I scream, you scream, we should all probably calm down. It's just ice cream and not worth getting hysterical over. But many people scream about the exact origin of the sundae, ice cream's tastiest and decadent variant. Some claim it was invented in an Upstate New York town. The town even has a historical plaque saying so... who's gonna argue with a plaque?

HISTORY OF THE SUNDAE

For the purposes of this article, an "ice cream sundae" is one or more scoops of ice cream with additional secondary confections added to it, like syrup, whipped cream or sprinkles. A cherry may or may not be involved-- but it should. And while its origins remain hotly debated, history agrees that the ice cream soda was the precursor.

ITHACA CLAIMS TO BE THE BIRTHPLACE

Ithaca, New York is one of several U.S. towns claiming to be the inventors. Here's what Wikipedia says on the matter:

On Sunday, April 3, 1892, in Ithaca, John M. Scott, a Unitarian Church minister, and Chester Platt, co-owner of Platt & Colt Pharmacy, created the first historically documented sundae. Platt covered dishes of ice cream with cherry syrup and candied cherries on a whim. The men named the dish "Cherry Sunday" in honor of the day it was created. The oldest-known written evidence of a sundae is Platt & Colt's newspaper ad for a "Cherry Sunday" placed in the Ithaca Daily Journal on April 5, 1892.

Other U.S. cities -- like Buffalo, New York and Plainfield, Illinois -- may puff out their chests and talk a big game about inventing the sundae, but Chester Platt's account appears to be the most credible because he has the advertisements to back it up.

Oh, and in case you're wondering... they cost .10 cents back then. These days it's like .10 cents per sprinkle.

Ah, the sweet smell of inflation.