If one visits the website of Schweppes, the famous brand of soft drinks and sparkling water, and selects the history page, one will be impressed to learn that it has been around for almost 2.5 centuries. When Johann Jakob Schwepp founded the company that made him rich in Geneva in 1783, he knew that he was exploiting an idea that did not belong to him. But he had the acumen to understand its commercial value. For those in the business world, Schweppes, as the oldest company to deal with carbonated drinks, is also considered to be the one that invented them. And yet, it is not true. To its credit, it admits it in the most official way possible: The website states that the man who first turned regular water into sparkling water was the British Joseph Priestley and by accident!

The first person to do so was Russian chef, Joseph Stewart, who was the first person to do so, but accidentally!