Have your most intellectually gifted friends ever used stealth and deception to trick you into holding a 12-ounce malt beverage with a perfectly balanced ABV of 4.5% and a whopping 32 grams of sugar? If yes, then you, my friend, have been Smirnoff “iced.” This prank, sophisticated ruse, or cruel wake up has become a worldwide trend and generated millions of dollars for the Smirnoff brand, yet the identities of the bold pioneers who started this trend and saved Smirnoff Ice from certain bankruptcy are still unknown. However, according to a New York Times Article from 2010 and quiet whispers echoing around the hallowed grounds of campus, St. Lawrence University is the likely birthplace. 

The rules of icing are simple. In order to ice someone, you need to trick them into laying eyes on the drink, or taking it out of your hands. For example, if someone hides a ‘red white and blue’ flavored Smirnoff Ice in your sock drawer, and you don’t catch them—or if you wake up to grab socks, and the ice is waiting for you—the rules state you must get on one knee and finish it. However, a scarcely known defense to being iced is always having an ice of your own with you. If a prankster approaches you with a gift-wrapped box, only to present you with a decorative drink, but you have an ice in your back pocket, the adversary must now drink their own ice, and the one you had with you. It’s like the Sicilian defense in chess, but not really at all.  

The New York Times article from 2010 was arguably the first major publication of ‘icing,’ and it specifically shouts us out. To no one’s surprise, fraternities tried taking credit for the prank, but it was discovered that the trend was being spread via a blog unfortunately named “BroBible.com.” The Times article states that “While its exact origins are murky – some say Vermont, others say St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, the game gained early traction among fraternity brothers in the South.” These murky origins are the inspiration for this article.  

Uncovering the murky origins of icing will require incisive journalism, and student -alumni collaboration. Together, with an eagerness for the truth and a drive for instilling pride amongst the St. Lawrence community, we can get to the bottom of this. Alumni of The St. Lawrence University Outing Club make strong claims of being the originators of icing, but if other student groups have stories of their own, do not hesitate to reach out to the Hill News (hillnews@stlawu.edu) to provide a statement. A goal of this article being published over parents’ weekend is to draw out any stories from alumni that could be used to prove once and for all, that St. Lawrence, for this reason and countless others, is the best school on the planet. Stay tuned for developments in the story as we work together to solve this puzzle.