Earle Swensen, the son of a Norwegian brick mason, started making ice cream on a Navy troop ship in the South Pacific during World War II. He only had the ingredients for vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, but he said the sailors didn't care what flavor he made – they just wanted something cold in the hot climate. Back in San Francisco, he became a Deputy City Assessor. When a small store became vacant on Russian Hill, he started his empire with $750. Realizing he needed more capital, he borrowed an additional $5000. Swensen listened to his customers and started creating ice cream per their requests. He increased the butterfat content to 14%, which was unusual at that time. His reasoning was that many people smoked or had cocktails before dinner – they needed the extra butterfat to enjoy the flavor because their taste buds were not as sharp. He always had ice cream for dessert, and although vanilla was one of his favorite flavors, he personally created many new ones. He said that when he invented a new flavor, he would sometimes wake up his wife Nora Mae in the middle of the night because Adam’s Apple or Caramel Cashew was too exciting to keep to himself.