Site of the Invention of Irn-Bru

Did you know that the word “gullible” does not appear in the Oxford English Dictionary?

Well, if you believed that, you might just be fooled by the inscription on this plaque which was allegedly erected by the Glasgow Information and Kultural Identity Taskforce, or GlaIKIT for short. Glaikit is a Scottish word meaning foolish or thoughtless, so maybe you can judge the truthfulness of the inscription for yourself.

It reads as follows: In 1863, Robert Barr, the son of a Falkirk cork-maker, was brewing tea on this spot when he accidently knocked over his kettle. To his surprise, the hot water dissolved some of the rocky outcrop on which he sat, turning it into a bright orange, effervescent liquid. Out of curiosity, but with much trepidation, Barr tasted the resulting concoction and was surprised to find it had a unique, slightly metallic, and not entirely unpleasant flavour. Realising the opportunity, Barr borrowed enough money to purchase the land around the outcrop. He then set to work mining what he called his guid ore' which he turned into a health tonic he named Iron Brew and advertised as being made in Scotland from guid ore'. It was an instant hit, and within a matter of months it had made him a millionaire many times over.

By 1890, Barr had extracted all of the guid ore' he could and despite an exhaustive search, he couldn't locate another source. By then he'd stock-piled enough to ensure the continuous production of his Iron Brew (which was rebranded as Irn-Bru in the 1940s) until 2037, but after that date, the company he founded will no longer be able to produce any more. In 1892, Barr sold the mine to the Caledonian Railway Company, who used it as the basis of a new railway line connecting the west of Glasgow to the city centre via this tunnel. However, the steam from the engines mixed with the last traces of guid ore in the rock, creating a distinctive flavor which made it unpopular with the more refined residents of Glasgow's fashionable west end and it closed soon after.

The plaque was installed by the Glasgow Information and Kultural Identity Taskforce, which shares what might be called fanciful tales of Glaswegian history.