It’s summer time and here in NYC, we’re all about ice cream. Luckily, there are plenty of options, one of which is soft serve. Soft serve ice cream was first created in 1926 by inventor Charles Taylor and to this day his company continues to make the machines used in McDonalds’ restaurants around the world. Tom Carvel, founder of Carvel, also had a hand in popularizing the spread of soft serve ice cream after one of his trucks broke down and he sold melting ice cream to passersby. The first Carvel store was opened in 1936 and their secret soft serve formula was developed. Another brand who hopped aboard the soft serve train early was Dairy Queen, who claimed to have invented soft serve. Today, one of the most popular brands of soft serve ice cream is Mister Softee, which sells soft serve ice cream in a truck throughout the United States.

Although soft serve is the generally accepted term worldwide, growing up I called it by a very different name. In my home state, Vermont, soft serve ice cream is called a creemee. Creemee season is a big part of the Vermont summer experience and one of the most popular flavors is maple. Maple creemees are exceptionally sought after, but luckily, they’re pretty easy to come by throughout the state.

In honor of delicious soft serve ice cream or creemees, take a peek at 75 amazing tattoos from talented artists around the world in the gallery below. Then let us know your favorite soft serve ice cream flavor in the comments section on social media.