I have also heard this, but am admittedly not an expert on all things Dr. Pepper. I present the following search, composed whilst actually seeking the secret of Dr. Pepper.

1. Having searched Cecil Adams' site I was unable to find a reference. This doesn't mean he didn't debunk the "Prune Juice Theory" (henceforth referred to as PJT. Why? I like acronyms).

   Hmmm... I expected confirmation of no prune juice fairly quickly. This may take some effort.

2. Searching for "Dr. Pepper" on the SNOPES site, I was also unable to confirm or disprove PJT. I did, however, discover this: http://snopes.simplenet.com/spoons/noose/elephant.htm

   What made the article all the more amusing was the following illustration:

   
   "Dammit! I said SIT"!

   No joy at SNOPES.

3. I checked the alt.folklore.urban FAQ and found links to several enlightening parts of a discussion that had very little to do with PJT.

   Message 17 of 282 for search dr pepper

   The above information is of very little help.

Anyone else care to join the search? The truth is out there, but it's vastly outnumbered by a lot of other stuff that isn't the truth.

--Baloo

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I'm a Dirtling and PROUD OF IT!

Again, not much help. *L*

However, you might want to see if you can find the Dr. Pepper newsgroup FAQ.

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"And though I once prefered a human being's company, they pale before the monolith that towers over me."
--
They Might Be Giants

Actually, I have a book at home called "Big Secrets" which gives the secret ingredient to many of the foods we eat. For instance, those 11 herbs and spices of KFC? They're all common stuff(no biggie, except for a little msg). It also explains Coke's secret "7x" ingredient, but spectroanalysis comes up inconclusive(but we know it is a hydrocarbon complex!).

And I do believe it has Dr Pepper's formula in there too...I'll have to find the book and read it off.

Whatever the heck is in this nectar of the gods, it's good. I don't care what's in it. 'Cause I love it, baby!

I quote the relevant passages here:

1. Does Dr Pepper contain prune juice?

   In a word: NO!

2. Okay, so what's in Dr Pepper?

   On the label in the US, the ingredients are: Carbonated Water; Imperial Pure Cane Sugar [or "High Fructose Corn Syrup and/or Sugar," if you're not so lucky]; Caramel Color; Phosphoric Acid; Artificial and Natural Flavors; Sodium Benzoate (Preservative); Caffeine.

   Chris Dunthorne told me on 7/3/98 that the ingredients on the label in the UK are a little different: "Carbonated Water, Sugar, Colour (Caramel E150d), Phosphoric Acid, Flavourings, Preservative (E211), Caffeine."

   John Neely, a formerly anonymous Canadian, submitted "Ingredients from The Great White North" on 10/27/98: "Carbonated Water, Sugar/Glucose-Fructose, Carmel colour, Artificial and Natural flavors, Phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate, Caffeine, monosodium phosphate, lactic acid, polyethelene glycol."

   Trace McLean also on 10/27/98 posted the ingredients for Australian Dr Pepper "taken straight from the bottle": "Carbonated water, sugar, colour (150), flavours, food acids (338, 270), preservative (211), caffeine."

   [Just for the hell of it, here's the ingredients for Diet Dr Pepper in the U.S., as posted by Tom Reed on 11/23/98: "Carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, artificial and natural flavors, sodium benzoate (preservative), caffeine. Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine."]

   The Dr Pepper company had this to say in a pamphlet it published sometime in either the late 1950's or early 1960's: "Its unique flavor results from the blending of pure fruit flavors (gathered from throughout the world) with mystic spices, from far-off Madagascar, and clean, clear distilled sparkling water." You don't suppose one of those spices is vanilla, do you?

   Brian McElroy posted to alt.fan.dr-pepper on 1/19/98 (and emailed me a correction on 6/30/98) about his visit to the Dublin Dr Pepper plant, which I think definitively answers two questions at once:

   "Just got back today from the Dublin bottling plant and museum. There has been a lot of debate on what flavor Dr Pepper really is, so I asked Mr. Kloster [Bill Kloster], the plant owner, who has worked in that plant for almost 60 years. According to him, Dr Pepper is a mix of 23 different fruit flavors. The original creator wanted to create a drink that tasted like the smell of a soda shop. When you walked into a soda shop in that day, you smelled all the fruit flavors of the different sodas all mixed into one. So he basically took a bunch of flavors and mixed them, and came up with Dr Pepper. He said Dr Pepper does not and has never had prune juice in it."

So there you are. The Dr Pepper FAQ is at http://www.pipeline.com/~chrisf/dpfaq.html if you want to see more information about that beverage than you ever thought existed.

--Baloo

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WE NEED TO GET A LIFE!

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Ring this little golden bell
And see what changes with it's knell
Or Wonder, till it drives you mad...
What would have happened if you HAD.

Barney: I don't know where you magic pixies came from, but I sure do like your pixie drink!

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Garak: Interesting. You saved the day by destroying the world.
Bashir: I bet they didn't teach you that in the Obsidian Order.

If this is what you do in your free time, I'd hate to see what you are capable of at work...

hehehe...Sorry, couldn't resist.

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Brandon "Enterprise" Grasmick
Commanding Officer, USS Sovereign (NX-74222)

"Captain, the Sona crew are willing to negotiate a cease fire. It may have something to do with the fact that we have 3 minutes of air left."
-- Worf

Yes, I am that much of a Dr. Pepper addict.

*bows head in disgrace and pops opens a can of Dr. Pepper*

*LOL* It would definitely be the marriage of two true addicts. Ask Charles, I nearly made myself sick on the stuff last night...mmmm...*goes over to the pop machine at work and pounds it for a bit, wishing there was Dr Pepper inside*