They're Dippin' Dots, a summertime staple.

他們就是美國品牌 Dippin' Dots ，夏日時光的必需品。

But this confectionery treat didn't start as, well, ice cream.

但一開始這個甜品不是以冰淇淋來構想。

It started as cow feed.

而是以牛的飼料為開始。

Dippin' Dots were invented in the 80s, not by an ice cream brand, but by a microbiologist.

Dippin' Dots 大概是在 80 年代由微生物學家發明的，而不是由冰淇淋品牌所研發出的。

Curtis Jones specialized in cryogenics.

Curtis Jones 專攻低溫學。

In 1987, he was working for a bio-tech company in Kentucky, trying to figure out how to make food for farm animals more efficient.

在 1987 年，他在肯塔基州的一間生物科技公司工作，他試著為農場動物們研究出更有效的飼料。

His big breakthrough came when he flash-froze cattle feed at 350 degrees below zero, which produced small pellets.

他最大的突破就是，他把新鮮的牛飼料凍結在零下 350 度，而產生出眾多的小顆粒。

Serendipitously, Curtis loved making ice cream.

而在偶然的機會下， Curtis 喜歡上製作冰淇淋。

Next thing he knew, he was using liquid nitrogen to freeze ice cream at extremely low temperatures and ended up with small beads of it.

接下來，他用液態氮非常低溫的方式來凍結冰淇淋，而產生出許多小小的珠子。

When eaten, the natural heat of the mouth melted the beads and thus, Dippin' Dots was born.

吃一口時， 嘴巴的溫度就融化了這些小珠子。Dippin' Dots 就因而誕生了。

A year later, he formed the company out of his parent's garage in Illinois, but there was a problem.

一年過後，他在伊利諾伊州的父母親車庫外頭開設了一間公司，但他發現一個問題。

Curtis had nowhere to sell the product.

Curtis 沒有任何門路可以銷售掉這些產品。

Dippin' Dots need to be stored at such a cold temperature that it made it impossible for grocery stores to house the tasty treat, so he got creative and marketed his product to alternate locations.

Dippin' Dots 必須要存放在一個非常低溫的地方，讓許多便利商店更無法存放這個美味的甜食，所以他靈機一動向其他的場所展售他的產品。

Now, they're sold at amusement parks, festivals, zoos, and other summertime destinations.

現在它們可以在遊樂園、節慶、動物園、以及夏日時的各個景點買到。

But whether or not they really are the ice cream of the future, we'll just have to wait and see.

但不管它們是不是能夠成為冰淇淋的未來，我們就必須耐心觀望吧！