The first recorded account of ice cream in the United States was in 1744. In a written letter, a guest of Maryland Governor William Bladen detailed a delicious frozen dessert featuring strawberries and milk. The invention of electricity and manufacturing meant that ice cream could be made and kept much more easily, and the popularity of the frozen treat grew quickly across the country.

To start, ice cream was served in a dish. It wasn't until the late 19th century that the ice cream cone made its first appearance. As with ice cream itself, there has always been some controversy over who the true inventor of the ice cream cone was. It is claimed that in 1896, a man by the name of Italo Marchiony invented the ice cream cone in New York City. He was granted a patent for this cup-shaped invention in 1903. Then, in 1904, ice cream was served in a true conical-shaped cone by Ernest Hamwi at the St. Louis World Fair. Whoever the true inventor was, the discovery caught on, and by 1924, Americans were eating over 200 million ice cream cones a year!

What are two main ideas presented in the passage?

a
Technology allowed ice cream to be made more efficiently, and Ernest Hamwi invented the first ice cream cone.

b
Technology was developed to meet the demands for ice cream, and there are disagreements about who invented the ice cream cone.

c
The invention of electricity allowed ice cream to be easily made, and ice cream was first served in a dish.

d
The Maryland Governor was the first person to have strawberry ice cream, and there are disagreements about who invented the ice cream cone.