12 Secrets About Mountain Dew

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Mountain Dew is one of America’s most popular soft drinks, finishing just behind Coca-Cola Classic, Pepsi-Cola and Diet Coke in sales in 2007. Its product is currently expanding rapidly, with new flavors Baja Blast, Code Red, LiveWire and many others being added in recent years. Simply put, Mountain Dew is on the rise… and before you drink another can you should learn the 12 secrets about Mountain Dew.

#1 Invented in the 1940s

Mountain Dew was originally invented in the 1940s. I say “originally” because the drink that was bought by the Pepsi Company was actually the third edition of the drink. Another secret is that the drink was originally flavored with lemon and lime and was made in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Mountain-Dew-old-can#2 Originally Made to Be Mixed with Whiskey

The inventors originally made Mountain Dew to be mixed with whiskey. In fact, that’s why they gave the name Mountain Dew.

#3 Slang for “Moonshine”

Mountain Dew was actually slang for “moonshine”. Another secret is that the original container featured a hillbilly who was holding a jug of whiskey. There was also an outhouse, a pig, and a man running from the hillbilly who had shot at him.

#4 The Astronaut Neil Armstrong Attributed his success to Mountain Dew

Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon. When he was interviewed after coming home he said: “I give all the credit of the success of this flight to Mountain Dew. If it wasn’t for the inspiration this soft drink brought to me I wouldn’t be where I am today”. In fact it was Neil’s voice that brought Mountain Dew to the attention of the Pepsi-Cola company in 1964

Pepsi80s#5 Bought by Pepsi in 1964

In 1964, Pepsi bought Mountain Dew. Pepsi would then make the drink into a worldwide success. The Pepsi Company would also have fun creating new flavors of Mountain Dew, including Code Red and Pitch Black. Pitch Black was released during the Halloween of 2004.

#6 Has Orange Juice in It

One of the flavors in Mountain Dew is orange juice. This gives the soft drink a tangy, yet smooth flavor. Another secret is that in Japan the drink has tangerine juice rather than orange juice.

#7 The Diet Version Was Released in 1988

In 1988 a diet version was released. While it was nice to have a soft drink that had no calories, the flavor of the original diet version was horrible. Thankfully the taste has improved over the years and now tastes almost identical to the original version..

#8 First Slogan

The first slogan for this highly caffeinated beverage was “Ya-Hoo Mountain Dew. It’ll tickle your innards”. The commercials even featured a cartoon hillbilly. This slogan began in 1965. In 1973, a new slogan began which said, “Put A Little Ya-Hoo in Your Life”.

#9 “Do the Dew” Started in 1993

In 1993, the popular slogan “Do the Dew” began. Around this time the soft drink started to heavily promote itself as a drink for athletic people. In fact, in 1995, Mountain Dew sponsored the first X-Games

#10 Mountain Dew Mouth is Real!

Yes, sadly. “Mountain Dew Mouth” is the name given to brown rotted teeth caused by drinking too much acidic sugary soda pop. The condition is mostly prevalent in the Appalachian region where Mountain Dew is the favorite drink. It wouldn’t be so bad if they drank less soda and brushed their teeth more often… if at all.

#11 Mountain Dew contains a lot of High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup is a sugar substitute, that in high doses, it can cause such serious health problems as obesity, migraines, lowered immune function, gallstones, and cardiovascular disease; just to name a few. Mountain Dew packs in 46g of it in a 12 oz can! A Krispy Kreme donut only has 10mg.

#12 Mountain Dew contains Sodium Benzoate

In a recent study, Sodium Benzoate has been shown to produce carcinogens when mixed with Vitamin C. So, the only healthy ingredient in Mountain Dew, orange juice, might actually be helping to cause these carcinogens! Not only that, but another recent study claims that Sodium Benozoate might lead to Parkinson’s disease and cirrhosis of the liver!

Bonus: Mountain Dew contains Brominated Vegetable Oil

Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) is used as an emulsifier to help Mountain Dew taste citrusy for a long time and to help give it its clouded appearance. BVO is banned in over 100 countries!

The US merely restricts its usage. Bromine is lethal in its liquid and vaporous form and used to be used as a sedative until doctors noticed it caused memory loss in some patients. Despite the fact that some have linked BVO to serious health problems like organ failure and birth defects the FDA still allows it to be used in the US.

Although there are no serious health reports with ‘normal’ consumption of Mountain Dew and other soda drinks containing BVO the best advice is moderation.

Comments 4

  1. I am so trying to get away from Mt. Dew.  I know that it is bad for us, but the taste is very good.  I never knew brominated vegetable oil was that tasty 🙂

  2. I just can’t get enough of the mountain dew.  I have been trying to quit drinking it for years now.  NO luck!  Reading through some of these is quite scary however, maybe its time to give it another try.

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