# Why is cola only popular in carbonated form? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [December 19, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117 "2019-12-19T23:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/21 "2019-12-20T16:24:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My uncle would drink a Coke to settle an upset stomach. He usually didn’t drink much soda, but Coke helped when he was queasy. Warm lemon-lime soda (especially 7Up and Sprite) or ginger ale is often recommended for an upset stomach. This article states it doesn’t work: [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/03real.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/03real.html), but I’ve been drinking 7Up or Sprite warm or cold since I was little and it definitely seems to help. Warm Coke, flat or not makes it worse. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/22 "2019-12-20T16:31:53Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > I the 60’s, we had Fizzies: [https://www.oldtimecandy.com/pages/fizzies-drink-tablets](https://www.oldtimecandy.com/pages/fizzies-drink-tablets). No cola flavor and they didn’t taste very good. I would break them into pieces and suck on them, an early Pop Rocks. A couple of times I tried putting a full tablet in my mouth, but always had to spit it out. Fizzies were artificially sweetened\*, so I hated them. There definitely WAS a Cola-flavored fizzie: > [@](#): > > In the 1950s and 1960s Fizzies came in seven flavors: grape, orange, cherry, lemon-lime, strawberry, root beer, and cola. > **[Fizzies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fizzies)** > > Fizzies were tablets that created a "carbonated" soft drink when added to water. > Lem Billings, a close and long-time friend of President John F. Kennedy and the Kennedy family, has also been given credit as inventor. "As Vice President at the Emerson Drug Company in Baltimore, he was responsible for inventing the 1950s fad drink Fizzies by adding a fruit flavor to disguise the sodium citrate taste." Once perfected, Emerson named the creation Fizzies. The tablet was dropped into a glass of water,... Here’s a package of cherry cola fizzies, but it’s recent: > **[Amazon.com : Miles Kimball Cherry Cola Fizzies Drink Tablets : Candy : Grocery...](https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Kimball-Cherry-Fizzies-Tablets/dp/B008F8855Q)** > > Each order has Six boxes with 12 tablets per box for a total of 72 tablets. Delicious Cherry Cola Flavor \*I’ve long argued that the reason that Fizzies and “Funny Face” drink mixes were artificially sweetened has nothing to do with a desire to restrict calories and everything to do with the size of the package, and what peoples’ reaction to it would be if they realized how much sugar was in the drink. You can use a LOT less artificial sweetener than sugar to get about the same level of sweetness. Kool-Aid solved the problem (and kept their package thin) by telling you to add your own sugar. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/23 "2019-12-20T17:13:14Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society, our home for topics about the enjoyment of food and drinks of all sorts. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/24 "2019-12-20T17:14:21Z")
I think it’s because sour and sweet make a good flavor combination. Or maybe it’s just me, since my favorite candies are thing like Sweet Tarts and sour gummies. ETA. What I wonder about is a somewhat related question. Why are there no carbonated teas? I don’t particularly like the flavor of tea, but it seems to me that it would taste good if it had some carbonation. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/25 "2019-12-20T17:27:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Fizzies were artificially sweetened\*, so I hated them. > > There definitely WAS a Cola-flavored fizzie: > > [Fizzies - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fizzies) > > Here’s a package of cherry cola fizzies, but it’s recent: > > [https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Kimball-Cherry-Fizzies-Tablets/dp/B008F8855Q](https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Kimball-Cherry-Fizzies-Tablets/dp/B008F8855Q) > > \*I’ve long argued that the reason that Fizzies and “Funny Face” drink mixes were artificially sweetened has nothing to do with a desire to restrict calories and everything to do with the size of the package, and what peoples’ reaction to it would be if they realized how much sugar was in the drink. You can use a LOT less artificial sweetener than sugar to get about the same level of sweetness. Kool-Aid solved the problem (and kept their package thin) by telling you to add your own sugar. Thanks, I never saw the cola Fizzie or if I did, I ignored it, only getting the grape or orange. My mom wouldn’t let me get Kool-Aid because adding sugar added to the cost. Funny Face was okay because the only cost was buying a single packet, I preferred Funny Face anyway and the sugar added to Kool-Aid never fully dissolved completely leaving a blast of sugar in the last cup! ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/26 "2019-12-20T17:45:17Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Starting even before it was called “Kook-Aid” and was still a liquid, they sold a root beer flavor which persisted far longer. Allegedly this was Jim Jones favorite drink. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/27 "2019-12-20T18:22:00Z")
I have been trying out all the brands of ginger ale and ginger beer I can find. I like Fever Tree the best so far if you are interested. Ginger ale is known for its high level of carbonation. Some are so carbonated I can barely get the first gulp down without spewing some out my nose! But I was reading some reviews about Jamaican style ginger beer which contains other fruit flavors, often pineapple. It mentioned that Jamaicans were quite amused about Americans’ love of carbonation and apparently do not carbonate ginger beer sold locally. So maybe it is a US thing and we are just propagating it around the world? Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/28 "2019-12-20T20:51:10Z")
I’m not sure how you’d make ginger beer with no carbonation - we make it at home, and the point is to get a yeast culture into your ‘plant’ and leave it to ferment along with the ginger, sugar and other ingredients. It comes out explosively fizzy, though I’m not sure if the bubbles are of the same gas as when you deliberately carbonate syrup ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/29 "2019-12-20T22:38:33Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Fizzies were artificially sweetened\*, so I hated them. > > There definitely WAS a Cola-flavored fizzie: > > [Fizzies - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fizzies) > > Here’s a package of cherry cola fizzies, but it’s recent: > > [https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Kimball-Cherry-Fizzies-Tablets/dp/B008F8855Q](https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Kimball-Cherry-Fizzies-Tablets/dp/B008F8855Q) > > \*I’ve long argued that the reason that Fizzies and “Funny Face” drink mixes were artificially sweetened has nothing to do with a desire to restrict calories and everything to do with the size of the package, and what peoples’ reaction to it would be if they realized how much sugar was in the drink. You can use a LOT less artificial sweetener than sugar to get about the same level of sweetness. Kool-Aid solved the problem (and kept their package thin) by telling you to add your own sugar. Kool-Aid was on the market long before Funny Face. I thought the reason for the artificial sweetener was the cost savings- same price per packet but you didn’t have to buy sugar, too. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/30 "2019-12-21T02:26:38Z")
As I recall, Funny Face was 15 or 20 cents vs 10 or 15 cents for unsweetened Kool-Aid, which required using your own sugar. Kool-Aid was for the older kids and Funny Face was for the pre-teens. I was never a big fan of Kool-Aid and drank Funny Face mostly because of the commercials. Once Funny Face was pulled from the market, I never drank Kool-Aid again, partially because of the confusion of what did and didn’t contained cyclamate. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/31 "2019-12-21T02:33:53Z")
I take back what I said about not ever drinking Kool-Aid again. A couple of years ago I started occasionally drinking the Grape liquid Kool-Aid, turning into soda with my SodaStream. But if I drink more than a liter in a day, it gives me gas from the other end! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/32 "2019-12-21T02:34:55Z")
I take back what I said about not ever drinking Kool-Aid again. A couple of years ago I started occasionally drinking the Grape liquid Kool-Aid, turning into soda with my SodaStream. But if I drink more than a liter in a day, it gives me gas from the other end! :eek: Edit: As I recall, part of the sales pitch for Funny Face was not having to add sugar, justifying the higher cost. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/33 "2019-12-21T03:24:15Z")
Here’s an original Funny Face commercial from the 60’s that emphasizes that it’s pre-sweetened without needing any additional sugar: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn-tpSSnSrs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn-tpSSnSrs) The politically incorrect names and caricatures have been discussed in other threads. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/34 "2019-12-21T06:11:45Z")
I suppose if one likes cola that is not carbonated, the simplest recipe is to just open the can and let it sit for a day or two. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/35 "2019-12-21T06:32:52Z")
Just do a long pour from glass to glass a few times and 99% of the fizz will be gone. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/36 "2019-12-21T06:37:28Z")
i remember when kool-aid used to sell pre-sweetened packs the things weighed almost a pound costs 10 times as much…and some health group took an unsweetened pack and a presweetened pack figured out that the presweetened pack was just convenience as it had the exact amount of sugar that you would add to a normal 2-quart pitcher of kool-aid … Now they still sell presweetened Koolaid but its in a small plastic container and uses a little scoop … theres supposed to be 65 2 quart servings or more servings in the container ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/37 "2019-12-21T12:51:41Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Just do a long pour from glass to glass a few times and 99% of the fizz will be gone. Sure, if you’re in a hurry and need your cola fix _right now_ like some kind of shivering black-toothed cola junkie feeling the dark shadows of withdrawal closing in like ravens clawing at your eyes while your relatives look on in pitying despair, their exhausted beaten-down faces begging you to _please don’t, just hang on a little longer, can’t you see you’re tearing the family apart?_ ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/38 "2019-12-21T14:39:36Z")
I was completely baffled by the references to “Funny Face”. Didn’t remember it at all. Then I clicked on the link to the commercial. A flood of memories. Yeah, I drank that. Memory is strange. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/39 "2019-12-21T20:56:06Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I don’t know if they still do, but pharmacies used to sell straight Coca Cola syrup for stomach ailments. I once had a particularly bad case of food poisoning, and Coke syrup was all I could tolerate for a couple of days. This was in the 70s. Back in the 40s and 50s our family doctor used to prescribe it for simple upset stomachs. It seemed to help. I have not heard of this recently. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117/40 "2019-12-22T12:37:08Z")
Wyler’s, the powdered lemonade company, offers other flavors and periodically gets experimental. We drank the stuff a lot when I was 9 or 10 circa 1970, and they offered cola and root beer flavor. We never got it a second time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cola-only-popular-in-carbonated-form/845117.md?page=3)