Everyone who has ever been to McDonald’s and has ever drank the Sprite there knows that there’s no other that compares to it. Based on internet jokes, McDonald’s Sprite has been joked about as being spicy water, the flavor of electronic static, and capable of charging a phone. Yet the question is why is it the way it is? Well, Spoon University did an article on this question and interviewed a McDonald’s source to see the general process of how they create their Sprite.

This Internet joke started back somewhere around the summer of 2017 when a Twitter user had posted, “McDonald’s sprite dang near stronger that liquor g.” From there, this cultural phenomenon grew rapidly with people posting similar jokes about Sprite accompanied by random pictures and clips of various things like animals acting weird.

Junior Michael Hart joked, “I was able to charge my Chromebook with it before once.”

According to the article by Spoon University, “McDonald’s uses a higher ratio of syrup concentrate to carbonated water”, which results in a sweeter and stronger version of the drink than may be found at other fast-food restaurants. “McDonald’s filters its water twice as much as competitors, giving your Sprite that gold standard quality every time because better water means better Sprite.” The last reason isn’t specific to sprite, but the straws are also slightly larger than they’re at other fast-food chains; this allows more soda to be tasted at once.

Another Junior, Grant Bebow, commented, “McDonald’s Sprite is good.”