Prune Juice. Boiled banana peels. Burnt rum. More rumors than flavors surround a can of Dr Pepper. Twenty-three mystery flavors, and no one can agree on a single one. Vanilla, definitely, say some. No vanilla, but definitely cherry, say others. Dr Pepper swears up and down there’s no cherry, so it’s probably almond, is another theory. “Liquid manure,” said David Letterman once, but that’s probably not quite it either.

Well, Bill Waters of Tulsa, Okla., has found a ledger book that is said to contain the original Dr Pepper recipe, according to the Associated Press. Time can only tell, but a discovery like that and the subsequent publication of it puts a time-honored icon in jeopardy. The controversy surrounding Dr Pepper is part of what keeps the brand interesting. Take away the mystery, and I’m not saying you take away Dr Pepper, but you certainly water it down.

“I began feeling like I had a national treasure,” Waters said.

And he does, if the recipe is genuine and not for a digestive medication, as Snapple Dr Pepper representative Greg Artkop told the AP.

If there’s one thing we learned from a young age about treasure, it’s that you have to use it wisely. Also, it’s not a wise idea to ingest it in order to keep it for yourself. Using this treasure wisely would involve not releasing Dr Pepper’s more than 100-year-old secret.

Dr Pepper is crazy about the secrecy of its recipe. How crazy? Willy Wonka crazy. According to Artkop, only three people know the entire recipe. That’s not something to be taken lightly.

Dr Pepper is, without a doubt, an American icon. It’s so iconic that other brands use it to increase their visibility in the market. Jelly Bellies has a Dr Pepper flavored bean. LipSmackers has a Dr Pepper flavored gloss. And recently, the Snapple Dr Pepper company gave away free cans of the soda when Guns and Roses finally put out their new album “Chinese Democracy.”

It’s important to keep icons like Dr Pepper going strong, especially when there have been so many decimated by the economic times. General Motors is a good example.

GM cars have appeared in movies, TV and music — hubs, of course, of American popular culture — since the 1960s. Hence the Neal McCoy song: “She rolled into town, dreams in a sack. Old guitar and a blue Pontiac.”

Joel Geske, associate professor of advertising, said GM is one of the top American brands in his mind.

However, Geske also pointed out that GM is floundering, having announced last month that it is shutting the Pontiac line down, along with Hummer. They have their reasons, and whether they’re good ones is debatable, but either way it still signifies the death of two American icons. 

The word of the country has been change lately, so someone is surely bound to say that nothing stays the same and change is good. I agree, mostly.

Sometimes.

When necessary and appropriate.

However, the face of our popular culture has begun to change drastically and will likely continue to do so over the next several months, as more iconic brands shut down or weaken. We don’t need to help it along at this point.

One company’s secret and identity may not seem like a big deal — and it’s not, by itself. I’m not saying the people in our country depend on Dr Pepper to know who they are, but every time something so American as Dr Pepper is weakened or done away with, it begs the question, “Who are we now?” It’s something that’s barely noticeable at first, but if it happens enough it will become a problem.

And, seriously, do you really want to spoil the fun and know the flavors in Dr Pepper?

Okay, maybe you do. But they may not be as appetizing as vanilla and chocolate and rainbows. The recipe Waters found mentioned mandrake root and sweet flag root, according to the AP. Mandrake is a poisonous plant, and probably most recognizable from stories about potions and magic and nothing you’d expect in a soft drink. And it looks a little like it’s been sitting in a gutter for a couple months. Go ahead and Wiki it. It’s just not very appetizing.  Sometimes it’s just good not to know.

For a multitude of reasons.