People suggest 13,000 flavors to Ben & Jerry's every year

My personal suggestion to Ben & Jerry's for a new flavor would probably have strawberry ice cream with cheesecake swirls and granola and graham crackers and Cap N Crunch or something and I'm sure it would sell moderately well because people are sheep and will likely buy anything with a fancy label if they're high enough at a Wawa at 3:28 a.m. on a Saturday.

And I'm not alone in the thought. According to an informative little piece over at Mental Floss, the folks at Ben & Jerry's receive more than 13,000 flavor suggestions every year. Which means that they either fester in an email inbox that no one checks or that Ben & Jerry's pays someone to read all of the flavor suggestions. If the latter is true, I'd love to get to spend an afternoon reading the greatest troll entries that person has had to suffer through.

Anyway, Mental Floss' piece is interesting and might arm you with some ice cream knowledge just in time for the weather to turn. Or, at the very least, it will promptly inspire you to crave Americone Dream this evening. You're welcome.

6. BEN & JERRY'S RECEIVES ABOUT 13,000 FLAVOR SUGGESTIONS A YEAR FROM CUSTOMERS

Each R&D team member is given a month's worth of feedback to review for new ideas or recurring themes. Some of the company's most iconic flavors were born from these, including Cherry Garcia, which was suggested by two Deadheads from Portland, Maine. (In December 2013, after spending more than a decade at the top of the customer favorite list, the 27-year-old flavor was dethroned by Half Baked, which, surprisingly, was not suggested by Deadheads.)

Some are created exclusively for a single retailer. One of Schimoler's favorites, Nutty Caramel Swirl, which she developed to taste like a Snickers bar, is only available at 7-Eleven. The very first flavor she worked on, Berry Voluntary, was made for Target. Walgreens sells a Truffle Trifecta, and Walmart hawks Cotton Candy. [Mental Floss]