Interesting Facts about Soft Drinks

Soft drinks are called “soft” because they don’t have any alcohol in them.
First flavored soda drinks appeared in Europe in second half of 17th century. They were most popular in France.
Soft drinks are often distinguished by their packaging size, type of container, manufacturer, flavor, ingredients and serving temperature.
Process of carbonation is popular not only for drinks with specific recipes, but also for “enriching” the flavor of ordinary water (popular “mineral” water).
The most popular types of soft drinks are flavored water, carbonated water, sweet iced tea, fruit drinks, carbonated soft drinks, diet soft drinks, fruit punch, seltzers and cordials.

Soft drinks can be called by many names. The most popular ones are soda, pop, coke, soda pop, fizzy drink and carbonated beverage.
Over 34 billion gallons of soft drinks are sold in over 200 countries each year.
In United States there are over 1,500 patents related to soda drinks during first few years of its popularity.
Sugary drinks are one of the leading causes of increase in number of bacteria in the mouth. This can cause significant tooth decay.
Process of carbonating water (infusing water with carbon dioxide) was invented by Englishman Joseph Priestley in 1767.

Because of the health concerns, many governments have placed tight regulations on production, sales, taxation and marketing of soda drinks.
The most popular early soda drinks that were invented before end of 19th century are Ginger ale, Ice cream soda, Root beer, Dr. Pepper, Coca Cola and Pepsi-Cola.
Coca Cola is largest manufacturer of carbonated soda drinks in the world. Their most popular drinks are Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Diet Coke and orange-flavored soda drink Fanta.
Soda fountains (devices that can serve pre-made soda) were first introduced in early 1800s and patented in 1816.
The average cola drink has 38 calories per 100 grams.
United States represents 25% of global soft drink market.
Sweetened drinks are high in kilojoules, which can introduced weight gain and obesity.
Because young kids are attracted to sweetened soda drinks, there are most susceptible to weight gain and chance to develop diabetes.
Automated production of soda drink bottles arrived in 1899. Its inventor Michael Owens managed in few years to create device that can create 58 thousand bottles per day.

Soft drinks and carbonated soft drinks can be created both at home and in factories.
Sugar-sweetened soft drinks are associated with dental caries, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Soft drinks also have bad reputation for containing caffeine (it can manipulate anxiety levels of drinkers, and cause addiction) and artificial sweeteners.

Note: This article does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.