Soda Water
Name: soda water
Details:
Soda water was invented in the early 1767 by British chemist [invented by] Joseph Priestley * and soon after commercialized by Joseph [commercialized by] Schweppe*. His was one of the many attempts to make an artificial version of the bubbly, mineral-rich waters (which picked up carbon dioxide in their passage through rock) to be found at the many European health spas.
In 1775 John Mervin Nooth designed a small apparatus for preparing small quantities of sparkling water, and by the early 1800’s effervescent waters were available in bottled form in the United States.
In 1838 a French immigrant to Philadelphia, Eugene Roussel, realized that flavors could only be added to carbonated waters as a syrup, and created a lemon-flavored drink. More flavors were soon developed.
The most famous came in 1886 when an Atlanta pharmacist, John Pemberton, developed Coca Cola and sold it as a medicine over the counter. By 1965 it and all other similar products were being sold in aluminum cans. In 2012 US sales were nearly 30 billion dollars, about 8 million gallons. Worldwide sales top 70 billion dollars.
Oneliner: Soda water
Bibliography:
- Encyclopedia Britannica.
Connections II #13 “The Big Spin” -
(15 minutes in Benjamin Silliman, Yale chemistry professor installed some of the first American soda fountains).