When proto-Russians met a bear, a dessert was born
January 15, 2015 12:24 PM   Subscribe

In 1952, a group of Belgian-Jewish investors founded the first modern popsicle factory in Israel. They called their brand artik, a corruption of the French word for the frozen Arctic. (Hebrew doesn’t abide with consonants placed in a row without a vowel between them, thus the ‘c’ had to go.) (Cache for the subscription-free).

Most of the Indo-European languages have a word for bear, but the form of the word itself varies because it was subject to a taboo in some languages but not in others.

The advertising jungle for Artik survives as a children's song, which is what led me down this rabbit hole. I was pretty sure artik did not mean artichoke.

Previously: Frank Epperson, Proto-Indo-European
posted by bq (16 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
I am slightly embarrassed to say that the Artik jingle has periodically popped into my head in the shower ever since learning it (along with a goofy dance) at a Jewish summer camp many years ago. Thanks for sharing; it's fun to hear it again.

The movement of Jewish camp songs across the world has always been fascinating to me.

Note that the song is on Spotify.
posted by zachlipton at 12:56 PM on January 15, 2015 [2 favorites]


ObNitPick: "artik" still has two consonants placed in a row. Perhaps the writer meant "more than two consonants placed in a row without a vowel between them"?

Disclaimer: my grasp of Hebrew is extremely miniscule and fragmentary, and based on vague childhood recollections of Passover and Hanukkah recitations (which were usually followed by a nice ham dinner, so you can see the level of devoutness involved).
posted by McCoy Pauley at 1:03 PM on January 15, 2015 [2 favorites]


Hebrew, BTW, is not an Indo-European language but is categorized instead in the Afro-Asiatic language family that contains Ancient Egyptian, Berber, Hausa, the Semitic sub-group containing Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Akkadian/Babylonian, and lots of others. (I'm guessing the Haaretz article didn't note this distinction because it would be evident to most of its readers...)

Summer camp kids singing and dancing to commercials makes me think of Demolition Man, where the only music left in society is advertising jingles.
Bullock: "Your tone is quasi-facetious, but you don't realise that Taco Bell was the only restaurant that survived the franchise wars."

Stallone: "So?"

Bullock: "So now all restaurants are Taco Bells."
posted by XMLicious at 1:10 PM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]


Artik menta chokolad banana. Artik menta chokolad limon
Artik menta chokolad banana. Artik menta chokolad limon
Whoa-O chokolad banana
Whoa-O chokolad limon.
Sorry anyone around me for the next several hours. That's the only think I'll be singing. on repeat. Loudly. and Faster.
posted by atomicstone at 1:37 PM on January 15, 2015 [5 favorites]


Both the Haaretz link and the cache are crashing IE for me, anyone else having this problem?
posted by biffa at 2:40 PM on January 15, 2015


Try this. Scroll down.
posted by bq at 2:46 PM on January 15, 2015


(Hebrew doesn’t abide with consonants placed in a row without a vowel between them, thus the ‘c’ had to go.)

What's Coors' excuse, then? At the time I couldn't decide whether it was because they were chuckleheads themselves or they figured they were marketing it to chuckleheads.
posted by George_Spiggott at 3:36 PM on January 15, 2015


Thanks bq, that worked.

I could have stood to read more, shame its not longer.

I was wondering whether there was any link to the UK frozen dessert Arctic Roll, but maybe not.
posted by biffa at 3:38 PM on January 15, 2015


R can be a vowel.

Also, "advertising jungle".
posted by idiopath at 4:01 PM on January 15, 2015


ObNitPick: "artik" still has two consonants placed in a row. Perhaps the writer meant "more than two consonants placed in a row without a vowel between them"?

Perhaps they just can't abide superfluous consonants. Combining two letters to make one sound that each of them can already make is typical western decadence.
posted by snottydick at 1:22 PM on January 16, 2015


When properly pronounced, both the c and the t in arctic are articulated. If you're having trouble feeling this, say 'worktable' or 'Parktown'.
posted by bq at 1:45 PM on January 16, 2015


ObNitPick: "artik" still has two consonants placed in a row.

ObMuphry'sLaw: The original article does not proscribe two consonants, but "consonants placed in a row". Two consonants may not constitute a row.
posted by zamboni at 4:09 PM on January 16, 2015


Well, what a clever and interesting jingle.

I am very impressed.

Uh, how does one make it stop?
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:51 PM on January 18, 2015


Artik menta chokolad banana. Artik menta chokolad limon

If you didn't succomb to the earworm, I'll point out that this is chanted to the cadence of Pick a Bale of Cotton.

Al lo davar.
posted by ocschwar at 11:55 AM on January 21, 2015


AND THERE IT GOES AGAIN
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:51 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]


Somehow, I got this all confused with my pet peeve about words that end in "ck."
posted by snottydick at 8:51 AM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]


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