Coca-Cola has been a North American icon for more than a century, but how much do you really know about this famous beverage? It was invented in 1886 by a pharmacist, John Pemberton. It was originally intended as a nerve and brain tonic and was first sold in pharmacies in Atlanta. As such, it actually contained cocaine since it was made from extracts of the coca leaf and kola nuts. These ingredients were removed from the product in 1905. The original product was a non-carbonated beverage, it is thought that the addition of carbonation may have been accidental when a soda-jerk inadvertently shot some soda water into the drink.
John Pemberton didn't know what he had. He only sold $50.00 worth Coke the first year, unfortunately it had cost him $70.00 to produce it. He had financial problems, his health was failing and he was a morphine addict, so he began selling off the rights to his invention.
In 1931, the Coca-Cola company, in an effort to become more "family friendly" launched it's famous "Santa Claus Campaign". Haddon Sundblom was commissioned to create a Coke loving Santa Claus. Up to this time their was not a standard depiction of Santa Claus. He had various looks and was depicted wearing various colors. Mr. Sundblom's Santa Claus wore a suit of the exact shade of red as Coca-Cola's corporate colors and he was soon the "official" Santa Claus of Christmas in North America.
Coca-Cola went through some turbulent transitions in the 1980's when they attempted to change the recipe of their famous soda pop. Consumer back-lash was enormous and they soon had to reintroduce their original formula.
Today Coca-Cola is one of the world's largest corporations. It's true. Things do go better with Coca-Cola.
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