Soft drinks are typically carbonated, non-alcoholic beverages. The "soft" in soft drinks was developed in contrast to "hard drinks" which contained hard liquor. Soft drinks may go by a variety of aliases including soda pop, soda or pop. These types of drinks are normally sweet and may be served at room temperature or chilled.
Most people think of soft drinks as carbonated beverages that are usually served cold. Common flavors for carbonated soft drinks include cola, root beer, lemon-lime, orange, grape and ginger. Soft drinks also encompass a host of non-carbonated drinks like iced tea, iced coffee, lemonade and fruit punch. Flavored waters, including both non-carbonated and carbonated varieties (like sports drinks and selzers), are also types of soft drinks. Milk or other dairy-based drinks, though they may not contain liquor, usually are not categorized as soft drinks. In some regions, drinks that contain less than 0.5% alcohol qualify as soft beverages.
Today’s soft drinks may be sold in individual serving size containers or larger bottles. The individual sizes are ordinarily available in aluminum cans or plastic bottles, whereas larger sizes typically come packaged in plastic containers. Soda making machines or fountain machines are also common sources of soft drinks both commercially and at home.
It is generally believed that the first soft drinks were created by adding herbs and spices to natural spring water. Later iterations included crushed fruits and flowers, adding some sweetness to the beverage. The first publicly marketed non-carbonated soft beverages was lemonade. Shortly after the invention of carbonated water in the 18th century, the first carbonated soft drink was made by adding various flavorings, like ginger, to the now carbonated water.
For many years following the invention of carbonated soft drinks, the beverages were only available at soda fountains that were typically part of drug stores and pharmacies. Workers called soda jerks filled glasses with carbonated water and then added flavors to suit the customers. Bottled carbonated soft drinks only became available after the 1891 invention of corked bottles.
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christym
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@snowywinter: I have another soft drink trivia for you. According to historians, what was U.S. Lyndon B. Johnson’s favorite soft drink?
Answer: Fresca. It is a citrus soft drink made by Coca-Cola. It is the only Coca-Cola product that doesn’t have a Pepsi equivalent.
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SnowyWinter
Post 1 |
This was a trivia question that we had at our church fun night. Dr. Pepper/SevenUp, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola all have their brand of root beer. A&W Root Beer is the bestselling out of all of them, belonging to Dr.Pepper/SevenUp. Mug Root Beer was bought by Pepsi in 1986 and Barq’s is part of Coca-Cola. What is special about Barq’s root beer?
Answer: Barq’s is the only major root beer that contains caffeine.
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