What’s so crazy about Crazy Water, you ask? Well, nothing really. In fact, its alkaline content makes it one of the healthiest bottled waters you can drink. So how did it get its name?
Story has it that once upon a time, an old lady, who appeared “a bubble off plum,” sat by a well in a small Texas town called Mineral Wells, begging people to draw her a pail of water. Passersby obliged and soon the town’s populace noticed the crazy old woman wasn’t so crazy anymore. In fact, she appeared to be almost healed!
The woman became legend, but the well water went on to fame and glory. For years, people would flock to Mineral Wells in search of the “curative powers.” A man by the name of Ed Dismuke was one of them. He had a stomach condition which confounded his doctors, so Mr. Ed thought, “What the heck, drinking from the mineral water can’t hurt, and maybe it just might help.” So Ed began drinking the magic water, and came the day he was miraculously restored to health.
Too good to be true? Nope, Mr. Ed became such a fan of his healthy water that, in 1904, he began bottling it for sale and distribution. Now, more than a century later, Crazy Water is found at GreenAcres and at health food stores throughout the nation.
What makes it so special? Well, it’s naturally alkaline for one thing…and it tastes, well, it tastes different. GreenAcres CEO, Barbara Hoffmann, always reminds us that an alkaline body doesn’t get cancer. Reason enough to partake. Many of the sports drinks on the market today, made with sugar and infused with electrolytes, are actually acidic, which we think is ironic since, if you’re sweating and maybe even feeling a little woozie after a hot game of tennis or basketball, the last thing you need is an acidic drink.
Crazy Water is bottled from well water that has naturally-occurring minerals—not synthetic add-ins. And thanks to a healthy dose of high-level natural minerals, Crazy Water is hard to beat. As you can well imagine, Mineral Wells—the town—took off like a shot. At the turn of the 20th Century, Mineral Wells became known as the premier health resort in the South. More than 150,000 visitors and health seekers travelled from all over the country to drink in the healing minerals.
A decade later, the town had four bath houses, seven wells, two sanitariums and 46 hotels and boarding houses. Happy days were here again!
But as with most things, there’s a beginning and an end. During the Great Depression, mineral water lost its allure and the Crazy Water Company began making crystals that found their way to drug stores, where people took them home, dissolved them in tap water and made their own brand of crazy drinking water. In the 40s, gasoline was rationed, and so the long lines of cars ceased coming to Mineral Wells. Old Mr. Dismuke eventually died; his widow sold the company and later, a slew of owners bought and sold the company until its present owners, Carol and Scott Elder saw the “resurrection” possibilities.
Today, once again Crazy Water thrives and Mineral Wells is back on the map. The new owners make three strengths of Crazy Water: No. 2 is light and crisp and is only “a little crazy.” No. 3 has a slightly stronger mineral taste is actually “pretty crazy.” No. 4 is the strongest, full-bodied mineral water that tastes strongly “mineral-ish,” but the company recommends drinking two full glasses daily if you can tolerate it.
That’s the sweet thing about Crazy Water. But you give it a try, and tell us what you think. Here’s a Youtube video that demonstrates the ph acidic-to-alkaline properties of a couple of well-known bottled waters. It’s a lot less crazy than you think!
