system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Could you make Ice, before the invention of the freezer?

Or was Ice a recent invention?
gpt
Artificial ice is relatively recent yes. Before that, ice was actually imported from the Arctic in massive blocks, packed in straw. It was thus extremely expensive, and only the richest people could afford it. In many country estates in Europe you will find 'ice houses' - purpose built cellars especially for storing ice.

EDIT: peer review has revealed to me that local rivers, lakes and ponds were initially used as sources of ice, and that New England was the original centre of the ice trade boom in the 19th century.