Against all odds, the second-most boring drink on the planet is having a resurgence in the US right now: seltzer. Americans are drinking 70% more carbonated water today than they were just five years ago. La Croix, a flavored seltzer brand, is exploding. Sweetened soda sales are falling, and seltzer is filling the gap. But America’s obsession with seltzer (or carbonated water, or soda water) is bigger than La Croix, and it started long before our recent collective realization that sugary drinks are bad for you. Seltzer’s takeover of America has been in the works for hundreds of years. And the current seltzer craze is actually the second one to hit the US. This video goes all the way back to the beginning to explain why bubbly water has become kind of a thing. It’s the story of how seltzer rose from the earth, conquered the world, disappeared, and then came back.