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Carbonation techniques first developed.
Carbonated water was invented way back in the 1760s. Joseph Priestly, the man who discovered oxygen, also figured out how to dissolve CO2 in water. The first bottled carbonated water was made by a man named Schweppe, starting in the 1770s. -
Joseph Hawkins was issued the first U.S. patent for "imitation" mineral water.
In 1810, the first U.S. patent was issued for the "means of mass manufacture of imitation mineral waters" to Simons and Rundell, of Charleston, South Carolina. Carbonated beverages did not achieve great popularity in America until 1832 when John Mathews invented his apparatus for making carbonated water. -
The "soda fountain" was patented by Samuel Fahnestock.
The original was patented in 1819 by a physician named Samuel Fahnestock. This relatively simple machine comprised a specialized barrel with a pump and a spigot. While the original soda fountain wasn't serving up soft drinks, it was more than capable of producing carbonated water. -
The first soda water was bottled in the U.S.
The bubbly water caused a great deal of excitement. It wasn't long until someone found a way to produce it on a mass scale and sell it to thousands of eager customers. By the turn of the 19th century, many CSD companies had opened across Europe, and the first soda water was bottled and sold in the US in 1835. -
Soda counters were added to pharmacies.
By the early 1920’s just about every drugstore had a soda fountain. The reason for the explosion of soda fountains was most likely that prohibition began in 1919 and the soda fountain filled the social void caused by the closing of bars. All the dime stores were chains, but a lot of independent drug stores had soda fountains and some expanded into lunch counters. -
The first ice-cream soda was sold.
The generally acknowledged creator of the ice cream soda is Robert M. Green, who fathered it in October 1874, at the semicentennial celebration of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, where he was a concessionaire selling soda fountain drinks from a three-foot-square dispenser. -
Charles Alderton invented "Dr. Pepper" in Waco, Texas.
In 1885, one year before the invention of Coca-Cola, a young pharmacist named Charles Alderton began experimenting by mixing different fruit flavors at The Old Corner Drug Store on Fourth Street and Austin Avenue. The resulting concoction would become the formula for Dr Pepper. -
Dr. John S. Pemberton created "Coca-Cola" in Atlanta, Georgia.
On May 8, 1886, Dr. John Pemberton brought his perfected syrup to Jacobs' Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta where the first glass of Coca‑Cola was poured. Serving about nine drinks per day in its first year, Coca‑Cola was an exciting new drink in the beginning. -
Caleb Bradham invented "Pepsi-Cola."
On August 28, 1898, “Pepsi-Cola” got its name. Beginning in 1893, New Bern pharmacist Caleb Bradham developed and began serving a carbonated drink he called “Brad's Drink.” He served the beverage from the soda fountain in his pharmacy at the corner of Pollock and Middle Streets. -
The first patent was issued for a glass blowing machine used to produce glass bottles.
A very unusual base scar, made by a heretofore unknown glass machine led to the interest in Frank O’Neill and his numerous inventions. -
The first automatic vending machines dispensed soda into cups.
In the early 1920s, the first vending machine that sold soda dispensed it into a cup. Sodas sold in bottles came around in the 1930s and the only choices available in vending machines were Classic Coke and Pepsi. -
Colored labeling makes its soft-drink-bottle debut. In the original process, the coloring was baked on the bottle.
Invented by Charles Leiper Grigg. 1934 Applied color labels are first used on soft drink bottles. The coloring was baked on the face of the bottle. 1952 The first diet soft drink is sold called the "No-Cal Beverage". -
Aluminum cans for soft drinks were introduced.
1957 The first aluminum cans are used. 1959 The first diet cola is sold. 1962 The pull-ring tab is invented. 1965 Is the first time soft drinks in cans are dispensed from vending machines. -
The first diet cola was sold.
RC became one of the first to introduce the sixteen-ounce bottle. The company produced the first low-calorie diet cola (Diet Rite), the first caffeine-free diet cola (RC 100), and the first diet cherry cola (Diet Cherry RC). -
Plastic bottles for soft drinks were introduced.
Plastic bottles were preferable because they were cheaper and easier to manufacture and transport, and they quickly replaced glass as the material of choice in soda bottling.