It’s easy to jump on the “down with big soda” train, seeing as more and more evidence links Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and their thousands upon thousands of products with obesity, aggression, and health problems galore. Because we obviously can’t get enough of soda, we took a trip down memory lane to discover just how America’s sugary drink of choice came to be. Coca-Cola, which was first served in 1886 (as a fountain syrup; it was first bottled in 1891), today has more than 40 percent of the market share of sodas. But the drink has a long, twisting road as to how it came to be.