DR PEPPER
Dr Pepper is the number 3 soft drink in the United States after
Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola. It was created by a pharmacist (or
“chemist” if you want to speak like a Brit) in 1885 in Waco, Texas.
This was one year before Coca-Cola was released, making Dr
Pepper the oldest soft drink on the market in the United States. By
the way, “soft drink” is a synonym for “soda” or “pop” (a little old
fashioned)......and many people in the US often refer to soda as
simply “Coke”, even when referring to non-Coca-Cola products!
In addition to being the oldest, Dr Pepper is also perhaps the
most unique soda. It contains 23 flavors, but the exact recipe is
proprietary information. Many people try to speculate about what
exactly Dr Pepper is made of. One theory was that Dr Pepper is
largely prune juice mixed with other flavors. However, the official
web site of Dr Pepper added a response to this rumor in their “FAQ”
section, insisting that prune juice was not even one of the 23 flavors
which make up Dr Pepper. Have you tried Dr Pepper? What do you
think it tastes like?
Do you think that there is a connection between the Beatles
and Dr Pepper? Well, there is! Have you heard of the Beatles'
album “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club”? Well, the original title
was supposed to be “Dr. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club”, but just
before release, the Beatles found out that an American soft drink
company already owned the rights to that name, so they changed
the “Dr.” to “Sgt.”. The Beatles, particularly John Lennon, liked Dr
Pepper, though. Lennon even had cases of it shipped to England
while they were working on the “Imagine” album! Fans of Dr Pepper
are called “Peppers”, so it turns out that John Lennon was a true
Pepper!
Hilary Clinton is also a Pepper. During one of her first trips as
First Lady, a flight attendant on Air Force One asked her what she would like to drink. She
replied, “You know, I really feel like a Diet Dr Pepper.” From that point forward, the Clinton
administration's aides and assistants knew to keep plenty of Dr Pepper (the diet version!) in
Mrs. Clinton's refrigerator.
What about Sarah Palin and Dr Pepper? Is there a connection? Yes, there is! Sarah
Palin, you might recall, was the 11th Governor of Alaska, and was also John McCain's choice to
be the Vice Presidential nominee on the Republican Presidential ticket for 2008. After
Democratic Senator Barack Obama won a decisive victory over McCain in the 2008
Presidential election, Republicans at all levels blamed many different people for their loss including each other. In particular, members of McCain's campaign placed a great deal of the
blame on the scandal associated with a "shopping spree" of Sarah Palin's that totaled in excess
of $150,000 for clothes and accessories which were ultimately paid for by the Republican
National Committee.
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After the election, Newsweek magazine quoted one McCain aide who described the spree as
“Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast.” In response to these allegations,
Sarah Palin told reporters on November 7, 2008, that the various news accounts about the
clothes-shopping were incorrect: “The RNC purchased clothes. Those are the RNC's clothes.
They're not my clothes. I never forced anybody to buy anything. I never asked for anything
more than maybe a Diet Dr Pepper once in a while.” Who knew that Hilary Clinton and Sarah
Palin had something in common?
"Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2, and 4 o'clock," was the slogan for an ad
campaign for Dr Pepper that began in 1927. A study that year authored by a
Dr. Walter H. Eddy "found that human energy dropped to its lowest point at
10:30am, at 2:30pm and again at 4:30pm daily." J.B. O'Hara of Dr Pepper
asked Tracy-Locke-Dawson Inc. (an ad agency), to design a campaign around
that information. The agency held a contest, and Earle Racey, one of their
copywriters, won with his "10-2-4" idea - the idea being that drinking the sugary,
caffeinated soda at 10am, 2pm, and 4pm would perk you up and get you
through those impending energy drops a half-hour later. The slogan has
endured in one form or another ever since.
The period (or “fullstop” if you prefer the British variant) after "Dr" was
discarded for stylistic and legibility reasons in the 1950s. Dr Pepper's logo was
redesigned and the text in this new logo was slanted. The period made "Dr."
look like "Di:". After some debate, the period was removed for good (it had
been used off and on in previous logos), as it would also help remove any
medical connotation with the product.
In the United States, Dr Pepper is often associated with partriotism and
country music. This is partially because it was created and first bottled in
Texas, which is known for both of those things. Dr Pepper remains incredibly popular in Texas,
where practically every restaurant and food store offers it for sale. This is also true in much of
the south, although Dr Pepper is not as widespread in other parts of the country.
Proprietary = [ADJECTIVE] Owned by a private individual or corporation under a trademark or patent.
[Xenidrol is a proprietary drug – selling it without the permission of its creator is forbidden and punishable by
jail time!]
PHRASAL VERB OF THE WEEK
To flip out = (1) To become very irritable or angry about something; To lose one's composure
and become very upset and mad about something; взорваться, выйти из себя. [After
someone suggested that Valentina Ivanovna was a less than perfect governer, Varya flipped
out, screaming and knocking things over in a fit of rage.] (2) To become extremely excited upon
learning something; прыгать до потолка (радоваться). [As soon as Viktor found out that
Banderos was going to perform live in St. Petersburg, he started flipping out like a teenager at
a Justin Bieber concert, smiling ear to ear and giving out high fives to everyone in sight.]
IDIOM OF THE WEEK
No sweat (ADVERBAL PHRASE) = Similar to the phrases “no problem” or “piece of cake”; A
response to a request which indicates that the person agrees and that the task will be easily
fulfilled; A phrase indicating that something will definitely happen, without anything seriously
interfering; запросто, легко. [-Varya, do you think you can move all those boxes by yourself?
-No sweat! I've been training on the German HIIT program.....don't be surprised if I win a few
gold medals in London in 2012!]
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CONVERSATION
Viktor: I've got to get my hands
on some Dr Pepper!
Sergei: Stop obsessing, Viktor.
Let's just use our sharp
engineering minds to recreate Dr
Pepper ourselves.
Viktor: I'm a laser specialist, not
a chemist, Seryozha!
Varya: Yeah, besides, you two
could never master such an
amazing
and
incomparable
taste.
Natasha: That's right you two,
just stick to fixing our dams and
developing top secret laser
weapon systems.
Viktor: Natasha, you're such a nay-sayer. We can do anything we put our minds to. We're
engineers!
Sergei: Yeah, that's right.
Varya: Oh, I'm so bored!
Natasha: Well Varya, let's share this ice-cold can of Dr Pepper that I have here. I'm sure we'll
be in a better mood after that.
Viktor: Hey, where did you get that?!?
Natasha: Wouldn't you like to know?
Sergei: Yes, I think that's why he asked.
Varya: Oh Seryozha, don't be a smart alec – it doesn't suit you.
Natasha: Well, let's open this puppy up and have a refreshing drink, shall we, Varya?
Varya: Yes, let's! It's a shame that there's only enough for two.
Natasha: Yes, isn't it? Oh well, I'm over it.
Sergei: You two are mean!
Viktor: And sexist.
Varya: Oh, that's usually my line!
Sergei: Let's go, Viktor. We're going to create a soft drink masterpiece, and we won't give you
ladies a single sip!
Natasha: I'm really bored, too, Varya. Let's go shopping at MEGA with our refreshing Dr
Pepper.
Varya: Sounds good. Bye guys – have fun with your little project!
To stick to (something) = [PHRASAL VERB] Keep doing something that you already are good at or
have mastered. To continue doing something that you are confident of your ability to do. [Paris Hilton
decided to make and release an album, but sales were weak. She should have stuck to what she does
best – nothing.]
Nay-sayer = [NOUN] A person who doesn't believe anything and/or criticizes everything.
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Puppy = [SLANG TERM - NOUN] Here the word “puppy” is used as a slang term to mean “thing”;
Synonymous slang terms which can describe any object are “sucker”, “bad boy”, or “mug”. [Oh wow, is
that a box of Swiss chocolates that you have, Varya? Let's open that puppy/sucker/bad boy/mug up
and see how it tastes! How do you like my new car? -Wow, that puppy is in great shape! I can't believe
it's a 1976 model!]
Sip = [NOUN] A very small amount of liquid that one drinks [NOTE: Also a verb – to sip] [Hey Sarah,
why don't you try this wine? It's fantastic! -Okay, but only a sip.....I'm driving tonight. Sarah only took a
sip of the wine, because she knew that she had to drive home that evening.]
Just Speak!
Written by Bunny
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