ABOUT THE BIG THREE

Seventy-year-old machines making a dairy dessert every day have to be pretty frightening inside.

FALSE “We clean all the machines every night,” says Dan McGuire of Kopp’s in Brookfield, who says it takes about 30 minutes to clean each of the four machines.

Leon’s was the inspiration for Arnold’s (and then Al’s), the drive-in from the TV show “Happy Days.”

FALSE It was The Milky Way on Port Washington Road that “Happy Days” creator Tom Miller frequented as a student at Nicolet High School. The Milky Way closed in 1977 and was immediately replaced on the site by… Kopp’s.

Gilles is pronounced “Gill-ees.”

FALSE The place is named for its founder, Paul Gilles – pronounced “Gill-ess.” Owner Tom Linscott is aware nearly everyone pronounces it the wrong way.

“I’ve always said I’m not going to retrain society,” he says.