña

🗳️ If you think you know the answer, email us — first one gets a shout-out.

↪️ And if you think you have a Shore trivia question that will stump our readers, we’ll take that too — best submissions get a shout-out and an emoji. 🙌

So often, when thinking back on my most treasured Shore memories, I end up with a haphazard montage: the first drop of a roller coaster ride, the out-of-the-oven slice of boardwalk pizza, the perfect wedge-shaped shell pulled from the Atlantic’s murky brine.

It’s what stood out in Gail Pontuto’s submission:

The best times of my life were at the Shore in Ocean City, N.J. We spent the entire summer at 36th and Asbury. I was 4 years old when my grandfather bought a condemned shack complete with an outhouse and no running water, and electricity only in the tiny kitchen. My dad and grandfather completely renovated the home. No phone, no car, no neighbors, but a gorgeous, huge beach only three blocks away! I spent my summers there for 16 years. My teenage years, and my young adult years. Where to begin! I’ll just name places and my Down The Shore hot spots: the Music Pier, Shrivers Pavilion at Ninth Street boardwalk, Johnson’s Popcorn, walking on the boardwalk barefoot until the cops threw us off! Who could forget dancing at the Ocean City Convention Center with our own Jerry Blavat — “The Geator with the Heater,” himself. I next saw “The Geeter” at the Atlantic City Convention Center in 1964 at the Beatles concert! Closer to home we hung out at the 34th Street playground. We kids saw movies with popcorn and mosquitoes there weekly. We hung out at Preps Pizza parlor. I worked at a beach food, snack bar, and beach equipment small store. I met my first love there (Ulmer’s snack bar). There is more and more. I live in Florida now but I honor my Philly roots (my birthplace) and Springfield DELCO where I lived. But my real home will ALWAYS BE Ocean City where my heart is.❤️

📮 Send us your favorite Shore memory or moment for a chance to be featured here. Or tweet it to me or Amy.

Well, I’m spent. And Amy’s back next week, so I’ll see ya when I see ya. ✌️

— Tommy