Forget the McNuggets and the Big Mac for a second, because it's time to wax poetic about the unsung hero of the Golden Arches: ice cream. Some form of this frozen dessert has been featured on the menu at McDonald's since its inception. Decades later, ice cream remains one of the most fairly priced items on the menu -- even if it's infamously hard to order, thanks to those pesky broken machines.

Admittedly, today's offerings look a little bit different to the standard cones doled out in the 1940s. While some forms of ice cream are longtime McDonald's classics -- such as the vanilla cone and hot fudge sundae -- others have come and gone over the years. We didn't even have McFlurries until one wise franchisee (to whom we owe a lifelong debt) decided to experiment with ice cream toppings in 1995.

With a history that spans over eight decades, there's a lot more to this sweet treat than meets the eye. We've delved deep into its sweet (and sometimes controversial) history to give you the comprehensive scoop on McDonald's ice cream.