Today marks the anniversary of the first day Coca-Cola was sold. As a Diet Coke addict, I’m extremely grateful to Mr. John Stith Pemberton, although the first sales of Coke at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta in 1886 were considerably cheaper (five cents a glass) than what I pay now. In honor of this historic day, I give you…
How 10 Well-Known Beverages Got Their Names
Coca-Cola was named for two of the ingredients that made up the drink at the time – coca leaves and kola nuts.
Mountain Dew is an old slang word for moonshine. It was marketed as “zero-proof moonshine” for a while and even used pictures of hillbillies in its marketing efforts until 1973.
Fanta – Two versions here, both based on the German word “fantasie” (fantasy/imagination). Story #1 – a contest was held for employees to name the drink. The inventors told employees to let their “fantasie” run wild. One salesman came up with Fanta. Story #2- same thing, except early versions of the drink were made from by products of cheese and jam production. Thus, the consumer would have to use their “fantasie” to imagine that the beverage actually tasted like oranges.
TAB – A computer randomly generated 250,000 three- or four-letter name possibilities. Why TAB was selected out of that list isn’t for certain, but Coca-Cola says it’s because it helps people keep “tabs” on their weight.
Pepsi – Used to be called the highly imaginative “Brad’s Drink.” Inventor Caleb D. Bradham bought the name “Pep Kola” from a local competitor, which eventually evolved into “Pepsi-Cola” and then “Pepsi”.
Canada Dry – Pretty simple explanation here. It was invented in Canada, and dry was supposed to mean “not sweet” (as opposed to “not wet”). There you have it.
Started in Canada. Dry = not sweet
A&W Rootbeer – This one’s pretty easy, too. A&W = the company’s founders, Roy Allen and Frank Wright.
Gatorade – This beverage was invented to help a football team with dehydration issues. The team? The University of Florida Gators. Gator-aid.
Dr Pepper – The rumor is that the man who bought the formula, Wade Morrison, used to live near a Dr. Charles T. Pepper and had a thing for his daughter. Also, as someone who considers the AP Stylebook akin to the Bible, I have to share – with this particular brand name there is never a period after the “r” in Dr.
Squirt – So-named because it “Squirts” in your mouth like a ripe grapefruit.
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“Also, as someone who considers the AP Stylebook akin to the Bible, I have to share – with this particular brand name there is never a period after the “r†in Dr.”
… Unless the Dr is at the end of a sentence. :)
posted by Debi on 5-8-2008 at 3:54 pm
There were hillbilly pictures on Mountain Dew bottles in the 80′s also.
posted by faburobin on 5-8-2008 at 4:12 pm
Made from by products of cheese and jam?! Sick. What a horrible idea for soda.
posted by Bethany on 5-8-2008 at 4:16 pm
I’m going to have to go out on a limb here and suggest an alternative version to the mighty Mental Floss gods of the Dr Pepper origin. Rumor I’ve heard around Waco, TX is that Wade Morrison had a horse named Pepper and he named it after his horse. The doctor comes from the fact that Wade was a doctor and owned a general store where he sold the drink. My husband actually knows the guy who now lives in Wade’s house has recorded an album in the Pepper’s barn.
posted by Erin on 5-8-2008 at 4:23 pm
I’m going to have to go out on a limb here and suggest an alternative version to the mighty Mental Floss gods of the Dr Pepper origin. The rumor I’ve heard around Waco, TX is that Wade Morrison had a horse named Pepper and he named Dr Pepper after his horse. The Dr part comes from the fact that Wade was a doctor and owned a general store where he sold the drink. My husband actually knows the guy who now lives in Wade’s house has recorded an album in the Pepper’s barn.
posted by Erin on 5-8-2008 at 4:31 pm
Pepsi Cola is an anagram of episcopal.
(adjusts tinfoil hat)
posted by Johnny Cat on 5-8-2008 at 4:46 pm
Ha!!! Good observation, Debi!
posted by Stacy on 5-8-2008 at 5:25 pm
We here in good ol’ Texas just call it all “coke,” despite the name designations for the various sodas.
My favorite story is when a friend was up in Wisconsin and tried to ask what kinds of coke a restaurant served. The waiter gave her a funny look and said, “Regular . . . diet. . .?”
I suppose all do speak our own language down here.
posted by nutmeag on 5-8-2008 at 7:38 pm
In East Tennessee, Mtn. Dew was once known by a name lifted from the Lil’ Abner newspaper comic strips: “Kickapoo Joy Juice” and the label printed on the bottle featured various characters from the comic strip. This was only for a period of about 2 to 3 years, then the Mtn. Dew name was adopted. There is an old store in the little town where my parents grew up that has a shelf lined with Mtn. Dew bottles illustrating the evolution of its name and lables. If you ever have occasion to drive thrugh the oldest downtown section of Jacksboro, TN. check out the storefronts across the street from the courthouse.
Vila
posted by Vila on 5-9-2008 at 10:38 am
I do believe that Canada Dry actually refers to ginger ale being non-alcoholic, instead of, or in addition to, the ‘not sweet’ appellation. Especially since ginger ale is usually quite sweet, as opposed to ginger beer, which is quite strong and sometimes alcoholic.
posted by tiddo on 5-9-2008 at 5:42 pm
Nutmeag, that’s true in Oklahoma and Missouri as well!
posted by Dawn on 5-10-2008 at 8:39 pm
When Tab was introduced, it was the Coca-Cola company’s diet cola. Since they now have two other labels of diet cola (Diet Coke and Coke Zero, along with all their sub-varieties like caffeine free, with lime, etc) I find it rather odd that Tab, although just a shadow of its former self, is still being produced and sold as well.
Also want to mention that back in the 1970s, after Coca-Cola realized that Mountain Dew wasn’t going to be a flash-in-the-pan fad drink and they needed to market a citrusy-sweet product of their own, they came up their own version of Mountain Dew. The name of their product? White Light’ning.
-”BB”-
posted by Bicycle Bill on 9-16-2010 at 5:41 am
I worked in a lab near Dr. Cade when he invented Gatorade. One story that circulated at the time was the Dr. Cade, a trained urologist, would give lectures to medical students that began, “Gentlemen, today we are going to talk about wee wee.”
Melissa
posted by Melissa on 9-16-2010 at 11:44 am
I thought Squirt was named Squirt because it makes you squirt.
posted by Walter on 9-16-2010 at 12:40 pm
The Dr in Dr Pepper will never be at the end of a sentence. Pepper will always be at the end.
posted by Clay on 9-16-2010 at 2:17 pm
From a recent article in Slate:
The original Fanta was a Nazi product. When Pearl Harbor ended the flow of Coca-Cola syrup to German bottlers, German Coca-Cola chief Max Keith—who sported a tiny Hitler-style mustache and celebrated the Führer’s 50th birthday at company conventions—formulated an alternative. He blended together an ever-changing combination of dregs, like leftovers from cheese production, the fibrous remains of apples that had been pressed for cider, and whatever surplus fruit he could acquire from Italy. He sweetened the soft drink with saccharin and named it Fanta, after the German word for fantasy or imagination. It sold well, especially once food became scarce and buyers began using Fanta as a soup base. When the international parent company reunited with its German branch after the war, it discontinued Fanta.
posted by Ken on 9-16-2010 at 9:43 pm
I thought Mental Floss had an article about type faces a few months ago and in it Dr Pepper was Dr. Pepper until a change in the type face made the period look like part of the capital P of Pepper.
posted by gamerjohn on 9-19-2010 at 8:01 pm