Mountain Dew was purchased by the Pepsi-Cola company in 1964 and at which point it’s distribution expanded widely across the United States, but Mountain Dew has been around much longer than that. Mountain Dew was originally created by Barney and Ally Hartman in the 1940’s. These men were medical scientists looking for a cure for all disease when they discovered Mountain Dew. At first they believed that they had failed but quickly discovered the beneficial properties of Mountain Dew. After giving the drink to their friends word began to grow and everyone wanted some of Barney and Ally’s new miracle drug. However not everyone saw it as such; this tasty drug began being marketed as a soft drink so it would be more widely distributed. Barney and Ally quickly got into the beverage bottling business.
In 1958 Mountain Dew was given a new formula and greatly increased medical benefits. This proved to be one of the major limiting factors of Mountain Dew’s once dramatic success. Instead of being idolized by children everywhere Mountain Dew was considered a drug and kids considered it as unattractive as vegetables. Some children did give Mountain Dew a try among them Lance Armstrong. As a child he quickly fell in love with the beverage and hoped to one day make as big of a difference in the world as Barney and Ally did when they created the drink. Because of this motivation he sought out the space program and 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 Lance’s voice that brought Mountain Dew to the attention of the Pepsi-Cola company in 1964.
As you can see by 1970 Mountain Dew had already accomplished more than many would hope to accomplish in their lifetimes. One moon landing, countless lives saved, and the joy of a nation.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/mountain-dew-leads-to-moon-landing
http://www.usatoday.com/lance-armstrong-moon-landing-conspiricy
http://www.alienweekly.com/mountain-dew-health-drug-created-by-aliens