World Monitor Mag, Digitalisation WM_June 2019 web | Page 79

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the participants of the Yalta Conference, and Western politicians
mentioned it in their memoirs. And when the American President
Harry Truman sent 1,000 bottles of cola to the USSR in 1952
as a gift, he received a rich collection of Georgian lemonade in
return – Stalin decided to show him that soda was better in the
USSR. Among the drinks were exotic tastes that were not found
in stores – for example, chocolate. The gift made a splash.
5. The names of some popular modern soda
drinks have not changed for decades and sound rather
strange if you think about the meaning of the translation. For
example, the Scottish “Irn Brue” (Iron Bru) was initially called the
Iron Brew. Around this lemonade there is no less mystery than
around cola. The secret recipe consists of 32 ingredients, and
supposedly only three people know it. They are all from the same
family. Interestingly, this soda is called the second national drink
of Scotland, after whiskey, of course.
6. In the world there are many sodas with strange
tastes. For example, sweet corn, bacon, celery, or ice cucumber.
Garlic soda is sold in Switzerland, and kimchi is a flavor popular in
Korea (a spicy Asian side dish of cabbage and other vegetables).
Against the background of all this, salted watermelon or soda
with the taste of peanut butter and grape jelly is just baby talk.
7. In the USSR, the first automatic machine with
soda appeared in 1937 – in the dining room of the Smolny
Palace. Then they began to install the same machines literally
everywhere. It was possible to buy either just sparkling water
(for a penny), or with syrup (for three). And, the glasses were
reusable. Another Soviet-time artifact is a siphon for carbonated
water – these ‘charged’ with carbon dioxide cylinders provided
the opportunity to get a fizzy drink at home.
8. Carbon dioxide is a natural preservative, so soda
water is easier to store and transport than regular
drinking water. In addition, carbonation improves the taste
of natural mineral water, but to use it for medicinal purposes, the
gas still needs to be released – so you need to open the lid and
let the water stand. A certain amount of carbon dioxide may be
contained in the water initially, but it is usually so small that the
liquid is additionally carbonated. However, only to certain values –
usually 0.3-0.4%. Carbon dioxide is used as a preservative and is
indicated on the packaging under the code E290.
9. The carbonation of beverages can be chemical
and mechanical. In the first case, the saturation of the
liquid with carbon dioxide occurs during fermentation – as in
how beer, sparkling wine, cider, and kvass acquire pleasant
bubbles during the ripening process. In the second case, the
beverages are saturated with carbon dioxide artificially, either
in special devices resembling giant siphons or in metal tanks
under pressure. It is also possible now to find on the market a
soda ‘refilled’ with other gases, for example, oxygen.
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