Hi there!!! Have you ever wondered where Coca Cola comes from? Any idea?
Since we love this sweet and refreshing drink with a unique flavor that people enjoy, we have decided to do some research and we have come up with some curiosities, which will surely fascinate you as much as they did us.
So … let’s start with its history! Coca Cola was invented by Dr. John S. Pemberton on 8th May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally used as a patent medicine for headaches, depression, anxiety or indigestion, Dr. Pemberton tried it out on customers at his local chemist, Jacob’s Pharmacy, where it proved so popular that it immediately went on sale at 5 cents a glass.
Dr. Pemberton first named it "Pemberton's French Wine Coca", an alcoholic beverage mixed with coca leaves, kola nut and damiana, a flowering shrub with aphrodisiac qualities. Frank M. Robinson, Dr. Pemberton’s bookkeeper, came up with the name Coca Cola based on two of its ingredients (coca and kola) and he suggested that “the two Cs would look good in advertising”.
And now some facts!
In the 1930s the Coke Company created Christmas ads and they depicted a jolly Santa in a red coat. From then on, many people have believed that Coke had a huge role in shaping the image of St. Nick. Previous images of Santa Claus illustrated him wearing different colours including brown and green.
In the ’60s the British band The Beatles were used to advertise Coca Cola.
In 1985, Coca Cola became the first soft drink to go to space.
In 1986, 70,000 bottles of Coke were gathered in the Chilean desert in order to create a logo reading “100 years” to commemorate the drink’s 100th anniversary. The logo was so big that it could be seen from an airplane.
The only two countries in the world where Coca Cola is not sold are Cuba and North Korea.
Luckily we live in Italy, where “Thirst asks nothing more!” So … are you ready to “Taste the feeling?”
by Matilde Piran and Gaia Santomauro
