In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson accidentally invented which frozen treat on a stick, later sold commercially as a popular summer snack?

Introduction / Context:
The history of everyday food items often appears in general knowledge and competitive exams because it is easy to remember and adds colour to factual learning. One such story is about a young boy, Frank Epperson, who created a frozen treat by accident in the early twentieth century. This question tests your awareness of that famous invention story and your ability to connect it with the correct modern product name.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The inventor mentioned is Frank Epperson.
• He was only 11 years old at the time of the invention.
• The year of the accidental invention was 1905.
• The invention was a sweet treat that freezes and is served on a stick.
• The options include several popular snacks, but only one matches this specific story.

Concept / Approach:
The key to this question is to recall the well known anecdote about Frank Epperson. As the story is told, he mixed powdered soda with water in a cup and left a stirring stick inside. The mixture was accidentally left outside on a cold night. By morning, it had frozen solid around the stick, creating a frozen flavoured ice treat. Many years later, Epperson patented this idea and it was marketed as a Popsicle type ice lolly. The other options such as banana split, cotton candy and Cracker Jacks have different invention stories with other inventors and dates, so they do not fit the given clues.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the important details in the question: an 11-year-old boy, year 1905, and a frozen treat on a stick.Step 2: Recall the popular story of Frank Epperson and the frozen drink that turned into a new dessert.Step 3: Match this story to the commercial product name that emerged later, which is the Popsicle style ice lolly.Step 4: Compare with the options: banana split is an ice cream dish in a bowl, cotton candy is spun sugar, and Cracker Jacks are caramel coated popcorn and peanuts.Step 5: Conclude that Popsicle is the only option that fits a frozen treat invented by Epperson in 1905.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify this by remembering that Popsicles are often referred to in trivia quizzes as the result of a child experiment. Many popular science and history articles repeat the story of the boy leaving a flavoured drink on the porch with a stick inside. In contrast, the banana split is usually credited to a soda fountain worker named David Strickler in the early 1900s, while cotton candy involves a dentist and a confectioner. These different associations confirm that Epperson story belongs to the Popsicle.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Banana split is a dessert made with bananas and ice cream, not simply frozen flavoured water on a stick, and it was invented by another person. Cotton candy is spun sugar sold at fairs and carnivals and is not linked to Frank Epperson. Cracker Jacks are a mixture of popcorn and peanuts coated with caramel, again with a separate history and different creators. None of these match the description of a frozen treat on a stick invented by an 11-year-old boy in 1905.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes confuse different dessert origin stories or ignore the detail about the inventor being a child. Others may guess based only on popularity, picking any sweet snack without linking it to the year and the age of the inventor. To avoid this, it helps to remember a few classic invention stories like Popsicle, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies as separate, clearly labelled facts. This makes such trivia style questions straightforward in exams.

Final Answer:
Frank Epperson accidentally invented the frozen treat now known as the Popsicle.