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Monday 18 December 2017

7 Up

7 Up is a lemon-lime flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. It was invented by an American from Missouri, Charles Griggs (May 11, 1868 – April 16, 1940) who had launched his St. Louis–based company The Howdy Corporation in 1920. In October 1929 Griggs developed a new version of a "lithiated" patent medicine, containing small amounts of lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug; he called it Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda.

Prior to inventing 7 Up, Grigg had created an orange soft drink named "Whistle" for the Vess Soda Company. It is still made and sold in St. Louis.

By 1933 Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda was being marketed in the USA as a soft drink called 7 Up. After the drink's re branding its sales increased significantly.

The number seven was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces, while Up indicated the direction of the bubbles.

7-ounce 7 Up bottle. By Proczach -  Wikipedia

7 Up has been reformulated several times since its launch in 1929. The drink contained lithium citrate until 1948. In 2006, the version of the product sold in the U.S. was reformulated by eliminating the chelating agent salt calcium disodium EDTA, and replacing sodium citrate with potassium citrate to reduce the beverage's sodium content. It is now promoted as having "100% Natural Flavors".

7 Up launched a variation called "dnL" (the 7up logo turned upside down) in September 2002. It was basically the opposite of 7 Up: instead of a caffeine-free clear soda in a green bottle, it was a caffeinated green soda in a clear bottle. Also,  instead of lemon-lime the flavor was lime-lemon.

The U.S. version of the 7 Up logo includes a red circle between the "7" and "Up"; this red circle has been animated and used as a mascot for the brand as Cool Spot.

7-up image

A common urban legend about Charles Grigg is that he was an albino, and that the red circle on the American 7-Up bottles represent his red eyes. In fact there are no official references to Grigg having been an albino and the 7-up logo with the red circle came into use in the 1970s, several decades after Grigg had died.

The rights to the 7 Up brand are held by Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the United States, and PepsiCo (or its licensees) in the rest of the world.

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