Some People Don't Know These 7 Things Came From St. Louis

The soft drink 7up was invented by Charles Leiper Grigg in St. Louis in 1929. The lemon-lime soft drink was sold as a medicinal cure for many years. Today, it sold as a refreshing lemon-lime soft drink.

Tums were invented by Jim Howe in 1928. Mr. Howe worked as a pharmacist in St. Louis, Missouri. He developed the recipe for Tums in his basement as a way to help his wife who suffered from indigestion.

Before inventing 7up, Charles Leiper Grigg worked for Vess Soda. He invented the Whistle Orange flavored soda. Vess soda is still sold in St. Louis and remains a popular soft drink.

Susan Blow is often credited with having invented kindergarten classes. She didn't necessarily invent kindergarten classes but did form the first publicly funded classes in the country. Using her own money and time, she started classes with the help of volunteers. Quickly others saw the benefits of the classes and they were added to the public school line-up.

The earliest recorded use of peanut butter, or peanut paste, dates back to the Ancient Incas and Aztecs. In the years since, there were others who made a paste from peanuts, mostly as a food supplement. Peanut butter became a household staple after 1903 when a St. Louis Doctor created a peanut butter making machine. Dr. Ambrose Straub patented his invention which quickly caught on as an easy way to prepare peanut butter in restaurants. It wasn't long after that jars of the creamy nut mixture filled grocery shelves everywhere.

Scott Joplin is considered one of the several grandfathers of Ragtime music. He along with other noted Ragtime musicians of Ben Harney and Ernest Hogan created a new music format, unlike anything anyone had heard before. His style of music defined a generation of change. Ragtime fell out of favor to Jazz but still today you can still hear 'The Entertainer' and 'Maple Leaf Rag' in movies and advertisements.

Our hometown cheese, Provel was invented, or created, right here in St. Louis. St. Louis history says that the cheese was created as an alternative to other more sticky cheeses used to top pizzas. Whatever the reason for its invention, we still love Provel on our pizzas!