Whether it ’s " pop,“Malört , or a Methedrine of bitter tears after suffering yet another personnel casualty to the Packers , Chicagoans be given to wassail some interesting stuff . Yet , few potable cheer as much veneration among in - the - know locals as Green River sodium carbonate , which has a sweet , burnt lime - tinged gustatory sensation that many think is the stuff of caption . In fact , we ’re jolly sure hard-core fan bath their firstborn in it to assure a estimable harvest each drop . Whilethatclaim is totally unsubstantiated , wediddig up some other facts about the oddly ubiquitous tonic that are really true .
Green River used to be the No. 2 soda brand in America
Back in the fifties , only Coca - Cola sold more bottle than Green River . Uh , chyea , that ’s sort of a big deal , but apparently Coca - Cola had a very discrete edge on other soda water caller of the prison term : it actually washed all of its recycled bottles before refilling them and sell them again . If you discover this insane , please plop back down into your toilet in the clouds and call back that this was a fourth dimension when cars did n’t have seat belts , expecting mama fume cigs , and the atomic apocalypse was more likely to happen than the Cubs winning the World Series .
It may be the reason Midwesterners call soda “pop”
There may be some ingredient of rumour to this one , but it still sounds good than half the nonsense your uncle Bob cook up about Area 51 . Fact : back in the day , Green River bottleful were n’t capped . or else , there was a marble inside each bottle , used to invoke the sirup that would reconcile on the bottom of the drink . To seal the bottle , one would alternate it over , the marble would come down into the neck opening of the bottle , and the carbonation would keep it weight-lift in there . so as to open a bottleful , one would jerk it up and down , and the marble would settle out of the neck . Theory : when the marble fell out , it would make a popping sound , hence why people commence forebode Green River “ pop . ” Again , we ca n’t really prove this , but some people think that gravitational attraction is just angel pulling down on your pants when you jump , and this seems to be more credible than that .
A ton of Green River is sold on St. Patrick’s Day
How much exactly ? Probably enough to replace the Chicago River with . ( OK , believably not . ) Nevertheless , Green River makes approximately 30 per centum of its one-year gross sales in the four - to - five weeks surround St. Patrick ’s Day , which is moderately loco when you see that there ’s zero alcohol in it .
It inspired a CCR album and a John Fogerty song
Both refer “ Green River , ” of course . In a 1993Rolling Stoneinterview , Fogerty copped to being a big buff : " You used to be capable to go into a soda fountain , and they had these bottles of flavored sirup . My flavor was predict Green River . It was green , lime flavored , and they would empty some out over some ice and pour some of that sodium carbonate body of water on it , and you had yourself a Green River . " Pop is responsible for many a Moon dance school term .
Green River soda was mass-produced in a former brewery
The Prohibition was a genuine buzzkill ( literally ) . While people today definitely like to fox back a few brewskis , in the former 1900s , the average person was a much heavy drinker . Until income taxation was introduced in 1913 , about 30 % of Union income get along from excise taxes on alcoholic beverage . It was like , go home , 1913 , you have been over - dish out ! That ’s why when booze was criminalize , hoi polloi were really jonesing for an alternative – and Green River soda was there to pace up . The Schoenhofen Edelweiss Brewing Company of Chicago wrapped up its beer operation and start out cranking Green River out at 18th and Canalport in Pilsen .
It was invented in a Davenport, IA confectionary shop
Its owner , Richard C. Jones , purchase the shop in 1914 , and served many students that walk to nearby Davenport High School . In 1916 , he whipped up the first Green River , and serve it to his customers until he sold the recipe to Schoenhofen Co. in 1919 . The sales agreement allowed him to adjourn from the shop class , and afterwards Mr. Jones went into genuine estate . There ’s still a store in Davenport address Lagomarcino ’s that has been selling Green River since the 1920s . This sometime - schoolhouse confectionary shop and glass cream front room has is something directly out of a time machine , and has been process the greenish stuff and nonsense for nearly a century . There ’s also a second location in Moline , IL if you ’d opt a shorter drive .
Straight isn’t the only way to drink Green River
A Green River float was popularized on the Food connection , and the soda goes down pretty smoothly with a variety of spirits . Green River recommend make a beer margarita with one 12 oz can of limeade , 6 oz of tequila , two 12 oz bottleful of Green River , one 12 oz can of beer , methamphetamine hydrochloride , and lime wedges . ( Do n’t reference this when you get arrest for climbing a telephone set perch while wearing nothing but the remains of an obliterated piñata . ) However , if you do n’t feel like doing the workplace , swinging by Beef & Barley in Lakeview –they’ll make you a tasty Green River cocktail with Peach Street Distillers Jackelope knock rummy , Lillet , and Orange River bitterness , serve in a chilled coupe methamphetamine hydrochloride .
After drinking one too many Green River pop , Raf Miastkowskitends to sour into a craze - filled hulk who shreds his wear and then wakes up in a ditch somewhere . Send help@RafFoSho .
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