Here's Jeff Wells with the history of Royal Crown Cola and its sister soda, Diet Rite. When I was a kid, they served RC Cola at many of my friends' homes because it was (a) cheaper and (b) it seemed like the non-conformist soda. It was like, "Everyone drinks Coke or Pepsi. Let's be different." Wells describes the story of the company as "tragic" and when you read the article, you'll agree.