When was fizzy drinks invented

The first carbonated drinks were an attempt to produce imitation mineral water, popular at the time because of their supposed curative powers. In , the first drinkable man-made glass of carbonated water was created by Englishman Doctor Joseph Priestley and three years later, Swedish chemist Torbern Bergman invented a way of mass producing fizzy water with apparatus that used sulphuric acid to liberate carbonated water from chalk.

The most famous fizzy drink of them all was Coca Cola, invented by confederate Colonel John Pemberton who was wounded in the American Civil War and then became addicted to morphine. In an effort to wean himself off the painkiller, he was inspired to create Coca Wine nerve tonic, later called Coca-Cola which he boldly claimed cured morphine addiction, indigestion, nerve disorders, headaches, and even impotence — who knows, this might be true, given that up until the drink contained varying amounts of cocaine or perhaps it was just marketing fizz.

But have you ever wondered what had to go down to get that bottle to your table? Buckle up for this ride. Our story begins in when a European man named Joseph Priestly figured out how to infuse water with carbon dioxide, creating the first carbonated beverage.

Back then people believed carbonated water cured illnesses so "soda" was sold in pharmacies. Pharmacists would mix prescriptions into soda to make it easier for the patients to take. It wasn't until the creation of root beer in that soda began to evolve into a drink option.

Cola flavored soda entered the market shortly after in Dr Pepper was created in and believed to be the first soda as we know it today followed by Coca-Cola one year later. The story doesn't end there; there have been many modifications to the way soda has been enjoyed between its invention and today. This process became a sensation, with even King William IV of England favouring the the sparkling drink.

The introduction of carbonated water into mainstream society fundamentally changed the way that people drank. Previously, alcohol had been drunk straight, without mixers or dilution. With the discovery of carbonated water, people began to mix their spirits with this carbonated water, and thus making it more socially acceptable to drink alcohol.

The sparkling water drank in those days probably tasted a little different than we are used to today. Many chemicals were added to the mixtures in order to preserve the beverages for extended periods of time.

Today, sparkling water is created when the combination of high gas pressure and low temperature causes carbon to dissolve in water, creating carbonic acid.