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You'd never recognize the world's most popular soft drinks by these original names

Nothing beats the refreshing taste of Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda!

Nov 3, 2017, 11:53AM By MeTV Staff

Its fizzy bubbles tickled your nose when you were a kid. Its sweet taste kept you requesting refills. Whether you choose root beer, lemon-lime or classic cola, the soda you sip the most sticks in your memory, and when the waitress comes to take your order, it's often the first thing you request. For fans of Pepsi and Coke, it can even become a major issue when your favorite brand is not available. But would you recognize your favorite soda by any other name?

We're not so sure we would've passed the "Pepsi Taste Test" if presented by these major soft drink brands below by their original names. Scroll through and find out what folks were calling the world's most popular sodas on the day they were first introduced.

1. Fanta Klare Zitrone

People have been obeying their thirst and choosing Sprite since 1961. But before Coca-Cola acquired the brand, the drink was originally developed in Germany, where it was known as the slightly less catchy Fanta flavor "Fanta Klare Zitrone," which translates to "Clear Lemon Fanta."

2. Peppo

When Mr. Pibb was first introduced, it was trying perhaps a little too hard to compete with Dr. Pepper. So hard, in fact, that its original name was "Peppo," which was just way too close for Dr. Pepper's comfort. Dr. Pepper sued Coca-Cola, alleging the name infringed on their trademark. That's when Peppo became Mr. Pibb.

3. Citrus Club

The recipe for Squirt was developed by a college kid, Herb Bishop, in 1938, and he originally called his sparkling drink Citrus Club. He sold it to Dr. Pepper and in 1941 they introduced a new mascot for the soda called "Lil' Squirt' and the drink's popularity surged. It's been called Squirt since.

4. Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda

One of the earliest sodas developed, 7 Up was marketed at first as a mood-lifting drug you could find in the pharmacy. Thus, it needed a super-clinical name, and they definitely nailed it: Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda doesn't have the exact same ring to it as 7 Up, but it didn't matter. The drink was hugely popular. Soon, folks started shortening the name to "7 Up Litihated Lemon Soda," and by 1936, they arrived at the much simpler "7 Up."

5. Brad's Drink

When Pepsi was first introduced in 1893, it wasn't necessarily for "those who think young." Instead, it was marketed for indigestion. For that reason, it didn't need a flashy name, so when it hit the pharmacies that year, it was called "Brad's Drink," after the guy who invented the stuff, Caleb Bradham. It took five years for the name to shift to Pepsi-Cola, and even that is more practical than you might think. The "pep" in Pepsi isn't referring the the bounce in your step, but instead to "dyspepsia." The company simplified the name to Pepsi in 1961.

6. French Wine Coca nerve tonic

Coca-Cola's storied history has an 8-year head start on Pepsi, with the invention of French Wine Coca nerve tonic in 1885. Then when prohibition laws arrived in 1886, the company quickly shifted the recipe to the non-alcoholic Coca-Cola we're used to drinking today.

7. Belfast Root Beer

The root beer we snag from Pepsi vending machines today is called simply MUG, but when the soda was introduced in 1947, it was advertised as Belfast root beer. It took a similar path to 7 Up, lengthening the name in the 1950s to Belfast Old Fashioned Mug Root Beer. By the 1960s, people needed a shorter way to refer to the sugary stuff, and that's when MUG finally stuck.