It is a drink with many names: sparkling water, soda water, club soda, and seltzer. No matter what you call it, you have probably seen this bubblybeveragein restaurants, supermarkets, or convenience stores. Some types of sparkling mineralwater can even be found in nature.
Sparkling water has been very popular in Europe for a long time. There, it is servedin restaurants instead of tap water. Recently, it has also become a hit in other parts of the world, including North America and Asia. On average, people around the world are spending almost US$30 billion onsparkling water every year.
A British scientist named William Brownrigg created this drink by accidentin the mid-1700s. At that time, he added carbon dioxidegas towater, which created the bubbles and made the water “sparkle.” Later, sparkling water caught onin Europe because people believed that it had healingpowers. One German man named J.J. Schweppe learned how to make sparkling water himself and started selling it in bottles in 1783. Today, one of the most popular brands of sparkling water is named after him: Schweppes.
