You know you've got me thinking pretty intently. Is the ice box dead? It looks like it is, and within the last 100 years, at least here, but.. Then that begs the next question of when did they start. They could be freaking ancient. Let's say you live in Scandinavia. You have some food in summer or spring you want to keep consistently cold. But mid-day it actually might get pretty warm. It might get up to 50 degrees!! Things could spoil. Fish would be a prime example. But the river or lake still has ice on it. When was the first time someone thought to do this could be the oldest thing on the page so far.. But that begs the question also if anyone is doing that currently in Scandinavia. Edit: For some reason I didn't read the wiki on the origin. 1775 BC in Sumeria. So I'm going to give it. No one is using an ice box, with ice being delivered to them, as their main means of food preservation. Anyone in a rural enough place that they are doing that are doing it themselves and not getting it delivered, and anyone delivering it is not delivering it to some one who uses this for every day food preservation. So 1775 BC is definitely the oldest date on here. Edit: nvmd, that's an ice house. Exact date on ice box I'm still looking. Earliest confirmed date I can get is 1840.