A Quick History of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Soft Drinks

Have you ever wondered how carbonated soft drinks got their start? Have you ever wondered how Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola became so popular? Well, wonder no more!

Soft drinks go way back to the 17^th century, when people would travel to natural springs and drink the mineral water found there. Mineral water was believed to have healing powers, and visitors would not only drink it but even bathe in it. Some mineral waters were naturally carbonated, due to the dissolved gas carbon dioxide or carbonium.

As scientists discovered which gases were behind carbonation, they sought to recreate these mineral waters in the laboratory. Joseph Priestley made the first drinkable carbonated water in 1767. Then, in 1770, the chemist Torbern Bergman invented an apparatus that generated carbonated water from chalk by the use of sulfuric acid. This allowed for the first mass production of imitation mineral water.

By 1810, a patent had been issued to Simons and Rundell of Charleston, for the mass manufacture of imitation mineral water. However, carbonated beverages did not catch on in the public eye (or in public consumption) until much later when, in 1832, John Matthews invented another apparatus for the generation of carbonated water. This apparatus was capable of being mass-produced, allowing Matthews to sell it to various soda fountain owners and pharmacists.

Drinking mineral waters had long been considered a "healthy" thing to do, so the pharmacists took advantage of their newly purchased apparatuses and used them to generate mass quantities of carbonated water. Medicinal and herbal extracts were added to these waters, such as dandelion, birch bark, and certain fruit extracts. Customers came to pharmacies for these drinks, helping to establish the soda fountain as a permanent fixture in many drug stores.