h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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I checked on the Coke brand list. Dr. Pepper is definitely there.

Not if you restrict the region to the USA. In the USA, the Dr Pepper / 7-Up company is separate from the Coca Cola Corp. I just had this explained by researching Dr Pepper's own website and delving deeper into Coca Cola's website. Overseas, Dr Pepper comes out of the Coke company I guess, but not in the USA.

- JD

I never realised there was so much to know about soda!

I've been to the Coca-Cola museum. It was my favorite part of Atlanta.

I lived in Atlanta for nine years and I never went to the Coca-Cola museum. How lame can you get?

You might want to talk about the time Coke shot itself squarely in the foot when it changed the recipe in the late 80s. This was in response to losing the marketing war due to the 'Pepsi Challenge' (pepsi often won in blind tastings where a sip is taken of each as it was sweeter). They changed the recipe and immediately there was widespread public outcry. Eventually they were forced to return to the previous formula.

hi, still working on this ?

Mythbusters showed that Coke doesn't dissolve teeth, either, so this is also wrong.

It’s definitely worth mentioning that the original formula for Coca Cola contained cocaine derived from Erythroxylon coca and Kola (Cola acuminata) nut extract, active constituents being caffeine and theobromine. Hence the name – Coca (cocaine), Cola (Kola nut). Both these substances are stimulants and have definite actions on the central nervous system. Basically, in combination they will induce a feeling of well-being, reduce tiredness and depression and increase the capacity to work (or play more like). It is probably the reason why Coca Cola became so popular, as the original formula would definitely have given anyone a lift. At the time, cocaine was not an illegal drug. This only became an issue in the 20th. Century, when the formula was changed to suit the anti-drug norms of the day. However, the drink was so popular by then, it didn’t seem to matter that the hard-core drugs had been removed.

I find it amusing that apart from the fact that the original Coca Cola would have had quite a hit, it was then advertised by a large fat man who is associated with reindeers and Fly Agaric mushrooms (used as a sacred hallucinogen by indigenous Siberian shamans). The drug allusions just keep coming on.


St. F.

One thing to realize is that it's not like the formula was just changed once -- as they learned more about cocaine, they gradually reduced the amount of it in there. For awhile, the company was afraid that if they dropped the cocaine entirely, it would affect their trademark -- and so for the bulk of the time that Coca-cola had any cocaine in it, we're actually talking about only trace amounts, not enough to have any active effect.

Hmm. I didn't know that, only that the first formulations did contain cocaine and kola nut. I think it's fitting, though, to put these things in such an article; perhaps info. on how the formula changed due to this knowledge over time. Did it still have cocaine in it during prohibition in the 1920s, for instance?? When did the cocaine content begin to drop, and what had occurred to make this happen, for instance.

The use of drugs such as cocaine and heroin for both medical and recreational use was much more prevalent in the 19th. century than many might expect. They only became illegal in fairly recent times, due to political and economic pressure, largely from the U.S.A.

I vaguely remember an old "outback" medical kit we had that contained a bottle of kaolin (I think) and heroin solution for such complaints as dysentery. The kit itself would have dated from well before WWII, when such things were quite legal to have.

Hi
i once read a book by an american author by the name of Patrick Dennis in which a family manufactured a drink called LOHOCLA(ALCOHOL) needless to say they made a fortune and i believe the founder of the factory ended up as President of the United States it was supprisingly like the history of Coca-Cola

It was in trace amounts by the turn of the century, and was removed entirely in 1929.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/cocaine.asp

razrtooth, are you likely to come back to h2g2?

I'm surprised nobody has yet addressed the syntax problems in the first sentance.

aftwer looking up the word comprises in dictionary .com
I am of the opinion thatthis would reaqd better if you said
"a carbonated beverage which includes surprisingly large amounts of sugar."

'Coca-Cola is a carbonated drink which comprises of a surprising amount of sugar. In fact, so much so that a tooth left in a glass of Coca-Cola for a night will dissolve entirely, because the phosphoric acid in the Coca-Cola reacts with the calcium in the tooth, dissolving it'.

the fact that the tooth dissolves has nothing to do with the amount of sugar in the drink. So the words, 'In fact, so much so' are superfluous. Something like 'Furthermore' would be more appropriate.

... also see what s'one said in Post 29. (However, an old copper coin left in coke overnight comes out bright and shiny). I did omnce do the teeth experiment with one of my classes, using teeth procured from the dentist. However, it was so long ago that, regrettably, I can't remember the result. I don't think they did dissolve; merely turned black.

> I did once did...

I guess we are still concerning ourself with what is being said rather than how it is being said.
I agree that the incident about "New Coke" deserves mention.
Also is this about the Corporation or juswt about the drink?
And if it is strictly about the one drink you don't need to mention the other (non-coke) flavors like sprite, fanta, 7-up, or Dr. Pepper.