America’s Oldest Soda Pop Was a Michigan Accident
This isn’t just any soda; it’s a slice of Michigan history, born from a pharmacist’s wartime surprise.
Vernor's has been a part of the fabric of Michigan for nearly 160 years. It's likely that if you grew up in Michigan and had an upset stomach as a child, your mother didn't give you gave you Pepto Bismol or Alka Seltzer. She probably gave you Vernor's Ginger Ale. I've never heard anyone say that Vernor's is their favorite drink. However, it beats actual medicine.
So, how did this reported accidental invention happen? According to Pharmacy Times, a Detroit-based pharmacist, James Vernor, was attempting to create a medicine to relieve the common upset stomach when he accidentally invented a popular soda.
Vernors was created partially by mistake while working on a concoction to help relieve stomachaches when he was called to the Civil War in 1862. When returning from the war, he discovered that the barrel he had left was filled with a delicious beverage.
When James Vernor was called to the Civil War in 1862. His "medicine" sat aging in a barrel for 4 years, which turned it into a yummy beverage that he began selling as a fountain drink at this pharmacy in Detroit in 1866.
Let's put this in perspective. Dr. Pepper wasn't invented until 1885. Coke was invented a year after Dr. Pepper. There may not be a Coke or Pepsi if there hadn't first been a Vernor's. James Vernor was 20 years ahead of the soda pop boom in America. However, Vernor's isn't the oldest soda pop in the world. That would be Schweppe's, which was created in 1783.
Tap here for more incredible facts about the great state of Michigan.
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Gallery Credit: Canva