Since I have been slightly involved with the profession, I am compelled to call attention to Popehat’s post about Homeland Security funds being used to purchase snow-cone machines. (Edited to add: Just to clarify, that is the snow cone/shaved ice profession, not the Homeland Security profession.)
There are several things that bother me about the coverage of this:
- “…the snow cone machines can make ice to prevent heat-related illnesses during emergencies”. No. Snow cone and shaved ice machines do not “make ice”, at least in the sense of producing it from liquid water. These machines require a supply of ice, generally in blocks.
- Are they snow cone machines or shaved ice machines? The article linked from Popehat uses both terms. But there is a difference: snow cones are generally composed of larger ice particles, and are a little more grainy. Shaved ices are composed of finer ice particles, closer to snow in texture, and are generally smoother.
