Pepsi Is Actually Named After Indigestion

Caleb Bradham owned a pharmacy in New Bern, North Carolina, and crafted Pepsi in 1893 from the African kola nut, various citrus oils, soda water, sugar, and other ingredients.

Bradham claimed the drink was good for calming an upset stomach, and the Pepsi part of the name came from a medical term for indigestion: Dyspepsia.

However, before it got its name, the cola was known simply as "Brad's Drink." Bradham bought the rights to the name "Pep Cola" from a rival New Jersey soft drink company.

As the pharmacist was aiming his product at fighting indigestion, he altered the name to Pepsi-Cola in 1998.

The company has had many ups and downs, including going bankrupt in 1923, which led Bradham to sell Pepsi, but today it's still going strong more than 120 years later.