Reason: he had just told chemists about his new, cheap, artificial production of three powerful sex hormones (testosterone, progesterone and desoxy-corticosterone), from sarsaparilla root compounds.

European colonists loved the aroma of the plants and made the first root beer by fermenting low-alcoholic beer and adding ...

Traditionally, sassafras and sarsaparilla gave root beer its unique flavor, but they've since been replaced by vanilla and wintergreen, which is why it has a minty flair. The spicy bitterness that ...