10 strangest TV character food obsessions

Sardines and Ice Cream — I Love Lucy

You can blame TV for a lot of misconceptions about pregnant women. If you believe some shows, women will faint dead away in those early days of pregnancy, or go back to their pre-pregnancy size as soon as the baby slides out. Another trope perpetuated by the TV patriarchy is that of silly and outrageous cravings. Although Lucille Ball decidedly wasn’t part of the patriarchy, she was notorious for doing anything for a bit.

This time a six-month pregnant Lucy sits in bed, waiting on Ricky to bring her a snack, consisting of pistachio ice cream and sardines. Lucille Ball had an intense of the little fish in real life, but the consummate professional choked the combo down. In fact, it wasn’t even really ice cream. It was mashed potatoes with chocolate sauce poured over it. It’s rumored that Lucy had to run off set as soon as filming concluded to up-chuck. This episode ends up with Lucy getting her way, as was often the case, but she had to suffer through a lot of dumb heteronormative trappings.

The episode in question, “Ricky Has Labor Pains,” is particularly handy in highlighting what a giant baby and selfish jerk Ricky could be. When Lucy fails to cook his dinner or pay him proper attention because she is creating a human life, Ricky falls “ill.” The doctor tells Lucy he’ll recover with a little time and attention from his wife (remember what I said about the patriarchy). To appease her toddler of a husband, Lucy has Fred throw him a baby shower like the one he became jealous of, and miraculously, he’s cured.

If you want to try your hand at your own fish-flavored ice cream, try this recipe from the Alaskan Akutaq – Eskimo tribe.