Soda fountain

A Soda Fountain, also known as a soda shop, a soda bar, or a poppy shoppy, is an establishment where the main object of sale is soda, often custom made and mixed on the premises. Especially popular in cities in Edury, Soda fountains are common social spots, especially for children and teenagers. They are often structured similarly to bars, with a large long table in the central dining room, in which people order drinks- soda- and either consume them on the bar or take them to a table. Food is also often served, typically lunch and simple sandwiches.

History
Carbonated water from springs has been popular since at least antiquity, for both consumption and bathing. Before commercially available carbonation was invented, the only way to procure spring water was to either live within traveling distance of such a spring, or to transport it in sealed barrels, which was prohibitively expensive for most people and often decarbonated the water. In the mid 1800's, a method to artificially carbonate water was discovered in Godenhaven, Edury. This lead to bars and other establishments selling carbonated artificial spring water for health purposes, until modern pharmaceutical sciences had developed artificial medicines. These medicines, as well as those from apothecaries, were often odious to smell and taste, and so would often be made with the intent to mix it into something else to mask the flavor. This lead to some candy shops mixing chocolate or flavored sugar syrup with the carbonated water- which was believed to be healthier than still- with medicines. These confectioneries would then split into their own establishments, which focus mainly on making sodas. Ice creams, candies, and savory lunch snacks and sandwiches are also popular.

Preindustrial
Spring water has been believed to be healthful for many centuries, with Satatracius' treatise on how to use water from the spring of TOWN as a laxative. It was revealed later that the water from this spring is in fact, poisonous.

Industrial revolution
Many different stories exist for the invention of artificial carbonation, most of which are contradictory and without citation. The most popular one is that a Lathadun immigrant in Edury invented the egg cream soda when he went to the popular Smit & Smit confectionery in Godenhaven.

In the 1840's, a construction boom in Godenhaven brought massive imports of marble to the city. It was discovered that if a person mixed marble powder with soda lyme, it would release carbon dioxide; if one mixed both in a sealed container with water, the carbon dioxide would dissolve into the water, making it bubbly. After a while, it became popular for shops to carbonate water, send it to patrons and shops (usually bars, diners, or candy shops).

The Eduran Soda Fountain
In Edury, apothecaries had existed since medieval times; however, by the 1890's to 1920's, traditional medical apothecaries were in danger of being displaced by pharmacies (called 'Chemie' in Edury,) and it became a point of cultural contention as to which should continue. Pharmacies had the benefit of scientifically produced and researched medicine, but were less popular with the working class, who perceived them as elitist organizations who replaced a lifetime of apprenticeship with an expensive formal education. The Tuinmannen, the cultural group of Edury descended from industrial laborers, preferred apothecaries, as they were older, more well known, and got their information from word of mouth and apprenticeship. Early pharmacies would also often use 'remedies' that we now know to be extremely toxic and bad, probably a source of the contemporary idea that going to a chemist's when you were sick would make you feel worse.

To counteract all this, in the 1920's, pharmacists started mixing medicines into tinctures intended to be mixed into other foodstuffs to both mask the taste of foul medicine, as well as associate modern pharmaceutical science with sweet tasting food. As baking or heating these medicines often destroyed them, they were often mixed into cold desserts, iced coffee, and eventually, sweetened carbonated beverages. This last category became the most popular, and soon confectioneries started making a wide variety of soda drinks to mix with medicine. Soon, bars would start opening earlier, around noon, to cater to children.

Soda fountains would start becoming their own storefronts around the 1930's, with Lindmann's Poppy Shoppy claiming to be the first, and opening in 1809 (although they did not start regularly serving as a soda fountain until cir. 1925.) They are considered a particularly Bestuurder establishment. The Tuinmannen prefer to go home and eat lunch as a family gathering, whereas the Bestuurderen put less emphasis on the mid day meal, so are more content to go to a food stand or shop on their major work break. Children, teenagers, and adults will often stop at one for a custom made soda and sandwich on their way back to school or work.

Differentiation between other establishments
Often times, a fast-food, casual, or other less formal restaurant will sell sodas. An establishment is considered a soda fountain proper, however, when it offers custom recipes of carbonated beverages as its main staple, and usually savory snacks or sandwiches as an meal.

Popular recipes and beverages
Ka'a flavored sodas have been popular in Edury since the invention of artificial carbonation. It is sometimes considered appropriate for children too young to drink coffee (>12 years of age, roughly,) to drink ka'a soda. Regular tas (the Eduran word for either pytã or hovy) is also usually served at soda fountains, as well as cafe's, restaurants, and bars.

Egg cream is a beverage made with carbonated water, milk, and chocolate syrup. It contains neither egg nor cream.

The typical Alutran fruit flavors (blueberry, currant, etc) are often very popular as either standalone flavors or bases.

A lime Rikk is made with lime juice, ice, and soda water. Sometimes it has gin.

Root sodas come from the tradition of Altruan root smallbeers, which were made with various roots and later spices. Today, it is traditional for each region to have its own particular blend of herbs and spices for root sodas and smallbeers. It is often a source of playful regionalisms or rivalries to insist that one form is better than the other.

A cream soda is a soda who's primary flavor is vanilla, whereas a Lathadun cream soda is any soda of any flavor (although typically fruit) with dairy cream added.

A Myr's Delight is a soda flavored with sassafras and black currant.

A Galvian fizz is a soda that has lemon and one other flavor, usually a tart fruit such as lime or tart cherry, but sometimes chocolate or licorice.

A Quscie is a soda invented by Daart de Wees, based on drink he had heard from a sailor who had recently traveled from Énqusqó. Whether the sailor's tale was apocryphal or not, Quscie was a brand name for a pineapple and chili flavored soda, until 1999, when the trademark was dissolved by an Eduran court.

An Ordrish Folly is typically made of flavors traditional to Ordrey, but that are less commonly found in Eduran sweets. Anice and lavender are typical flavors, with kiwi and starfruit being other popular but less regular flavors.

A Riripop usually uses agave as a sweetener, and typically has quava, but sometimes uses other flavors instead. Bespij, an Eduran syrup and soda manufacturer, sells an agave and spicy pepper soda.

Culture
Eduran culture places special emphasis on social gathering spaces where food or drink is served. It was a often a capital offense to harm someone in a tavern or inn, even if the victim did not perish or was especially hurt, as it was seen as a violation of the Gastvrede, or 'guest peace' that was supposed to be in effect in such public spaces. The first soldiers in an army who would loot such an establishment would invariably be hanged, and a proprietor who harmed a guest would have their property confiscated after their execution.

None of these are sentences on the books in Edury, but the soda fountain has a special connotation of neutral ground. Today, many bars or other haunts are associated with a political or cultural group, whereas it is less likely that a soda fountain will cater to any specific such division. They are also seen as important places for minor social meetings, such as mid day meals in the Bestuurder group, or for parents to catch up with each other while their children socialize. While by no means a youth-specific establishment, often times school clubs or student assembly groups will associate with a soda fountain akin to the way that their parent's people's assemblies do.

Bottled sodas
Bottled or canned sodas are popular, but are not typically carried in soda fountains, which by definition make their own recipes. As such, they are in their own article.