Little known Facts
Originally, Mountain Dew was the nickname
for whiskey, especially bootleg whiskey.
Mountain Dew Soft Drink contains no
alcohol. However, its creators, Barney and
Ally Hartman, originally bottled the lemon-
lime soda to be mixed with whiskey. A little
known fact about Mountain Dew Soft Drink
is that this version was born in the 1940's
in the Tennessee hills.
Early History
If you're old enough to remember the
Mountain Dew bottles of the 1960's, or, if
you've seen one of these relics, you surely
remember what they looked like. The bottles
were green. The labels were red and white.
On each bottle was a picture of a hillbilly
character shooting his gun at a revenuer as
the trespasser runs out of an outhouse for
his life. A goofy-looking pig sat nearby.
A little known fact about Mountain Dew Soft
Drink is that the funny little character
actually had a name. It was, "Willy the
Hillbilly." Willy was drawn by John
Brichetto in 1948.
In keeping with the "moonshine" theme, the
Mountain Dew bottlers even added the
names of the bottlers, the sellers and their
locations on the bottles.
Mountain Dew, the yellowish-green soda
that was advertised as being "zero proof
moonshine" also carried the saying, "It'll
tickle yore innards!" on the back of the
bottles.
In 1973, "Willy the Hillbilly" died when a
new advertising agency, BBDO, took over
the Mountain Dew account. The hillbilly,
outhouse, pig and all were replaced by a
modern look and advertising that targeted
the younger soft drink crowd.
Health Hazards?
One of the most popular rumors that's
swirled around for years about Mountain
Dew Soft Drink is that it contains a high
amount of unhealthy caffeine. Long before
energy drinks hit the scene, people were
grabbing a Mountain Dew for a quick "pick-
me-up." If you check the ingredients on a
can of this soda, you'll see an eight-ounce
serving contains 36 milligrams of caffeine.
That means a twelve-ounce can contains a
whopping 54 milligrams of stimulant.
However, a little known fact about
Mountain Soft Drink is, drink an eight-
ounce cup of imported, brewed tea, and
you'll exceed that amount. It contains
about 60 milligrams of caffeine. Iced tea
contains around 47 milligrams in an eight-
ounce serving; equals 70.5 milligrams for a
twelve-ounce can! Pepsi One contains 55.5
milligrams of caffeine, and even Mellow
Yellow has 52.8 milligrams in a can.
Maybe at one time Mountain Dew contained
a higher amount of caffeine than other soft
drinks. Today, however the rumor is
completely false when the product is
compared to other drinks on the market.
In the late 1990's, a new rumor about
Mountain Dew began circulating around. At
times, it still rears its head today. Unlike
the "caffeine rumor", this rumor specifically
targeted the male population. It probably
even stopped some younger guys from
drinking the popular soft drink. This rumor
stated that drinking Mountain lowered a
man's sperm count. Not only that, but drink
Mountain Dew and you'll notice your male
appendage growing smaller in size.
The alleged culprit is a chemical known as
Yellow 5. It's also known as Tartrazine.
Supposedly, Mountain Dew contains a large
amount of this dye. That's why it was
targeted. The truth of the matter is that this
dye has been used since 1916. You can find
it in Mountain Dew, soups, candy, jelly,
macaroni and cheese box mixes, mustard,
Kool-Aid and a host of other prepackaged
products. According to the Food and Drug
Administration, Yellow 5 is safe for
consumers.
However, a little known fact about
Mountain Dew Soft Drink is, if your sensitive
to Tartrazine, you may have an allergic
reaction to it. I think the number is 0.12%
of the American population is thought to be
sensitive to this chemical.
In children particularly, Yellow 5 is
attributed to problems with hyperactivity
and ADHD......
source:yahoovoices

Mountain Dew is one of the most popular
drinks in the world. In fact, it was the fourth
most popular soft drink in America during
2005. Mountain Dew wasn't always such a
big hit though. In fact, it took almost 20
years for this soft drink to go national. If
you're a fan of Mountain Dew, take time to
read some of the following facts about this
tasty soft drink.
.....
Fun Facts about Mountain Dew #1: Invented
in the 1940s

Mountain Dew was originally invented in
the 1940s. I say "originally" because the
drink that was bought by the Pepsi
Company was actually the third edition of
the drink. Another fun fact is that the drink
was originally flavored with lemon and lime
and was made in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Fun Facts about Mountain Dew #2:
Originally Made to Be Mixed with Whiskey
The inventors originally made Mountain
Dew to be mixed with whiskey. In fact,
that's why they gave the name Mountain
Dew.
......
Fun Facts about Mountain Dew #3: Slang
for "Moonshine"
Mountain Dew was actually slang for
"moonshine". Another fun fact is that the
original container featured a hillbilly who
was holding a jug of whiskey. There was
also an outhouse, a pig, and a man running
from the hillbilly who had shot at him.
.....
Fun Facts about Mountain Dew #4: Bought
by Pepsi in 1964
In 1964, Pepsi bought Mountain Dew. Pepsi
would then make the drink into a worldwide
success. The Pepsi Company would also
have fun creating new flavors of Mountain
Dew, including Code Red and Pitch Black.
Pitch Black was released during the
Halloween of 2004.
......
Fun Facts about Mountain Dew #5: Has
Orange Juice in It
One of the flavors in Mountain Dew is
orange juice. This gives the soft drink a
tangy, yet smooth flavor. Another fun fact is
that in Japan the drink has tangerine juice
rather than orange juice.
......
Fun Facts about Mountain Dew #6: The Diet
Version Was Released in 1988
In 1988 a diet version was released. While
it was nice to have a soft drink that had no
calories, the flavor of the original diet
version was horrible. Thankfully the taste
has improved over the years and now tastes
almost identical to the original version..
...
Fun Facts about Mountain Dew #7: First
Slogan
The first slogan for this highly caffeinated
beverage was "Ya-Hoo Mountain Dew. It'll
tickle your inards". The commercials even
featured a cartoon hillbilly. This slogan
began in 1965. In 1973, a new slogan
began which said, "Put A Little Ya-Hoo in
Your Life".
.......
Fun Facts about Mountain Dew #8: "Do the
Dew" Starts in 1993
In 1993, the popular slogan "Do the Dew"
began. Around this time the soft drink
started to heavily promote itself as a drink
for athletic people. In fact, in 1995,
Mountain Dew sponsored the first X-Games

Just How Bad is Mountain Dew for You?
........
Mountain Dew is one of America's most
popular soft drinks, finishing just behind
Coca-Cola Classic, Pepsi-Cola and Diet
Coke in sales in 2007. Its product is
currently expanding rapidly, with new
flavors Baja Blast, Code Red, LiveWire and
many others being added in recent years.
Simply put, Mountain Dew is on the rise,
and so are its serious health concerns.
To start with Mountain Dew contains High
Fructose Corn Syrup, a sugar substitute
that many believe is worse for you than
regular sugar. In high doses it can cause
such serious health problems as obesity,
migraines, lowered immune function,
gallstones, and cardiovascular disease; just
to name a few. Again, most people
understand that high quantities of sugar
are not good for you, but then how do you
defend consuming 46g of it in a 12 oz can
of Mountain Dew?
Another ingredient of Mountain Dew is the
relatively innocent looking food dye Yellow
5 or Tartrazine . Yellow 5 might cause
behavioral problems in children and can
cause allergic reactions. Who would have
thought that a food dye could have such
adverse effects?
Before I get to the really scary ingredients, I
would like to mention some others that
have less serious health risks or are just
plain nasty. Citric Acid can rot away your
teeth if consumed in large enough
quantities, which isn't surprising, since it's
an acid. Caffeine (and Mountain Dew has a
lot of it)is an addictive substance that can
have serious withdrawal symptoms and can
even produce some mild psychiatric
disorders for those who are addicted to it.
Gum Arabic doesn't really have any
worrying side effects, but it is a key
ingredient in shoe polish, and is used
sometimes in postage stamps and some
watercolor paints. Doesn't sound tasty to
me!
Now to the big boys...
First off is Sodium Benzoate . In a recent
study, Sodium Benzoate has been shown to
produce carcinogens when mixed with
Vitamin C. So, the only healthy ingredient
in Mountain Dew, orange juice, might
actually be helping to cause these
carcinogens! It has also been shown to
increase hyperactivity when mixed with
certain food dyes, including Yellow 5 (see
above), and can cause problems for asthma
sufferers. Not only that, but another recent
study claims that Sodium Benozoate might
lead to Parkinson's disease and cirrhosis of
the liver!
Finally, the big finish. Does Brominated
Vegetable Oil ring any bells? If it does than
you either really know your stuff when it
comes to nutrition or you have an
unhealthy obsession with vegetable oil.
BVO is used as an emulsifier to help
Mountain Dew taste citrusy (new word) for
a long time and to help give it its clouded
appearance. However despite these
wonderful benefits, BVO isn't as cool as it
might first appear. BVO is banned in over
100 countries!The US merely restricts its
usage. Why is BVO banned in these
countries? Well, in some test animals
bromine stayed in fat cells way too long,
which isn't good since it also caused
damage to the heart and kidneys in some of
them. Bromine is lethal in its liquid and
vaporous form and used to be used as a
sedative until doctors noticed it caused
memory loss in some patients. Despite the
fact that some have linked BVO to serious
health problems like organ failure and birth
defects the FDA still allows it to be used in
the US, much to our misfortune.
Recap
After reading about the possible side effects
of these ingredients in Mountain Dew, you
must really hate your body to continue
drinking it. People need to be educated
regarding the possible harm that sodas like
Mountain Dew can cause, because behind
the sugary goodness lurks an unhealthy
lifestyle or an extended hospital stay. Don't
do the Dew.....