Water used to be free.
In fact, it still is -- at least in nations blessed with plentiful clean tap water like the U.S. -- but that doesn't stop the world from spending over $100 billion on bottled water a year.
This strange industry is exploding overseas as well.
Who got the idea to sell us something we can get for free? And how did it get so popular that now more than half of Americans drink it?
The first documented case of selling bottled water was in Boston in the 1760s
Jackson's Spa took mineral water and sold it for therapeutic uses. Other later examples include the bottling of water in Saratoga Springs and Albany.
Global consumption of bottled water goes up 10 percent each year.
The slowest growth is in Europe, where commercial bottled water -- like Perrier -- has been around for centuries. Faster growth can be seen in places like Asia and South America, but North America still leads the pack in total consumption.
America is now drinking more bottled water than milk or beer.
The U.S. drank 9 billion gallons of bottled water in 2008, at an average of 30 gallons per person.
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