I spilled the ice tray all over the freezer again

Filled it to the brim, carried it across the kitchen, and now the peas are in a skating rink. — Newlywed, 1938

Ice trays came with the first freezers, the cubes stuck, and inventors spent years patenting ways to get them out. That's a lot of paperwork for ice. In 1953 the refrigerator maker Servel sold one that skipped the tray. It filled a mold, froze it, warmed it just enough to let go and dumped the cubes in a basket. A little arm felt for when the basket was full. Yours may still have one. Go look.

Noted: owners tell Consumer Reports the icemaker and the dispenser are the parts that break most. The fix is now the thing that needs fixing.