Pop Quiz

Answer: Dr. Pepper

Dr. Pepper is the weird but endearing family member among American soft drinks, debuting in 1885, one year before Coca-Cola. Charles Alderton, a pharmacist with a taste for unusual flavors, created it in Waco, Texas, by blending fruit syrups into something that didn't taste like any other carbonated concoction at the time. The result was the famously mysterious "23 flavors", which the company still guards like state secrets (Sorry, prune juice is apparently not one of them, despite the enduring urban legend).

In its early marketing, Dr. Pepper leaned heavily into the era's love of "brain tonics" and "pick-me-ups," claiming the drink gave people an energy boost. As it originally came with ridiculous amounts of caffeine among its ingredients, this might be a fair claim. The famous "Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2, and 4" slogan came later, in the 1920s, urging people to crack one open at those hours when they're energy was low. (I had a co-worker who would tell me about 10, 2 and 4 every time he saw me with a Diet Dr. Pepper in my hand. He sat next to me, and I always had a Diet Dr. Pepper in my hand. I was definitely underpaid.)

While Coca-Cola and Pepsi duke it out for cola dominance, Dr. Pepper remains the eccentric cousin at the soda table, beloved by many, strange to others, but certainly not boring.

Answer: Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola was born in 1886 when Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist and former Confederate cavalry officer with a war injury and a morphine problem, decided to create a "nerve tonic". His original formula blended coca leaf extract (yes, with actual cocaine) and kola nut caffeine into a syrup that was mixed with carbonated water at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta. For five cents a glass, customers could enjoy a little cocaine and what was marketed as a cure for fatigue, headaches, and "brain fog", which today we call "Monday."

The drink's popularity soared, though Pemberton himself didn't live to see it become the global empire it is today. He sold off shares of the formula before his death in 1888, and a businessman named Asa Candler took the reins, pushing Coca-Cola into soda fountains nationwide. By the early 1900s, the cocaine was quietly removed from the recipe, but the caffeine stayed, because some habits are too profitable to break. Today, Coca-Cola is one of the most recognizable brands on earth, though it's no longer advertised as medicine for your nerves. It's just soda... unless, of course, you mix it with rum.

Answer: Pepsi Cola

Pepsi began life in 1893 behind the counter of Bradham's pharmacy in New Bern, North Carolina. Originally called "Brad's Drink" (catchy, am I right?), it was rebranded as Pepsi-Cola in 1898. The name came from "pepsin," a digestive enzyme, and "cola" from the kola nut, suggesting it was not just a tasty refreshment but also a stomach-soothing, energy-giving miracle in a bottle. Sorry again to spoil the fun, but it didn't actually contain pepsin, but truth in advertising was a tad more... flexible back then.

The brand grew rapidly, though it did hit some bumps, notably bankruptcy, not once but twice, in its early decades. Still, Pepsi persevered like a champ, famously positioning itself as Coca-Cola's bold rival. While Coke aimed for tradition and Americana, Pepsi went after youth culture, affordability, and later, celebrities who could dance better than most pharmacists ever could. Today, Pepsi stands as one of the two global soda titans, though somewhere out there, "Brad's Drink" still sounds like a craft soda hipsters would pay $20 a glass for.

Answer: 7 Up

7 Up was launched in 1929, right before the stock market crash that kicked off the Great Depression. Its original name is a matter of some debate. "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" is the most widely accepted version, and possibly the least marketable soda name in history, unless we want to draw in the hipsters again. All sources agree that it quickly became "7 Up Lithiated Lemon Soda", and by 1936, simply "7 Up".

Debatably true to the clunky label, the drink contained lithium citrate, a chemical once prescribed to treat mood disorders. The timing was delightful. When life hands you a great depression, at least you can sip your lemon-lime soda with a built-in mood stabilizer.

By 1948, lithium was removed from the recipe, as regulators started frowning on the idea of spiking soft drinks with psychiatric meds (and didn't have clinically effective amounts, in any event). Still, 7 Up leaned into its identity as the "Uncola" in later decades, setting itself apart from the cola wars with Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Today it's caffeine-free, lithium-free, and mostly just trying to look refreshing next to a plate of greasy pizza.

Answer: Philippines

In 1992, Pepsi tried to boost sales in the Philippines with a lottery-style promotion called "Number Fever." The idea was simple: bottle caps had numbers printed on them, and if your cap matched the daily winning number, you'd win a cash prize. Things went well until Pepsi accidentally declared 349 the winning number... which, thanks to a logistics error, appeared on over 600,000 bottle caps. That meant instead of a handful of winners, Pepsi suddenly owed the equivalent of 32 billion U.S. dollars, money they didn't have on hand for a soda giveaway.

Pepsi refused to honor the payouts, offering 500 pesos instead, and the situation quickly spiralled. Ticked-off consumers protested, rioted, and in some cases turned violent. At least five people were killed in the unrest, and Pepsi trucks became moving targets. Today, the "349 Incident" is remembered as one of the most infamous marketing blunders in corporate history.

Answer: Sprite

Sprite entered the U.S. market in 1961, Coca-Cola's answer to 7 Up's growing popularity. The name "Sprite" was borrowed from an earlier Coke advertising character, an elfin sprite who was used in marketing during the 1940s. While the elf didn't make the jump to soda cans, the name stuck, and Coca-Cola branded their lemon-lime concoction with it.

The drink was advertised as having "lymon", a marketing term meant to suggest a magical fusion of lemon and lime. In reality, "lymon" was just corporate-speak for "it tastes kinda citrusy and we hope you buy it." Unlike its parent cola, Sprite was caffeine-free, refreshing, and aggressively marketed toward the young and trendy. It quickly overtook 7 Up, becoming the world's top lemon-lime soda. The elf, however, is still on the loose.

Answer: Pibb Xtra

Pibb Xtra, originally launched as "Peppo", is Coca-Cola's copy-cat response to Dr. Pepper, much as Sprite was its answer to 7 Up, and New Coke was a poorly thought-out response to Pepsi. (You might get the idea that the Coca-Cola Company doesn't exactly embrace the competition.) When Dr. Pepper claimed trademark infringement, Coca-Cola quickly rebranded the drink as "Mr. Pibb" in the 1970s. In 2001, the company gave it a second makeover with a bolder and cherrier flavor as well as a typically 21st century name change: Pibb Xtra.

Unlike its mellower competitors, Pibb Xtra leans into its "spicy cherry" notes, creating a cola-alternative that's as much a curiosity as a beverage. It occupies a niche for those who want something vaguely like Dr. Pepper but with its own identity, a little mystery, and a misspelled word on its label. To this day, loyal fans enjoy it in cans, bottles, and fountain drinks.

Answer: PepsiCo

In the late 1980s, PepsiCo pulled off a deal that sounds more like the plot of a James Bond movie than your typical business transaction. The Soviet Union, strapped for hard currency, wanted Pepsi but couldn't pay in cash. So in 1989, they agreed to pay PepsiCo with a fleet of naval vessels, everything from frigates to submarines. Suddenly, the soft drink giant briefly held more military hardware than almost any nation on Earth, earning the tongue-in-cheek title of the world's "sixth-largest military power."

Unfortunately for this story, Pepsi didn't start building its own navy or taking over small island nations. They didn't even so much as sink an unoccupied yacht just for fun! The company sold the ships for scrap, turning a Cold War oddity into a profitable transaction. Still, the story endures as one of the most bizarre times geopolitics and cola marketing collided.

Answer: 7 Up

7 Up has long embraced a quirky and weird marketing style, and its mascots are no exception. Fido Dido, the lanky, spiky-haired cartoon character introduced in the 1980s, became a symbol of cool, laid-back attitude, perfect for a caffeine-free citrusy soda. "The Spot" or "The Cool Spot", his beloved companion from the 1980s, was a simple, anthropomorphized red circle with arms, legs, and sunglasses that reminded consumers that sometimes a dot from your logo is enough to make a good mascot.

Through these mascots, 7 Up distinguished itself from cola competitors with a tone of whimsy and weirdness. While other brands leaned on tradition or celebrity endorsements, 7 Up's mascots offered a wry wink and a nod, capturing the attention of kids, teens, and nostalgic adults alike. Fido Dido in particular endured long past his prime advertising years, becoming a pop-culture icon in clothing, merchandise, and even comic strips. As for ol' Spot, well, he got his own video game in the early 90s, because we're living in the end times. (In fairness, it was-I've read-surprisingly well done and successful.)

Answer: Moxie

Moxie has a long and strange history, starting in the 1870s when Dr. Augustin Thompson marketed it as a cure-all called "Moxie Nerve Food." Early advertisements claimed it could invigorate the body and calm the nerves, which seems ambitious for a bitter bubbly beverage. Its distinctive, bitter flavor has made Moxie both loved and polarizing, often described as tasting like a mix of root beer and cough medicine.

Over the decades, Moxie became a cultural icon in New England, especially Maine, where it earned the title of Official Soft Drink. Despite changing ownership, including its 2018 acquisition by Coca-Cola, Moxie has retained its quirky charm. Fans of the drink still proudly sip their Moxie, proving that sometimes people don't always act very sensibly.