Here’s something that isn’t talked about very much anymore, and so it’s something that not many people know: the soda fountain was patented by a West Virginian. That’s right, believe it or not, the world owes West Virginia big for not just pepperoni rolls, golden delicious apples, the steamboat, and Mother’s Day, but also for this invention that enables every sweet treat that’s ever been produced by a good, old-fashioned soda fountain.
The patent for the original soda fountain, a machine that mixed up flavoring and water into a unique, bubbly beverage that came right out a handled spout, was issued to two men, Jacob Ebert of Cadiz, Ohio, and George Dulty of Wheeling, West Virginia on April 24,1833 ... not much under 200 years ago.
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