“The most fattening thing you can put in an ice-cream sundae is a spoon”

“The most fattening thing you can put in an ice-cream sundae is a spoon” is a popular one-line saying that is often included with other dieting sayings. “The most fattening thing you can put into a banana split is—a spoon” was cited in print in 1968 and credited to American humorist Franklin P. Jones (1908-1980).
 
The saying usually includes an ice cream sundae rather than a banana split. “Doctor to patient in Woman’s World cartoon: ‘The most fattening thing you can put into an ice cream sundae is a spoon’” was cited in print in 1992.
             
 
Answers.com
Franklin P. Jones (1908 - 1980) was a Philadelphia reporter, public relations executive and humorist. He wrote quips and quotes that entertained readers of major publications for years.
 
Mr. Jones was known nationally during the 1940s and 50s for his column “Put it this Way” in the Saturday Evening Post. “Put it this Way” set a record as the longest continuously published feature in the Saturday Evening Post.
 
He was an accomplished “paragrapher” - a writer who condenses humorous or thought provoking ideas into paragraph form. His quips and quotes were published (often anonymously) in numerous publications, including Reader’s Digest, the Wall Street Journal, Changing Times and Quote magazine.
 
14 September 1968, Greensboro (NC) Record, “It Happened Last Night” by Earl Wilson, pg. A6, col. 6:
WISH I’D SAID THAT: The most fattening thing you can put into a banana split is—a spoon.—Franklin P. Jones.
 
Google Books
The Complete Book of Zingers
By Croft M. Pentz
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers
1990
Pg. 64:
The most fattening thing you can put into your food is your spoon.
 
14 March 1992, The Times (Trenton, NJ), “Good Humor,” pg. B1, col. 1:
Doctor to patient in Woman’s World cartoon: “The most fattening thing you can put into an ice cream sundae is a spoon.”
—Frank Tyger
 
Google Groups: rec.humor
DIET (PUTDOWNS)
Nancy Carson
3/27/96
(...)
-The most fattening thing you can put in an ice cream sundae is a spoon.
 
Google Groups: rec.humor
Thoughts on diets
Joke List
1/17/99
(...)
The most fattening thing you can put in an ice cream sundae is a spoon.
 
Google Books
The Revival Slim and Beautiful Diet: For Total Body Wellness
By Aaron Tabor and Suzanne Tabor
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.
2007
Pg. 122:
The most fattening thing you can put in an ice-cream sundae is a spoon!
 
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The most fattening thing you can put in an ice cream sundae is a spoon.�
4:02 PM - 24 Feb 2015