# Fizzies > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fizzies > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fizzies.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fizzies > Source revision: 1343958821 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Tablet adding carbonation to water}} {{More citations needed|date=December 2018}} {{Lead too short|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox food | name = Fizzies | image = Continental Can Company, Fizzies tablets store display (2899336174).jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = | alternate_name = | type = [Tablet](/source/Tableting) | course = | country = [United States](/source/United_States) | region = | national_cuisine = | creator = [Lem Billings](/source/Lem_Billings) | year = {{Start date and age|1957}} | mintime = | maxtime = | served = With [water](/source/water) | main_ingredient = | minor_ingredient = | variations = | serving_size = 100 g | calories = | calories_ref = | protein = | fat = | carbohydrate = | glycemic_index = | similar_dish = | cookbook = }} '''Fizzies''' were tablets that created a "carbonated" [soft drink](/source/soft_drink) when added to water. ==History== ===Origin=== [Lem Billings](/source/Lem_Billings), a close and long-time friend of President [John F. Kennedy](/source/John_F._Kennedy) and the [Kennedy family](/source/Kennedy_family), has been credited as the inventor of Fizzies. "As Vice President at the Emerson Drug Company in Baltimore, he was responsible for inventing the 1950s fad drink Fizzies by adding a fruit flavor to disguise the sodium citrate taste."{{cite book|last1=Pitts|first1=David|title=Jack and Lem: The Untold Story of an Extraordinary Friendship|date=2007|publisher=Carroll & Graf|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7867-1989-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/jacklemjohnfkenn00pitt/page/126 126]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/jacklemjohnfkenn00pitt/page/126}} Once perfected, Emerson named the creation Fizzies. The tablet was dropped into a glass of water, then fizzed and dissolved, creating a sweet, effervescent drink. Fizzies was introduced by Emerson on a regional basis in July 1957. In 1962, the Emerson Drug Company was acquired by [Warner–Lambert](/source/Warner%E2%80%93Lambert), which sold the product nationally that same year.Information included by Premiere Innovations Inc. in Fizzies packaging In the 1950s and 1960s Fizzies came in seven flavors: grape, orange, cherry, lemon-lime, strawberry, [root beer](/source/root_beer), and [cola](/source/cola). Fizzies' sales grew both nationally and internationally until 1968, achieving more than double the sales volume of Kool-Aid.{{Full citation needed|date=November 2012}} Fizzies was one of the sponsors for ''The [Shari Lewis](/source/Shari_Lewis) Show'' on NBC-TV in the early 1960s and pitched by Lewis herself. The successful beverage became a [cultural icon](/source/cultural_icon) of its time. In the motion picture ''[National Lampoon's Animal House](/source/National_Lampoon's_Animal_House)'', set in 1962, Dean Wormer reads a list of pranks committed by members of the Delta Tau Chi fraternity, which included dumping "a truckload of Fizzies" into a [swimming pool](/source/swimming_pool) during a swim meet. ===Later history=== The product's ingredients changed over time, as various artificial sweeteners were banned by the FDA. At certain times it was sweetened with [cyclamates](/source/Sodium_cyclamate) and [saccharin](/source/saccharin). At one point the directions instructed children to add sugar and ice. In the early seventies, the manufacturer concluded that it would not be able to make a version that was both legal and sufficiently palatable to be profitable, and so discontinued the product. {{when|date=September 2024}} After the introduction of [NutraSweet](/source/NutraSweet), the brand was resurrected by Premiere Innovations, Inc. in the mid-1990s but its availability was short-lived and the company disappeared. Premiere Innovations marketed Fizzies as "Instant Sparkling Drink Tablets" that were "also great in milk", "only 10 calories" and "Vitamin C enriched". The Fizzies brand reappeared in the 2000s. Previously owned and manufactured by Amerilab Technologies in [Plymouth, Minnesota](/source/Plymouth%2C_Minnesota), Fizzies Drink Tablets were available in candy stores and through online retailers. As of 2012, Fizzies was available in nine flavors: lemonade, root beer, cherry, orange, blue razz, hot cocoa, hot apple cider, cherry cola, and grape. It was marketed as a [nostalgic](/source/nostalgic) drink to the [baby boomer](/source/baby_boomer) generation and as a fun way for kids to make their own flavorful drinks. In the past incarnation, the product had only 5 calories, was sweetened with [sucralose](/source/sucralose), and contained [Vitamin C](/source/Vitamin_C) in the form of [ascorbic acid](/source/ascorbic_acid).{{Cite web |url=http://www.fizzies.com/Nutrition.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2006-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061107074546/http://www.fizzies.com/Nutrition.html |archive-date=2006-11-07 |url-status=dead }} In February or March 2016, Fizzies was again discontinued. ==See also== * [Alka-Seltzer](/source/Alka-Seltzer) * [Bromo-Seltzer](/source/Bromo-Seltzer) * [Creamola Foam](/source/Creamola_Foam), a similar drink produced in the UK ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.amerilabtech.com/ Manufacturer's website] Category:American soft drinks Category:Powdered drink mixes Category:Products introduced in 1962 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fizzies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fizzies) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fizzies?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.