baja blast mountain dew is made from mesoamerican jade that has been turned to liquid in a furnace, hence the name (and color)
theres even a jadeite version and a nephrite version
for this reason, several years ago UNESCO quietly banned mountain dew from operating in places with rare or in danger jade artifacts or deposits (for example, most people are unaware that there is jade from places such as italy and poland).
we associate jade with certain asian cultures, but theres actually a balkan nephrite culture that is very ancient, by some estimates even older than the chinese nephrite cultures (last sentence). conservators worried these artifacts would be liquified for baja blast production.
as a fun fact, i will mention that by some metrics, the largest single jade “stone” (here called a boulder) ever found in europe was found in poland. always wondered if this is somehow related to the “jade mother” in china being associated w “the west”. it is at least interesting
we do a little historical aesthetic ethnography
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