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Prototype Issue

Dr Pepper: Good for Life!

Posted by chris

10 Little known factoids about the greatest drink in the universe.

As a long time addict to this delightful confection, I felt it was time to review its history. Here are some interesting tidbits pulled from alt.fan.dr-pepper.

1) Dr Pepper is the oldest major soft drink brand in the US. It was invented in 1885 by Charles Alderton, a pharmacist in Texas, a year before Coca-Cola was born.

2) Was there really a Dr Pepper? That’s a good question; I’m glad you asked. The doctor the drink was most likely named after was his next door neighbor, who had a daughter who was one year younger than Mr. Alderton (age 17 at the time of census). Rumors are that Chuck was in love with young Ms. Pepper. “Dr Pepper, the drink of love”?

3) Every year, for one week only, the town of Dublin, Texas (the site of the oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant in the world), renames itself Dr Pepper, Texas.

4) The original title of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band! was Dr. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band!

5) Dr Pepper has been specifically required as part of many rocker’s contracts, including Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, Bush, Beck, the Foo Fighters, Sammy Hagar, Journey, REd Hot Chili Peppers (woot!), and ZZ Top. Truly an inspiring drink.

6) Dr Pepper doesn’t actually contain prune juice! What is more astounding is the longevity of this rumor. Although Dr Pepper “has never and never will contain prune juice” (statement from the Dr Pepper Website), the rumor has been circulating since the early 1930s. Weird.

7) Dr Pepper has a little more caffiene than Pepsi and a little less than Coke.

8) Dr Pepper made with cane suger is far better than that made with high fructose corn syrup. Where can you get some of this sweet, sweet sugary stuff? Either try anywhere near Dublin, Texas (sometimes known as Dr Pepper, Texas), or try this site: http://www.dublindrpepper.com/Store/entry.htm

9) Dr Pepper is owned by 7up, which is owned by Cadbury, PLC. Yes, like the little chocolate eggs.

10) Lastly, the fact you’ve all been waiting for, what ever happened to the period in Dr Pepper? (Dr.) As Max Arbogast explains it on his page (pepper.doc):

“The change came about in 1950 when Dr Pepper adopted a new slanted block-style font. The small lower case “r” consisted of a small slanted line with a dot at its upper right. To their dismay, they found that the period and the r’s dot combined visually to become a colon, thus making it Di:Pepper. The easy way out was to simply drop the period. This also helped move Dr Pepper further away from any medication association.”

Check out the image attached for the colon-y goodness.