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New Mountain Dew history exhibit opens in Knoxville

Do you know where the neon-green drink got its name?

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The popular neon-green drink loaded with sugar and caffeine is also chalked-full of East Tennessee history.

'"It'll Tickle Yore Innards!": A (Hillbilly) History of Mountain Dew' is a new feature exhibit at the East Tennessee History in downtown Knoxville that explores the origins of the drink and its connection to Knoxville. 

RELATED: Can both moonshine and soda be called Mountain Dew?

RELATED: Mountain Dew's Knoxville moonshine roots

The exhibit opened over the weekend with tales of brothers Barney and Ally Hartman, who first debuted their soft drink with its original lemon-lime flavor at the Gatlinburg Convention in 1946 as a mixer for hard liquor. 

The name itself came about because the brothers joked that when mixed with liquor, the drink resembled Tennessee moonshine. 

There are more than 200 artifacts on display throughout the exhibit that runs through January 20, 2020.

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