Is Walking With Ice Cream In Your Pocket Really Illegal In Alabama?

Ice cream has a rich and interesting history that spans from Ancient China to modern times. The frosty, sweet treat made its way to the U.S. during the mid 18th century and quickly became a culinary sensation. These days, it's the preeminent summer treat, but legend has it that where you keep your cone can land you in legal trouble in Alabama. It's rumored that placing an ice cream cone in one's back pocket is illegal in the state, as it was, allegedly, an old-timey strategy used by horse thieves back when horsepower referred to the animal and not your vehicle's engine capacity. 

Here's how the trick supposedly worked: The thief would place a cone in their back pocket and walk in front of a horse. If the horse followed the ice cream, the person could assume ownership of the animal while hopefully avoiding the pesky legal consequences associated with horse thievery. This strange ice cream law has also been linked to Kentucky and Georgia, but keep in mind that no such law is on the books today in any state.

As society changes, so do its laws. However, there is no evidence that such laws ever existed in Alabama or elsewhere in the U.S. All mentions online are anecdotal and are never accompanied by citations. It's also worth noting when ice cream cones became popular in America. An Italian immigrant named Italo Marchioni received the first ice cream cone patent in 1903, while Ernest Hamwi inadvertently stumbled onto the idea at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. In an effort to help an ice cream seller who'd run out of serving bowls, Hamwi altered the pastries he was selling into the iconic cone shape we know today, and the rest is history.

Based on that timeline, and the fact that automobiles became increasingly accessible starting around 1913 (when mass production methods were introduced), it's unlikely that ice cream-based horse thievery was enough of a problem that it called for a new law. Also, the first ice cream cone patent was awarded in New York City, so one would assume that New York would be a more likely contender for regulations related to ice cream cone tom foolery. Additionally, adult horses are often lactose intolerant, so it's best not to feed them dairy products anyway (in case you or someone you know is a budding horse thief).