When I was very young, apparently I would actually say “what the?” when I was surprised by something. My parents thought it was hilarious and it wasn’t until I was older that I realized that it’s just a cartoon expression and no one really says it out loud.
I remember this very theory being pictured in a very old (1940s) Carl Barks duck story featuring Donald and a early Scrooge fighting over who can give the nephews a steam shovel for Christmas. After all the antics, the real Santa pops out of the chimney in miniature, expands himself to full-size, and gives them a TOY steam shovel, just like they wanted.
I have nothing to add about ice packs, but I will ask: if a one-L lama is a priest, and a 2-L llama is a beast, what’s a 3-L llama? The answer, of course, is a big heckin’ fire in Boston!
When I was very young, apparently I would actually say “what the?” when I was surprised by something. My parents thought it was hilarious and it wasn’t until I was older that I realized that it’s just a cartoon expression and no one really says it out loud.