In a North Carolina vacation rentals area called New Bern, Pepsi Cola was born in the year 1893 to serve to local thirsty citizens and tourists at the New Bern area drugstore, this town’s gathering spot. Pharmacist Caleb Bradham created his ‘Brad’s Drink’ with carbonated water, sugar, vanilla, rare oils, pepsin, and kola nuts.

There’s not a tourist today in any North Carolina vacation rentals area, or any global vacation area, that has not heard of this famous soft drink – ‘Brad’s Drink’ soda.

Sometime during the year of 1898, ‘Brad’s Drink’ underwent a name change to: Pepsi Cola. There are various stories running around in this North Carolina vacation rentals area about why the name Pepsi Cola was chosen for this well liked soft drink. Some assume that Caleb renamed the drink Pepsi Cola because the carbonated water made it seem peppy, others promote that the new name was similar to that of the church across the street from Caleb’s New Bern drugstore.

After Caleb chose the name Pepsi Cola for his North Carolina vacation rentals soft drink, he purchased the trade name ‘Pep Cola’ from a bankrupt competitor. The name Pepsi Cola was now permanently attached to Caleb’s soda. During World War I, Caleb made some wrong guesses with his investments designed to secure an inexpensive sugar supply for his product, and Caleb - probably with a Pepsi Cola in hand, went bankrupt in 1923.

The popularity of this North Carolina vacation rentals tourist drink was not unknown to Caleb’s competitors. In 1931, a candy company bought the rights to the drink, and Pepsi skyrocketed its way into our hearts by ousting the high priced Coca Cola followers during the Great Depression with an ad campaign that offered 12 ounces of Pepsi for the same price as Coca Cola’s six ounce bottle. The Pepsi ‘Nickel Nickel’ ad jingle became a best selling record, and was recorded into fifty-five languages.

North Carolina vacation rentals tourists were now singing the words below about their favorite soft drink; singing the last line over and over very fast, sometimes adding the word ‘pickle’ into these original lyrics. This singing was great fun for depression-era radio show listeners to do as a group during the commercial breaks:

“Pepsi-Cola hits the spot.
12 full ounces, that’s a lot.
Twice as much for a nickel too;
Pepsi-Cola is the Drink for you!

Nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel. Trickle, trickle, trickle, trickle…”

When you visit North Carolina vacation rentals areas today, you might want to consider visiting New Bern, the birthplace of Pepsi Cola. Caleb’s drugstore address is: 256 Middle Street, New Bern, North Carolina. There is a drugstore open there today, and Pepsi is still on the soda list. Pepsi loving tourists from all over enjoy tipping a toast to their hero Caleb Bradham at this North Carolina vacation rentals area New Bern tourist attraction.