Whisky and Soda or Perhaps Diet Coke

I walk past this statue often, it stands in City Square in the centre of Leeds, just across from the rail station.

There are four life size statues on plinths in front of the victorian building that once housed the main post office in Leeds. This one is of the polymath Joseph Priestley who is best known today as the discoverer of oxygen and if you are local to Leeds there is a college named after him.

This statue of Joseph Priestley is by sculptor Alfred Drury who has several other major works around Leeds city centre in including those of Morn and Even around city square.

When I stood with my camera in front of this well known statue I had no idea that we today, most of us at least, use something that he invented in 1767 Soda water also known as Carbonated water. Priestley first discovered a method of infusing water with carbon dioxide when he suspended a bowl of water above a beer vat at a local brewery here in Leeds, England.

So, if your tipple is whisky and soda, diet coke or an ice cream soda Joseph Priestley is the person to think of.

One last thing because of his radical views on religion and the French revolution he fled England to live the last ten years of his life living in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. This was after a mob burned down his house and church (he was not only a scientist but a clergyman too)