Cory Graves
This Year, 7-Eleven Is Offering Seven Days Of Freebies.
We must say: Over the years, 7-Eleven's annual birthday celebration has become one of our absolute favorite manufactured holidays — if only, yes, because it means free Slurpees.
This year, as the locally-founded company celebrates its 87th birthday on the on-brand date of its choosing, it'll be handing out roughly seven million free small Slurpees to anyone who wants one.
Now for this year's surprise twist: They're not stopping there.
For the next seven days, 7-Eleven will keep the freebies rolling as well, and those will look like this:
Saturday, July 12: Free Big Gulps.
Sunday, July 13: Free M&M's Birthday Cake Flavor Candies.
Monday, July 14: Free Grandma's Cookies.
Tuesday, July 15: Free Twinkies.
Wednesday, July 16: Free Snickers or Twix Ice Cream Bars.
Thursday, July 17: Free Quaker Chewy Yogurt Snack Bars
Friday, July 18: Free Pillsbury Cookies.
Saturday, July 19: Free Small Slurpees (again).
We couldn't be more stoked about this. Because, besides being broke gluttons, our admiration for the grandfather of all convenience stores and its rich local history runs deep and wide.
Taking a look back at some of our past 7-Eleven coverage, it's easy to see why.
• Patently Cool: Not only was the Slurpee invented right here in our own backyard, so too was the machine that makes them. That machine, we might add, also served as the inspiration behind the first-ever frozen margarita machine. That fact, however, pales in comparison to the fact that 7-Eleven was also the world's first convenience store. In this post, we take a look at a couple dozen of our city's other most kickass inventions.
• Moving On Up: Speaking of the Slurpee machine's invention: That came after years of innovation in Dallas' Mitchell Building. These days, that building — along with dozens of other historically significant buildings — houses a bunch of lofts.
• Slurpee Mixology: Free or not, there's no denying that Slurpees make excellent mixers for whatever alcohol you have laying around the house. Here, we present a few of our favorites.
• Cheap But Sweet: Even when you do have to pay for your snacks, 7-Eleven is still one of the cheapest and most convenient places to shop at. As we discovered once upon a time, it's possible at 7-Eleven to even make your Valentine's Day date a five-course meal — complete with wine and a gift — for under $35.
• Bottom of the Barrel: Did you know 7-Eleven sells $3 wine? It does. And, as we learned during this taste test, it's not the worst. Granted, it's also not the best. Still!
• Songs About Dallas: Do you know where Slurpees got their name? Do you know who invented the popular “brainfreeze” term? Do you know How many Slurpees it takes to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool? The answers all lie within a classic Ramones tune, oddly enough.
• Eat Your Feelings: Free snacks? Good. A snack-hacking secret to make your gas station food as cheap and delicious as possible? Amazeballs.
7-Eleven cover photo via WIkiCommons.
