QUARTZ – An electrical engineer, Bob Nichols, Inspired by Scott Joplin’s iconic 1902 ragtime song, “The Entertainer”, thoughts it’s perfect to add the song to ice cream trucks as the jingle. He founded his company Nichols Electronics in 1957, which supplied music boxes to ice cream trucks, and controlled up to 97% of the ice cream trucks market in the US, making “The Entertainer” synonymous with them.
In the 1960s, Nichols improved the design of music boxes, significantly reducing costs. Though the demand for music boxes has decreased with fewer ice cream trucks on the road, Nichols Electronics continues to produce 300-400 boxes annually, maintaining a small, family-run operation.
By Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik | JUL 9, 2024
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