Soft drinks by definition are carbonated drinks that are non-alcoholic. Carbonated soft drinks are also refereed to as soda, soda pop, pop, or tonic.
- 1798 The term "soda water" first coined.
- 1810 First U.S. patent issued for the manufacture of imitation mineral waters.
- 1819 The "soda fountain" patented by Samuel Fahnestock.
- 1835 The first bottled soda water in the U.S.
- 1850 A manual hand & foot operated filling & corking device, first used for bottling soda water.
- 1851 Ginger ale created in Ireland.
- 1861 The term "pop" first coined.
- 1874 The first ice-cream soda sold.
- 1876 Root beer mass produced for public sale.
- 1881 The first cola-flavored beverage introduced.
- 1885 Charles Aderton invented "Dr Pepper" in Waco, Texas.
- 1886 Dr. John S. Pemberton invented "Coca-Cola" in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1892 William Painter invented the crown bottle cap.
- 1898 "Pepsi-Cola" is invented by Caleb Bradham.
- 1899 The first patent issued for a glass blowing machine, used to produce glass bottles.
- 1913 Gas motored trucks replaced horse drawn carriages as delivery vehicles.
- 1919 The American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages formed.
- 1920 The U.S. Census reported that more than 5,000 bottlers now exist.
- Early 1920's The first automatic vending machines dispensed sodas into cups.
- 1923 Six-pack soft drink cartons called "Hom-Paks" created.
- 1929 The Howdy Company debuted its new drink "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Sodas" later called "7 Up". Invented by Charles Leiper Grigg.
- 1934 Applied color labels first used on soft drink bottles, the coloring was baked on the face of the bottle.
- 1952 The first diet soft drink sold called the "No-Cal Beverage" a gingerale sold by Kirsch.
- 1957 The first aluminum cans used.
- 1959 The first diet cola sold.
- 1962 The pull-ring tab first marketed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company of Pittsburgh, PA. The pull-ring tab was invented by Alcoa.
- 1963 The Schlitz Brewing company introduced the "Pop Top" beer can to the nation in March, invented by Ermal Fraze of Kettering, Ohio.
- 1965 Soft drinks in cans dispensed from vending machines.
- 1965 The resealable top invented.
- 1966 The American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages renamed The National Soft Drink Association.
- 1970 Plastic bottles are used for soft drinks.
- 1973 The PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottle created.
- 1974 The stay-on tab invented. Introduced by the Falls City Brewing Company of Louisville, KY.
- 1979 Mello Yello soft drink is introduced by the Coca Cola company as competition against Mountain Dew.
- 1981 The "talking" vending machine invented.
