The milkshake, that quintessential comfort food, is popular throughout the United States, Canada, and Britain. But, how much do you know about this soothing concoction?

Test your knowledge with these milkshake facts.

1. Milkshakes may be blended or shaken and may be served with a spoon or a straw. All are made with chilled ingredients, including milk, and should be served frothy.
2. A Milkshake is called a "frosted" when made with ice cream that has been completely blended into the milk and a "float" when the ice cream is sitting in the milk. Both are soda fountain staples.
3. The first written reference to a milkshake was in a British newspaper in 1885. The recipe included a shot of whiskey. Now that's a milkshake!
4. In New England and Britain, a milkshake is commonly made with milk and flavorings and served with a spoon. In most of the United States and Canada, ice cream is added to the mixture.
5. What most of us call a milkshake is known as a "frappe" in parts of New England and Canada. In Rhode Island, the concoction is called a "cabinet." (The early New England blenders were kept in a cabinet.)
6. September 12 is National Chocolate Milkshake Day in the United States. National Vanilla Milkshake Day is June 21.
7. The most common milkshake flavorings are vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.
8. In Latin countries, milkshakes are popular and known as batidos. Most are made with fruit added. They are a summer favorite among the Cuban community in Miami's "Little Havana."
9. Milkshakes took their current form with the invention of the blender by Steven Poplawski in 1922.
10. A "malted" is a kind of milkshake, made with malted milk-powder. It became a favorite at American lunch counters in the 1940s and 1950s.
11. The largest known milkshake was created in New York in 2000. It measured 6000 gallons.
12. Movies with "milkshake" in the title include the 1970 anti-Vietnam movie "Captain Milkshake" and the 1975 made-for-TV movie, "Saliva Milkshake." Neither enjoyed much popular success.