Food - Drink
7 Up Used To Have A Much More Complicated Name
By CHRIS SANDS
The lemon-lime flavored soda called 7 Up was reportedly the 10th most popular soda in the world in 2021, but this drink enjoyed a peak in popularity in the 1970s. We can only imagine where the soda would be today if it kept its truly odd original name and formula from back in 1929, the year of its creation.
When it debuted, 7 Up was called Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda, and was considered a medicinal drink, perhaps explaining the lack of a catchy and fun name. Surprisingly, the term "lithiated" refers to lithium citrate, a drug that was once used for "mood enhancement" but is now sometimes prescribed to treat bipolar disorder.
Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda was renamed 7 Up by 1936, but it kept lithium citrate in its formula all the way until 1948. That year, lithium citrate was barred for use in soft drinks by the U.S. government, which is why 7 Up is now the familiar citrus drink that took over the 1970s as an "Uncola," or alternative to Pepsi and Coke.