Chewing ice has long been considered an example of poor manners, perhaps second only to sucking futilely at those last few drops at the bottom of your cup.

Biting down on hard ice cubes can be both a noisy and a potentially painful experience. Maybe some people still think chewing ice is rude, but the invention of airy little ice nuggets has made the practice both irresistible—and useful at times.

Scotsman Ice Systems invented the first nugget ice maker in 1981. Sonic popularized the shape by plopping this ice into its soft drinks, and people loved it so much that they would purchase bags of ice from the drive-through restaurant to take home. Today, nugget ice is common in many restaurants, not just in fast-food joints.

The tiny, cylindrical nuggets have also long been the best ice

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