The burger chain gave owners permission to drop the $1 drinks promotion in January, according to The Journal. As of May, some franchisee groups have shifted to market the value menu instead.

Not only does McDonald's pre-chill the soda syrup, but they also pre-chill the filtered water that is going into the machine. There is an insulated tube that runs from the fridge in the back to the soda fountain in the front that constantly keeps the water at a temperature just above freezing.

42-ounce However, some fast-food companies, such as KFC, simply did away with the super-sized names and kept the huge drink size as the new large. McDonald's used a similar tactic, first getting rid of the super-sized 42-ounce drink, then bringing it back under an alternative name - the Hugo.

The $1 large drink has been a fast food staple for more than a decade. Even as prices of burgers and chicken followed inflation, you could always count on that $1 soda, especially at McDonald's.

McDonald's agreed in January to allow restaurant locations to suspend the dollar drink promotion, but asked owners to keep directing their advertising dollars toward promoting the deal through September 2022, according to some franchisees.

The cold-drinks deal began as a summertime special in 2008 and has been promoted as a year-round feature since 2017. But now, according to the Wall Street Journal, multiple McDonald's restaurants around the country have stopped promoting $1 drinks, have raised drink prices and are advertising the value menu instead.

Typically, restaurants get their soda syrups in plastic bags, but Coca-Cola does something different for McDonald's. The fast-food chain gets its Coke syrup delivered in stainless steel tanks. According to the New York Times, the material keeps the soda fresher, and your tongue can taste the difference.

DR PEPPER DR PEPPER IS THE OLDEST MAJOR SOFT DRINK IN AMERICA. Originally made in Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas, the drink's unique flavor was a hit when it was first sold in 1885.

Supersized fries and drinks weren't making them as much money as they hoped, so they took the option off the menu. However, they do still have these secret menu items available for purchase. “The driving force here was menu simplification,” McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said back in 2004.

In March 2004, McDonald's announced a plan to phase out the Supersize option, citing needs to simplify the menu and to offer healthier food choices.

According to Buzzfeed, McDonald's cup sizes in the U.S. are about 16 ounces for a small, 21 ounces for a medium, and 30 ounces for a large.

Soft drinks bring in up to a 90 percent profit margin because each one only costs them less than a quarter. Making their small, medium, and large drinks a dollar makes them money and looks good to customers.

It's not only Coca-Cola that has announced increases as McDonald's has also hiked the price of five menu items today (February 16) and blamed the cost of living crisis. The fast-food chain said it had been hit with rising food and energy bills "like many other businesses".

$1 soda boosts sales With the introduction of 2 for $5 menus, and similar options for set periods of time, the chain ends up actually making more money. Even with the $1 drink menu alone, sales rose as did shares of stock (via Reuters).

But that's why it also tastes different. So enjoy.

At 239 years of age and counting, Schweppes is not only the oldest soda brand in existence but the first bottled soft drink, period (via RFDTV). Schweppes did not introduce a flavored beverage until 1835, nearly four decades after Johann Jacob Schweppe's retirement (via Schweppes).