7 Up
Two weeks before the stock market crashed in 1929, Charlie Grigg of the Howdy Corporation released his newest invention on the market. It was a cure for hangovers he called "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda". Catchy, isn't it? Anyway, his formula did include a medicine, namely lithium citrate, which was a mood stabilizing drug. So, even if this new beverage didn't cure your hangover, you at least didn't feel as depressed.
It wasn't long before Charlie changed the name of his new soft drink to 7 Up. You have to admit, it was a lot easier to remember. And, unlike the 600 or so other manufacturers of lemon-lime drinks at the time, Charlie began to distribute his 7 Up nationally. Before long, he even changed the name of his company to The Seven Up Company.
Charlie died in 1948, and a couple of years later, the company stopped putting lithium citrate in 7 Up. But the company never lost the idea that 7 Up should be sold as something that is healthy for you. Lately, 7 Up was marketed as "100% natural", even though it included high fructose corn syrup. When the Center for Science in the Public Interest threatened to sue last year, 7 Up changed that to "100% natural flavors".
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