Soda pop has an interesting story. The story begins with mineral water. Mineral water comes from
springs. In many places, people take batths in mineral water. They say washing with mineral water is good for
their health. Some say drinking mineral water is also good for people.
Mineral water has bubbles in it. People learned to make bubblly water in the 1770’s. They added CO2 to
water with a machine to make the water bubbly. The machine was the “soda fountain.” They called the new
bubbly water “soda water” or “carbonatted water.”
American drug stores sold soda water. Druggists put good-tasting flavors in the soda water. People
drank soda water for their health. Many people liked it for its good fllavor. Many people went to the soda
fountain every day. Most soda fountains were in drug stores or ice cream shops.
In the early 1900’s, people bought soda water in bottles. Later in the 1900’s, people started to buy
flavored soda water in cans. Now it is sold in many containers in grocery stores and other places where food is
sold. Some people call it “pop.” Some say “soda.” Other people call it “cola,” “tonic,” or “soda pop.”