14 of America's Most Charming Old-Fashioned Soda Fountains (2024)

FAQs

What is the oldest soda fountain in the US? ›

Goolrick's Pharmacy: Frederickburg, Virginia

Known as the oldest continuously operating soda fountain in the United States, Goolrick's has been serving malted milks and handmade ice creams at the same counter since 1912.

Almost every drugstore had a soda fountain by the early 1920's. Due to prohibition, which began in 1919, bars were closing and people needed a place to socialize.

CLASSIC SODA FOUNTAIN DRINKS. The start of it all is the Old Fashioned Soda Fountain Soda. The soda fountain soda is simple and easy to make. The only ingredients are syrup and seltzer (which is just carbonated water from a soda siphon, seltzer bottle, SodaStream carbonater or bottles from the grocery store).

Schweppes (1783)

The oldest soda brand still on the market today is none other than Schweppes. Schweppes was founded initially in 1783 when Jacob Schweppes created carbonated mineral water (via Coca-Cola).

Pepper was first served at the 1885 Louisiana Purchase Exposition a full year before Coca-Cola was introduced to the market, making it the oldest soda still available in the world. Apparently Alex disagrees with me—it turns out that the answer was Vernors.

Soda from soda machines tastes different than soda from cans for a reason. Soda from machines is made directly in the machine giving it a fresher taste. The type of straw you use and the use of ice also change the taste of the soda.

One of these, as Today observes, is that aluminum is more porous than bottles or plastic, allowing more carbonation to escape, which makes for a flatter-drink taste.

PepsiCo Inc. has discontinued its 24-year-old brand Sierra Mist and is rolling out a new lemon-lime soda, Starry, the company's latest effort to compete with Coca-Cola Co.'s popular Sprite soft drink.

And sometimes—not every night, but once a trip—Grandpa would wake us around 12 A.M. for our midnight snack: Black Cows. A Black Cow is simple, really. Just soda (we used Coca-Cola) with vanilla ice cream. You might call it a root beer float or an ice cream soda.

Mold and Bacteria

Since restaurant workers rarely clean the soda machines, there's most definitely a crap ton of mold in the pipes that your bubbly beverage runs through. And the ice in your drinks from places like McDonald's, Burger King and Starbucks is even worse.

What were attendants who worked at soda fountains called? ›

Fountain attendants were known as “soda jerks” due to the jerking motion they made when pulling the soda draft arm.

Some call it swamp water. Some call it a graveyard. Some call it the suicide. It's the stuff of playground legend: a liter cup filled to the brim with every single soft drink available at a restaurant's soda machine. For some reason, it's just something that appeals to kids — even today.

Behind the counter were the soda jerks. Their responsibilities were many—breaking and draining eggs with one hand, carving chicken, remembering orders, pulling the correct spigots and spindles on the drugstore soda fountain.

Carbonated soft drinks or sodas are not perishable, and are safe past the date stamped on the container.

Peychaud called his concoction the Sazerac co*cktail because of the spirit he used and the vessel he served it in. Therefore the Sazerac co*cktail created by Peychaud, is known as the oldest co*cktail in America.

Dubbed nectar of the gods by its many fans, Mountain Dew takes the crown for the soda with the most grams of sugar, according to Business Insider.

Pemberton originally touted his drink as a tonic for most common ailments, basing it on cocaine from the coca leaf and caffeine-rich extracts of the kola nut; the cocaine was removed from Coca-Cola's formula in about 1903.

Schweppes started in 1783

According to Coca-Cola, which owns the distributing rights to Schweppes in much of Europe and Asia, he later moved its headquarters to England. At 239 years of age and counting, Schweppes is not only the oldest soda brand in existence but the first bottled soft drink, period (via RFDTV).

Why does McDonald's co*ke taste better than regular co*ke? ›

Typically, restaurants get their soda syrups in plastic bags, but Coca-Cola does something different for McDonald's. The fast-food chain gets its co*ke syrup delivered in stainless steel tanks. According to the New York Times, the material keeps the soda fresher, and your tongue can taste the difference.

No matter what McDonald's you go to, the co*ke will always taste the same. That's because McDonald's filtration system is top tier. McDonald's filters its water before they add it to the soda fountain, so it guarantees your co*ke will always taste fresh—even if the water that they start with isn't great quality.

While most restaurants have their soda syrup delivered to them in plastic bags, McDonald's Coca-Cola syrup is stored in stainless steel tanks. This preserves the syrup's flavor and protects it from temperature, light, and air, all things that can degrade the flavor quickly. The stuff in the bags doesn't stand a chance.

The aluminum cans have a polymer lining that can absorb some of the soda's flavors, food chemist Sarah Risch tells Popular Science, potentially making the taste milder.

Movie co*ke

Drinks in movie taste much better because the syrup and carbonated water are kept ice cold and the fountain maintains the carbonation which makes the drink taste much better.

McDonalds mix their soda fountains to take into account the ice that they put in the drink- so the soda you get in McDonalds has a higher syrup/flavour content- than does a comparable soda from a can. If you were to wait until the added ice had disolved- you'd have the same concentration of syrup- as from a can.

Diet co*ke.

After factoring in annual revenue data, consumer polls, and their number of fans on Facebook, it has been determined that Diet co*ke is the least popular soda in America.

Back in 1996, before anyone used Orbitz.com to book flights and hotels, the website hawked a brand-new soft drink called Orbitz, which looked like a lava lamp in a 300ml bottle. The fruity, noncarbonated drink was dotted with chewy, gravity-defying colored gel “orbs” suspended in a support matrix of gellan gum.

1984: Slice

Pepsi released Slice in the mid-'80s as a new fruit-based line of sodas. Flavors included grape, pineapple, strawberry and the most iconic—orange.

History. Sarsaparilla was popular in the United States in the 19th century. According to advertisem*nts for patent medicines of the period, it was considered to be a remedy for skin and blood problems. The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink notes that it evokes images of "languid belles and parched cowboys".

What is co*ke with ice cream called? ›

co*ke float makes a classic drink recipe. Made of ice cream and Coca-Cola, a co*ke float is a definite favorite.

An ice cream float or ice cream soda, also known as a spider in Australia and New Zealand, is a chilled beverage that consists of ice cream in either a soft drink or a mixture of flavored syrup and carbonated water.

The whir and fizz of soda dispensing from a fountain spout is a pretty satisfying sound. It promises an incoming sugar rush, bubbling caffeine about to hit your tongue, and, apparently, some soda lovers say the machine pour is also best for flavor.

If you reduce the water pressure with a filter, then your drinks may taste bad because the machine is calibrated for a certain water pressure! 2. The unit might be mixing too little or too much syrup per volume of water. If this is the case, you'll need a service technician to adjust the machine.

First, remove all of the water from the fountain shells and any parts of the fountain that will hold water. A wet vacuum or similar vacuum works well for removing the water completely. If your fountain has drain plugs, remove the drain plugs to drain the water. Collect the drain plugs and place in a plastic bag.

Then 'water' and 'fountain' are crossed out, and 'bubbler' is put in their place. It goes to show you that people can be very loyal to their colloquialisms!

A survey of US dialects undertaken between 2002 and 2004 found the word bubbler is commonly used in southern and eastern Wisconsin and in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The phrase drinking fountain was common in the rest of the inland north and in the west, while water fountain dominated other parts of the country.

People who live in the south or northeast parts of the United States tend to say water fountain most often. Have we whet your appetite to know more?

Coca-Cola Classic

Drum roll, please… It is no surprise here, but the number one most popular soft drink is hands down Coca-Cola Classic. Manufactured by the largest soft drink beverage company in the world, co*ke is the staple of the Coca-Cola Company.

What restaurant has the world's largest soda fountain? ›

Nifty Fifty's: Philadelphia's Old Fashioned Diner and the World's Largest Soda Fountain. Nifty Fifty's offers a 1950s diner-style establishment for parties, casual meals, or a quick roadside stop.

Yes. Sparkling soft drinks, including reduced and no sugar, no calorie options, contain between 85% and 99% water, which means they can help quench thirst and count towards your recommended daily fluid intake.

1 Answer. Mixing all fountain sodas together is also known as Swamp water, Graveyard or Suicide.

Coffee, tea and chocolate were popular non-alcoholic hot beverages during American Colonial times.

With a growing population, safe drinking water is becoming increasingly scarce in a town where some neighbourhoods have running water just a few times a week. So, many residents drink co*ke produced by a local bottling plant. The beverage can be easier to find than bottled water and is almost as cheap.

More than 5 billion bottles of co*ke were consumed by military service personnel during the war, in addition to countless servings through dispensers and mobile, self-contained units in battle areas. But the presence of Coca-Cola did more than just lift the morale of the troops.

Dr Pepper was created in 1885 and believed to be the first soda as we know it today followed by Coca-Cola one year later.

AN EARLY example of a fountain, found in Mesopotamia, dates from around 3000 BC. It consisted of a series of basins which made use of a natural spring. A similar system is found in Greek and Roman remains. Mechanically-operated fountains became familiar during the 15th century in Italy.

The first fountain was built on Holborn Hill on the railings of the church of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate on Snow Hill, paid for by Samuel Gurney, and opened on 21 April 1859. The fountain became immediately popular, and was used by 7,000 people a day.

Schweppes started in 1783

According to Coca-Cola, which owns the distributing rights to Schweppes in much of Europe and Asia, he later moved its headquarters to England. At 239 years of age and counting, Schweppes is not only the oldest soda brand in existence but the first bottled soft drink, period (via RFDTV).

What is the most bought soda in America? ›

It is no surprise here, but the number one most popular soft drink is hands down Coca-Cola Classic. Manufactured by the largest soft drink beverage company in the world, co*ke is the staple of the Coca-Cola Company. Crisp, delicious, and super refreshing, Coca-Cola Original is an all-time favorite.

The Trevi Fountain in Rome is probably the most famous water fountain in the world. It was completed in 1762, 30 years after Nicola Salvi first began work on it.

Dubai's Palm Fountain broke the Guinness World Record for the world's largest fountain . It spreads over 1,335 square metres of seawater. The record-breaking fountain is located at The Pointe on Palm Jumeirah. The Palm Fountain has over 3,000 LED lights and 7,500 nozzles.

The oldest brands of bottled water illustrate the industry's origins. Probably the very oldest brand of bottled water, Evian, is produced on the southern shore of Lake Geneva, in France, near a place called Évian-les-Bains, literally Evian-the-Baths. Evian began to be sold in 1830 in earthenware jugs.

Besides the tap water being contaminated with chemicals and bacteria – the fountain itself is likely covered in germs! Drinking fountains are breeding grounds for germs and bacteria. The more people who come in contact with the public fountain – the more germs there are.

The 200-year-old flask, described as in a 'good condition and still corked', has the name 'Selters' inscribed in its stoneware. Polish archaeologists found the 12 inch (30cm) bottle in shipwreck lying 12.2 metres (40ft) below water in the Gda? sk Bay close to the Polish coast.

In 1957 Double-Cola made history by becoming the first major soft drink to be marketed in a 16-ounce (470 ml) returnable bottle.

Pemberton created Coca Cola in 1886 while Pepsi did not come about until 1893. Both companies have long histories, and each has had some ups and downs along the way.