Have you ever taken ice cream out of the freezer, opened it up, and there's a layer of ice on top?  You might think it's because you had it in the freezer too long, or because it's a cheap brand.  But here's the REAL reason.

--It's because you let it thaw out too much the LAST time you took it out.  That's the most COMMON reason anyway.  It has to do with the ice crystals.  When they melt and refreeze, they turn into lumps that apparently settle to the bottom.

--That's why you shouldn't keep ice cream in the DOOR of your freezer.  You should keep it INSIDE the freezer, where the temperature stays more constant.  Here are four MORE things you might not know about ice cream.

#1.)  Ice Cream Lovers and Drug Addicts Might Have Something in Common.  Over time, addicts build up a tolerance to drugs and don't get as much pleasure out of them . . . so they do MORE.

--And according to a recent study, you might react the same way to ice cream.  Researchers divided teenagers into two groups:  Ones who regularly ate ice cream, and ones who didn't.

--They found that when they gave a milkshake to the ones who ate ice cream all the time, the reward centers of their brains weren't very active.  But with the ones who DIDN'T eat it very often, their reward centers went NUTS.

#2.)  The Average American Eats About 14 Pounds of Ice Cream a Year.  That's from a study done in 2008, but we've actually been eating less and less.  Back in 1946, it was 23 pounds. 

#3.)  A Waffle Cone Is Worse for You Than a Sugar Cone.  It depends on the size, but a sugar cone can have between 60 and 130 calories, while a waffle cone can be between 120 and 160.

--And a chocolate-dipped waffle cone from Ben & Jerry's has 320 calories, plus 12 grams of fat.  So obviously ice cream in a CUP is the best choice.

#4.)  The Secret Ingredient in Low-Fat Ice Cream Is . . . Fish?  Yes, the way they make most low-fat ice cream creamy is by adding in a protein they get from something called a "pout fish."  (--Check out a picture of one.)