What is a “lemonade stand” in American culture?
Lemonade stand, big profits, and a clever trick
B1 English listening practice · American English · Picked for people who know some
A lemonade stand is a small, hand-built table where American kids sell cups of lemonade to neighbors and passers-by. The tradition is more than 100 years old in the United States, and many American adults have either run one or bought a cup from one. Kids learn basic business skills: pricing, change, customer service. Some American cities have even fined kids for running unlicensed stands, which made national news in the 2010s.
In this clip, a girl named Michelle reports she made $221 from a single stand. Her mom asks how. Michelle answers, “Hot men, cold lemonade, no change.” The trick is the “no change” part: she charged $5 for a $1 cup and kept the difference.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In American children’s films and TV (Peanuts, The Loud House, Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
- ▸In American local news features about kid entrepreneurs
- ▸In American business books for kids (The Lemonade War)
- ▸In American school programs about entrepreneurship (Junior Achievement)
- ▸In American family summer-vacation memories and home videos