June 16, 1903: North Carolina pharmacist Caleb Bradham trademarks a new name for his stomach pain remedy. Bradham calls his concoction Pepsi-Cola, deriving the moniker from “dyspepsia”—the medical term for “puking your guts out.” Pepsi sales grew rapidly, but the brand remained a perennial runner-up to Coke, as consumers usually prefer to ingest their refreshments through the nose. Recently, however, after a series of shrewd acquisitions by PepsiCo Inc., Wall Street now prefers Bradham’s creation to archrival Coca-Cola Co. Both companies, though, are facing a stiff challenge from a new entrant into the battle to fill America’s straws—Crystal Metha-Cola.—
Jeffrey Kanige
Continue reading below
