If you meet someone obnoxious and annoying, a great way to insult that person is to call them a jerk. Jerks are everywhere, and it always ruins our day when we have an unpleasant encounter with one. However, from the 1920s to the 1960s, there was one jerk that was beloved by everyone: the soda jerk.
Soda jerks were employees of establishments, mostly pharmacies and drugstores, who served soda drinks to thirsty customers. In fact, if you had a rough day after dealing with a bunch of jerks, the best remedy would be to visit your local soda jerk for a refreshing ice cream soda.
The term “soda jerk” comes from a pun about a soda clerk. The person who was in charge of making and serving the soda in a pharmacy was the soda clerk but in order to make the soda he had to jerk a handle to get the tasty liquid out. Similar to a bartender serving draft beer. Because of the jerking motion, people began to call the clerk a jerk, and eventually, the name stuck.
The Origins of the Soda Jerks
In the first half of the 20th Century, pharmacies were much more than businesses that just sold medicine. They sold all sorts of products and even had restaurants where patrons could grab a quick bite to eat. Pharmacies were essentially one-stop shops decades before supermarkets became a common type of store.
Aside from the lunch counters where customers could get a hamburger, sandwich, soup, or slice of pie, they also began selling soda and ice cream. In the 1920s, soda was becoming a popular drink. However, unlike today, it was more common to drink a soda prepared at a pharmacy where the soda syrup would be added to carbonated water, and there was also an option to add ice cream to the drink.
By the 1930s, soda had become America’s favorite drink, and at the same time, ice cream was being consumed in numbers never before seen in history. Because of this, there was a huge demand for drugstore employees to serve soda drinks, which turned the soda jerk into one of the most important positions at a pharmacy.
Soda Jerk, the Most Coveted Job
It was a coveted job that was only awarded to the best employees who were themselves usually very talkative and knew how to engage people to sell ever more soda. To be a good soda jerk meant being a good people person who could engage the customers by telling them stories and even entertaining them by doing tricks while making the drinks. To be a soda jerk meant having status.
Soda Jerks even had their secret language. Some terms and phrases were pretty common and universal in soda fountains throughout the United States, while some soda jerks had special slang for their particular store. Going to a drugstore was a social event if you stayed to eat at the countertop luncheonette or grab a soda drink. The silly and sometimes indecipherable terms added to the entertainment value as well.
Popular Slang Terms Used by Soda Jerks:
- All Black: Chocolate soda with chocolate ice cream.
- Add Another: Coffee.
- Baby: Glass of fresh milk.
- Black Bottom: Chocolate sundae with chocolate syrup.
- Black Cow: Root beer.
- Canary Island Special: Vanilla soda with chocolate cream.
- Choker Holes: Doughnuts.
- Coffee And: Cup of coffee and cake.
- Draw Some Mud: Coffee.
- Mug of Murk: Cup of coffee without cream.
- Ninety-Five: Customer walking out without paying.
- One On The House: Water.
- Scandal Soup: Tea.
- Yum-Yum: Sugar
The End of Soda Jerks
By the 1950s soda jerks were regular characters in movies, books, art, and plays, which made them an important part of American culture. By the early 1960s, though, soda fountains at drugstores were becoming obsolete, and soon the soda jerk disappeared. Of all of the jerks that have gone away, this is the one jerk we’d love to see back in our lives.
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