Ok I’m either hallucinating or having a nostalgic moment here so I want to get confirmation on something which may be a UL in part but which I’m pretty sure is partly true.
Waay back in the “old days” I used to buy Mt.Dew by the bottle at the gas station where I had my first job. Back then it had a picture of a hillbilly on it and a shanyt of some sort (actually it resembles more closely an outhouse). Also on the bottle or in the advertising was the phrase “The quickest drink in the west!”. Apparently you could drink a Dew faster than any other carbonated soft drink around. At least that was the claim, and to be honest I think it was true. I could really chugg one down in a hurry. Try that with a can of the stuff today and you cough up a lung.
The reason for this speed drinking ability was (I was told) that ol Dew used a chemichal called a “greening agent” in the drink. This was a supposedly harmless chamichal used in agriculture to cause plants cells to absorb water or fluid in a hurry because of the way farmers rotate watering systems this was a good thing. Also it wasn’t supposed to be toxic or anything so using it in soda wasn’t so bad on GP. the result of putting it in the Dew was that it made it kinda’ “slick” going down and also tended to make you thirstier after drinking it (which reconciles with my memories as well).
Zen, I think we’re lookin’ at an Urban Myth here. I can’t find anything that refers to a “greening agent”, either in a Mountain Dew or an agricultural context. The word “greening” seems to be used to mean “corporate consciousness-raising vis-a-vis environmentalism”. I’ve been gardening for a long time, and I live in the Corn Belt, and I’ve never heard of a chemical you can spray on a plant or add to its root intake system that would cause it to absorb water faster.
Why would PepsiCo add a supposed agricultural chemical to pop, anyway? Even back in the 50’s, which is the time period I’m assuming you’re talking about, they could have gotten in big, big trouble if anybody found out. The Food and Drug Administration is not an invention of the 1980’s. The ingredients are sugar water, caffeine, and citrus flavorings. I think we’re talking UL.
But you’re right, it does seem to go down quicker than other soda. I think it has less carbonation than, say, Pepsi or Coke, so it’s easier to gulp it down.
This is only my experience from the few times I’ve had Mt. Dew. It has always tasted less carbonated than other soft drinks to me–sort of like 7-up that has been left out all night. Having lower carbonation would make it easier to drink it quickly.
There was another soda called “Mello Yello” that was advertised as “The World’s Fastest Soft Drink.” The commercials featured famous athletes competing to see who could drink it the fastest. Maybe this is what you are thinking of? I can’t recall what the can/bottle looked like, since Mello Yello hasn’t been sold in my area in years (at least I haven’t seen it).