Muhammed Ali Week 6: The Story of Soda
Soda is one of the biggest beverages in much of the western world, particularly in America. It is estimated that the average American drinks 44 gallons of soda per year, as insane as that number may seem. It’s a drink many of us take for granted and accept as a part of life. But how did these fizzy, flavored drinks come about in the first place?
In 1767, the first ever man-made carbonated water was made by a man named Dr. Joseph Priestley. This was initially thought to have the ability to cure sickness, so early sodas were actually sold in pharmacies. The first modern soda that changed the beverage from a medicinal drink to a recreational drink was root beer in 1876, over one hundred years later. The creation of root beer made people realize that it was possible to make carbonated drinks as an alternative for water and other normalized drinks like tea and lemonade.
Dr Pepper was first made in 1885 and is widely considered the first modern soda. Coca-Cola followed suit a year later and came out with their first glass in downtown Atlanta. Their original recipe for Coke did include a small amount of cocaine in each of their servings because at the time, cocaine was legal and was commonly used in medicinal drugs. The inclusion of cocaine made the drink even more addictive and helped popularize soda in the late 1800s and early 1900s America. When the law changed criminalizing cocaine use, the recipe was modified and no longer included the drug. However, the consumer base for not only Coke, but for soda in general was already so high that the removal of the addictive drug hardly dented their sales.
With rates of soda consumption in America rising exponentially, the first vending machines were created to make soda easier to access in 1902. In the 1950s, soda companies switched to the soda can and saw sales climb even higher.
Soda has always been popular for a very long time in the United States. It’s a tasty beverage alternative that Americans choose to spend $65 billion on every single year. Soda has been an extremely important drink in America, and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
Americans Drink 44 Gallons of Soda Per Year - The Atlantic.
The Buzz on Soda History.
Hi Muhammed! This topic you chose for this week is interesting! I never really thought of it but soda really is an important aspect of American society. I was shocked to find out that the average American drinks 44 gallons of soda because that’s quite a lot. That’s like a can of soda per day. I’ve always found these sorts of statistics interesting because it truly puts the importance of certain elements of everyday life into perspective. I was also surprised by the fact that Coke actually contained cocaine back in the day. This makes me no longer think of the name of the beverage as a coincidence to the drug and this was honestly rather shocking. It’s also interesting to see the history of soda and how they were only sold in cans later on.
ReplyDeleteHi Muhammed! This is such an interesting topic, I myself am an avid drinker of both carbonated and sweet sodas. I don't feel that surprised by the consumption rate of 44 gallons a year as it is a very popular drink. I always feel like these statistics seem like a lot until you think about it and it comes into perspective considering the "American" demographic. I wish you talked a bit more about its role on the role it plays in the current national stage and how things have changed from the past. For me I link soda as a refreshing treat, and I find it kind of shocking and wonder why people would drink it every day. I wish you dug into why people drink and enjoy it so much.
ReplyDelete