Those who think of sodas as fizzy poison may be surprised that the first steps towards turning the world's blood caramel-colored was officially meant to make the population healthier. Three different people fought to find a way to reproduce the healthful soda water to the public. Only one of their techniques survives. Welcome to the first iteration of the cola wars.
In the 1700s, generally a person's best medical option was soap, and so it's not surprising that people were desperate for other options. Medical centers and mystic healing communities sprang up around natural hot springs, where people bathed, hoping to cure their ailments. (Ideally, they did it with soap.) Water that seeped from the ground and was curiously, but non-fatally, bubbly was even more of an extraordinary phenomenon. People were encouraged not just to soak in them, but to drink these mineral waters, and they were credited with restoring health.
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