How Coca-Cola Made Its Way Back in 1886
Way back in the year 1886, which is now a hundred and thirty-two years ago, John Stith Pemberton, who was actually a pharmacist, created Coca-Cola. He began serving it at Jacobs’ Pharmacy where he worked. The carbonated beverage caught on quickly in his small town; nine drinks were sold each and every day that first year. Frank Robinson, who was the company’s accountant and who also had beautiful penmanship, not only penned the famous logo, but he also named the drink. Because of its two most important ingredients, coca plant and kola nuts, he thought Coca-Cola would be a perfect fit First developed in Atlanta by Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist and former Civil War cavalry leader, Coca-Cola got its start as a health tonic under another name. Injured during the war, Pemberton became addicted to morphine and heard that cocaine might help curb the addiction (odd as that might sound now). He was also inspired by the coca-leaf-infused French wine Vin Mariani, which at the time was quite popular — and legal without a prescription — for restoring "health and vitality. " He concocted a beverage combining wine and coca leaf and called it Pemberton's French Wine Coca.
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The World’s Most Consumable Drinking Industry
Every single day there are about fifty-seven billion servings of a variety of beverages being drank every single day. This doesn’t even include water. Amazingly, almost two million of those refreshing drinks, or just over three percent, are either licensed or trademarked by Coca-Cola. In fact, it is the most universally distributed product in the world. There are almost twenty-thousand beverages sold every single second that are products of the Coca-Cola company Since it was first poured in 1886, Coca-Cola has become America's sugary beverage of choice, but fans can forget what a long, winding path it's taken to get there. From its heady early history of drug-infused secret formulas to PR stunts and a bizarre new space-inspired flavor, the story of Coke involves plenty of weird and wild tales. Here are some fascinating facts to share with friends the next time you sip the real thing.
What is Cocaine?
What you need to realize is that back then (1886), it was common for cocaine to be used in patented medicines and medicinal elixirs. In fact, it was quite often used to break opiate addiction, erectile dysfunction, and general fatigue. Nonetheless, as the negative effects of the drug began coming to light, the chemists at Coca-Cola did what they could to lower its amount with what technology they had at the time, which left only trace amounts. By 1902, the amount of cocaine left in the soft drink was infinitesimal and by the time the drug was completely eliminated in 1929, there had been hardly any left to remove anyway. To put this in terms that can be better understood, there would have been about one tenth of a gram per twenty-five million gallons of syrup While the inclusion of cocaine in the original recipe for Coca-Cola is an oft-cited piece of trivia, the amount was very small. According to Mark Pendergrast, author of "For God, Country, and Coca-Cola," the initial 6-ounce servings contained only 4. 3 milligrams of the drug. The company likes to emphasize that no cocaine was added to the beverage; it was present in the liquid extract of the coca leaf. That small amount was reduced much further in 1903, amid growing concerns of addiction to the drug, and eliminated altogether in 1928.
Coca-Cola's Christmas advertising is all thanks to the company
The jolly and plump image of Santa Claus in his red suit which we all know and love today is all thanks to the Coca-Cola company. When the company began its Christmas advertising back in the 1920s, it was in order to raise sales that generally dwindled during the winter months. The company used several holiday images until they finally hit upon a dandy of a winner in 1931 when Haddon Sundblom, their illustrator, decided to paint a jolly, plump image of Santa wearing a red suit. He based the image on the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” written by Clement Moore in addition to his own Scandinavian heritage. This proved to not only boost sales of Coke, but also to give us the image of Santa as we all now know him Coca-Cola is also to thank for the image we have today of Santa Claus. Coke began its Christmas advertising in 1920s to drum up sales in the slow winter months. It used several images, but none proved popular until 1931 when illustrator Haddon Sundblom painted a plump, jolly Santa in a red coat. The image was based on the Clement Moore poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and his own Scandinavian heritage. Previous images of Santa Claus ranged from him being gaunt, to very big, and he wore all different colors including green and brown.