[Lee Stewart]

Was there a doctor involved in the creation of Dr Pepper? No, but there was yet another pharmacist who, while not actually named Pepper (his name was Charles Alderton), invented the drink in Waco, Texas, in 1885. And if you're guessing that 'Dr Pepper's Phos-Ferrates' was originally touted as a health tonic, just like Coke and Pepsi, you'd be correct in that as well. One ingredient in Dr Pepper's early formulas was pepsin, the same digestive enzyme that gave Pepsi its name. (However, prune juice, commonly rumored to be an ingredient, is not and never was part of the formula.)

Interestingly, no one, including the folks at Dr Pepper or the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, knows exactly how the soda pop got its name; theories range from a nod to pepsin to the soda being named in honor of the former owner of the drugstore where the drink was invented. None of these theories is verified. (And for you editorial types, there is no period after the 'Dr' in 'Dr Pepper'; it was removed sometime in the 1950s.)