North Carolina state image by Hey Darlin/Getty Images
D E PA R T M E N T S
HISTORY
N O RT H C A RO L I N A
INVENTIONS FROM CHEERWINE TO
AVIATION, THE TAR HEEL STATE HAS SERVED UP SWEET TREATS AND INNOVATIVE INVENTIONS OVER THE YEARS BY MARILYN JONES
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uriosity, determination and creativity all add up to the inventions we use every day, thanks to North Carolinians. Here are a few of the many innovations that originated in our state. When there was a sugar shortage in 1917, L.D. Peeler found a salesman from St. Louis who sold him a wild cherry flavor that blended well with other flavors. As a result, Peeler created a burgundyred-colored beverage in his Salisbury basement, and Cheer wine was born. A New Bern pharmacist took a different beverage approach by adding pepsin to cola. Caleb Bradham first sold the
concoction to remedy an upset stomach and called it Brad’s Drink. The drink took on a new name, Pepsi, in 1898. Today Pepsi stands as Coca-Cola’s biggest soft drink rival. Vernon Rudolph arrived in Old Salem with a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe he purchased from a New Orleans French chef. He rented a building in historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem and began selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts in 1937 to local grocery stores. The aroma of cooking doughnuts caused passersby to ask if they could buy them, so he started selling them directly to customers.
Pepsi-Cola was originally called Brad’s Drink after the pharmacist who invented it. Logo courtesy of Pepsi
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