DR PEPPER

Good day and welcome to a special extended edition of Axioms with Barry with the much awaited discussion of Dr Pepper! I know we have been alluding to this topic since the second installment of Axioms, and today, I will tell you everything you never wanted to know about the soft drink, Dr Pepper. Let me begin by telling you a little about myself. I do not like Dr Pepper. I think that it has an odd taste. But I do think that the story behind it is interesting. Shall we begin? What? I said that I’d tell you a little about myself, did you expect my whole life story? Now, I will give you the life story of this popular soda. It is an epic saga of trial and error, unrequited love, intrigue, success, and the tale of Di: Pepper.

We will begin our story with Charles Alderton, the creator of Dr Pepper. In 1885, Alderton worked as a pharmacist in Morrison’s Old Country Drug Store in Waco, Texas. In addition to his pharmacy work, he experimented with mixing various fruit syrups together. He dug the way the store and the soda fountain smelled, and he wanted to create a drink that tasted like the smell. He kept mixing carbonated sodas and fruit syrups together until he happened upon one he fancied. His boss, Wade Morrison, gave it a try and he thought it was pretty keen too! They then began selling it to customers, and gosh did it sell! The customers began calling the drink “Waco,” after the city they were in. Apparently, the people of 1885 did not have very original minds.

There are many variations of how the drink became known as Dr Pepper. I will give you the most likely scenario. When Morrison was a young man living in Wytheville, VA, he was in love with a Miss Minerva Pepper, the daughter of Dr. William Pepper. He named the drink after her father in the hopes that he would approve their relationship. Dr. Pepper was not impressed and he did not consent to their relationship. Dr. & Minerva Pepper moved away, as did Morrison, and he never saw his love again…. [cue tears]

Many people believe that the drink was named after Dr. Charles Pepper, Morrison’s old boss, but there is just one problem with that account: Dr. Charles Pepper was never Morrison’s boss! The tragic story of Minerva Pepper is a more realistic portrayal of how the name came about. Shall we move on from this sad, depressing, heart wrenching tale of unrequited love and woe? You’ll have to give me a moment to compose myself. Please stop reading for approximately five minutes to reenact my sorrowful pause. I’ll be okay.

Before long, Dr Pepper became widely popular and the demand for this strange tasting drink with 23 flavors (none of them including prune juice, contrary to many rumors) skyrocketed. The demand surpassed the supply. Alderton and Morrison then met with Robert Lazenby, a young beverage chemist (does that job even exist?) and the owner of The Circle “A” Ginger Ale Company. The Circle Company has gone through many variations over the years, and it is now known as Circle “K.” Okay, I made up the last sentence, but it sounds good doesn’t it? Alderton did not wish to continue with a career in beverage making where he could have been wealthier than he could possibly imagine, therefore he went back to his pharmacy career and was never heard from again… Some say he moved to the woods and covered himself in mud to scare travelers. Some say he lost his mind and believed he had turned into a giant green jelly monster. Some say we should stop making up what happened to Alderton. In all honesty, because he left Dr Pepper behind, we did not research his life further.

Morrison and Lazenby partnered and formed the Dr Pepper Company in 1891. They introduced Dr Pepper to the world, did something in history, and had fun. Dr Pepper became the oldest soft drink in the world, beating Coca Cola by one year.

But why isn’t there a period after Dr? In actuality, it began as Dr. Pepper. It remained this way until the 1950’s. At this time, the Dr Pepper Company decided to change their font. The new font made Dr. Pepper look like Di: Pepper. To prevent confusion, mass panic, and rioting, Dr Pepper decided to drop the period. Or maybe they dropped it because Di: Pepper sounds stupid. We’ll never know. They changed the ridiculous font (which looks like Di Peppei) shortly thereafter, but the period never returned. It went through menopause. Also, the company decided not to bring it back because the Dr Pepper Company is not a physician. I’m sorry to break that news to you.

So that is the legendary chronicle of Dr Pepper. Who knew the beginning of a soda company could be so gosh darn interesting? Everyone enjoys a good origin story, right? This is all the time we have today. Thank you for reading this special extended edition of Axioms and stay tuned for future installments. You can look forward to an interesting fact about Coca Cola, trivia on traffic signals, what not to do on a railroad in Alabama, frogs in Los Angeles, and much more on future installments of Axioms with Barry!!!