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A listener note, this episode contains adult content and is not suitable for everyone.

Please be advised. In 1927, Edwin Perkins sat in his mother's kitchen in Hastings, Nebraska trying to figure out how to solve the dilemma that was bringing

down his most popular product, a fruit-flavored drink called fruit smack.

Edwin had grown up working in his family's general store

and now had a mail-order business with over 100 products.

But Fruit-Smack had created a big headache for Edwin.

The product had to be delivered by his employees door to door because it was sold in

heavy glass bottles that broke easily and would leak.

However, Edwin's Eureka moment came when he recalled the jello packets he encouraged his father to buy for

their store when he was a child.

He knew that if he could do the same thing for his fruit drink, his problems would be salt.

Edwin developed a method to remove the liquid from fruit smack, leaving just a powder

packaged in an envelope.

He gave the drink a new name, Koolay, and by 1934, the product was such a hit that the

Perkins Company began to also make and distribute it overseas.

In 1953, General Foods purchased Koolaid from Edwin and began to develop more flavors and

pre-sweetened mixes.

The drink was extremely popular and had a great marketing scheme directed at children.

So it is understandable that Kool-Aid was upset when the phrase, don't drink the Kool-Aid became a part of the American

lexicon but when you understand why the phrase was coined it was even more understandable.

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