Fizzies
Encyclopedia
Origin
Lem BillingsLem Billings
Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings was a prep school roommate and then lifelong close friend of President John F. Kennedy. Billings took leave from his business career to work on Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign...
, a friend of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, invented the idea for Emerson Drug Company, manufacturer of Bromo-Seltzer
Bromo-Seltzer
Bromo-Seltzer , is an antacid used to relieve pain occurring together with heartburn, upset stomach, or acid indigestion. Originally produced by inventor Isaac E...
, by adding a fruit flavor that children liked. Once perfected, Emerson named the creation Fizzies. The tablet was dropped into a glass of water, then fizzed and dissolved, creating a sweet, effervescent drink. Fizzies were first introduced by Emerson on a regional basis in July 1957. In 1962, the Emerson Drug Company was acquired by Warner Lambert Company, which sold the product nationally that same year. In the 1950s and 1960s Fizzies came in seven flavors: grape, orange, cherry, lemon-lime, strawberry, root beer
Root beer
Root beer is a carbonated, sweetened beverage, originally made using the root of a sassafras plant as the primary flavor. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: alcoholic and soft drink. The historical root beer was analogous to small beer in that the process provided a drink...
, and cola. Fizzies' sales grew both nationally and internationally until 1968, achieving more than double the sales volume of Kool-Aid.
The successful beverage became a cultural icon
Cultural icon
A cultural icon can be a symbol, logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group...
of its time. In the motion picture National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The film was a direct spin-off of National Lampoon magazine...
, set in 1962, Dean Wormer reads a list of pranks committed by members of the Delta House fraternity, which included dumping an entire truckload of Fizzies into a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
during a varsity meet.
Later history
The product's ingredients changed over time and as various artificial sweeteners were banned by the FDA. At various times it was sweetened with cyclamates and saccharinSaccharin
Saccharin is an artificial sweetener. The basic substance, benzoic sulfilimine, has effectively no food energy and is much sweeter than sucrose, but has a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations...
. At one point the directions instructed children to add sugar and ice. In the early seventies, the manufacturer finally gave up the FDA regulation arms race and discontinued the product.
After the introduction of NutraSweet
NutraSweet
The NutraSweet Company makes and sells NutraSweet, their trademarked brand name for the artificial sweetener aspartame, and Neotame.Aspartame was accidentally discovered in 1965 by James M. Schlatter, a chemist with a master's degree working under Dr. Kurt Rorig, PhD, in charge of new drug research...
, the brand was resurrected by Premiere Innovations, Inc. in the mid-1990s but its availability was short-lived and the company disappeared. Premiere Innovations, Inc. marketed Fizzies as "Instant Sparkling Drink Tablets" that were "also great in milk", "only 10 calories" and "Vitamin C enriched".
The Fizzies brand reappeared in the 2000s. Currently owned and manufactured by Amerilab Technologies in Plymouth, Minnesota
Plymouth, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 65,894 people, 24,820 households, and 17,647 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,002.0 persons per square mile . There were 25,258 housing units at an average density of 767.4 per square mile...
, Fizzies Drink Tablets are available in candy stores and through online retailers. As of 2010, Fizzies are available in five flavors: lemonade, root beer, cherry, orange and blue razz. They are marketed as a nostalgic drink to the baby boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
generation and as a fun way for kids to make their own flavorful drinks. In this present incarnation, the product has 5 calories, is sweetened with sucralose
Sucralose
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body and therefore it is non-caloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. Sucralose is approximately 600 times as sweet as sucrose , twice as sweet as saccharin, and 3.3...
, and contains Vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
in the form of ascorbic acid
Ascorbic acid
Ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties. It is a white solid, but impure samples can appear yellowish. It dissolves well in water to give mildly acidic solutions. Ascorbic acid is one form of vitamin C. The name is derived from a- and scorbutus , the...
.
See also
- Bromo-SeltzerBromo-SeltzerBromo-Seltzer , is an antacid used to relieve pain occurring together with heartburn, upset stomach, or acid indigestion. Originally produced by inventor Isaac E...
- CarbonationCarbonationCarbonation is the process of dissolving carbon dioxide in water. The process usually involves carbon dioxide under high pressure. When the pressure is reduced, the carbon dioxide is released from the solution as small bubbles, which cause the solution to "fizz." This effect is seen in carbonated...
- Soft DrinkSoft drinkA soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
- TabletTabletA tablet is a pharmaceutical dosage form. It comprises a mixture of active substances and excipients, usually in powder form, pressed or compacted from a powder into a solid dose...
- Creamola FoamCreamola FoamCreamola Foam was a soft drink produced in the form of soluble crystals. It was manufactured in Glasgow and sold mainly in Scotland from the 1950s until Nestlé ended production in October 1998....
, a similar drink produced in the UK