Dr. Thunder on the Rocks
April 25, 2008 at 1:02 pm (Humor, Life, funny, insight)
When we lived in Spain I had cravings for things I couldn’t get in Spain. Most of the cravings were so stupid because they were things that I wouldn’t normally buy here anyway. I remember wanting Dr Pepper. By the way, the period was deleted in the title in the 50’s so is it really a doctor or just a dr? Do you know how many times I have consumed Dr Pepper since I’ve been back in the states? Maybe one time if any (I did crave Reese’s cups in Spain as well, and sad to say I’ve had one or 50 of those since I’ve gotten back). Now that I can buy Dr Pepper everywhere it isn’t appealing. I am not a big soda/pop/carbonated beverage drinker anyway. I have some friends in Spain that are huge Coca Cola drinkers. The Coca Cola has to be the right temperature and just opened. There is no way to tighten that top tight enough for them to want to drink it again. Once that top is opened I think they only have like one hour to drink it at its peak of perfection.
Usually, the only time a carbonated drink sounds good to me is with pizza. Today I was driving through a parking lot and saw an older gentleman putting a case of Diet Dr. Thunder in the trunk of the car. I immediately pictured him going home and asking his wife to pour him some Thunder on the Rocks. I actually thought it might be a good shot for a Viagra commercial. A little Thunder, a little Viagra and some more thunder… oh, sorry, forget that thought.
After seeing Dr. Thunder I started to wonder about other imitation “Dr Peppers” out there. I had no idea there was the cult like following of Dr Pepper. I found these websites devoted to Dr Pepper and their quest to reveal the copycats.
Supposedly there are something like 70 Dr imitations. Some of the interesting names are: Giant Eagle, Dr. Skipper, Mr. Green (isn’t this environmentally-safe cleaner?), Dr. Perky, Mr. Pig, and Mr. Sipp. to name a few. Oh, and the women aren’t left out — there is also a Dr. Lynn. I wonder if Mr. Pig and Mr. Sipp are really imitating the old Mr. Pibb who was imitating Dr Pepper. Also before Dr. Thunder was a doctor it was Southern Lightening. I can see the progression from Southern Lightening to Dr. Thunder can’t you?
Now, I’m no Pepper or Thunder expert, but I have read that some Dr. Pepper devotees believe that the Thunder is quite close to the original Dr Pepper. In summary, when I was a young girl my mom had us put vanilla extract in our pepsi, coke, whatever to make it taste better. It was like a vanilla coke. I guess that wasn’t in summary of anything, but I thought it would be nice to have a growing up/nostalgia story in this post.
Momma Knows said,
April 26, 2008 at 9:52 am
Wow, I had no idea of Dr Pepper’s history! Haha- I do know what you mean about craving things you cannot possibly have due to geography. I remember when I was living in Juneau, Alaska. Juneau had/has (?) 12 miles of paved road. To get in or out, you must either fly or take the ferry, so we are talking about a fairly isolated city. Juneau had Wendy’s hamburgers and a Taco Bell that never seemed to ever have customers, although it was reportedly the largest Taco Bell in North America. What we didn’t have, however, that Ketchikan did, was Burger King. I remember seeing commercials for flame-broiled Whoppers on TV and drooling over them, knowing that there was no possibility of just popping over to BK to get one. Not unless we wanted to shell out for the ferry ride, which I think was about 6 hours long.
But now, do I go to BK? Nope. I really don’t care for the burned/broiled flavor.
Momma Knows said,
April 26, 2008 at 9:55 am
Why do they give elderly men in nursing homes Viagra?
So they don’t fall out of bed.
Just thought I’d share that one with you, due to the Viagra reference!
rjlight said,
April 28, 2008 at 8:05 am
Momma — Hey, welcome back. I haven’t heard from you in awhile! Glad you can relate to my cravings! And your joke is scary–wait, don’t you work in a nursing home?
Theresa said,
April 28, 2008 at 8:48 am
Haven’t thought of Dr Pepper in years. Darn you. Now I want one. What I really missed at first were the Sunday funnies (reading them, not eating them) and chocolate chips to make cookies with.
rjlight said,
April 29, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Theresa — I’m sorry to cause you pain! Yes, I got tired of cutting bittersweet chocolate into little pieces for my cookies too!
Momma Knows said,
May 1, 2008 at 9:22 am
rj: Yes, I do work in a nursing home! That joke was told to me by a 72 year old resident!!
And as far I know, we don’t give ANY of our residents Viagra. We have a couple guys who are fairly touchy (in that wonderful dirty-old-man sorta way) but I think erectile enhancing drugs are the very *last* thing any of them need, at this point!
I could go for a Dr Pepper right about now…