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14 Things You Didn't Know About Coca-Cola

There's more to "the real thing" than you realized.

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Mike Mozart/Flickr Creative Commons

You think you know, but you have no idea.

1
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2

It's Named After A Nut

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Though most people know where the "Coke" part comes from, "cola" was actually named after the kola nut. Found in Africa, the nut is said to have lots of medicinal effects, as well as the alkaloid better known as caffeine.

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3

Celeb Endorsements Go Way back

<p>The first celebrity endorsements for Coca-Cola (different from the "Coca-Cola girls," who appeared in the annual calendar), were singer Hilda Clark and opera star Lillian Nordica.</p>
Courtesy of For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It

The first celebrity endorsements for Coca-Cola were singer Hilda Clark and opera star Lillian Nordica in the 1890s.

4

It Wasn't Always Just For Drinking

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When Coca-Cola came out, coca was being made into tablets, wine, liqueurs, hypodermic injections, and coca-leaf cigarettes. Ironically, smoking it was believed to cure everything from asthma to bad breath.

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5

It Was First Made As A Wine

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Coca-Cola was first created as cola wine, but the alcohol and cocaine were eventually replaced with syrup and coca leaves.

6

It Can Heat Things Up In The Bedroom

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Forget oysters and chocolate—drink up a bottle of Coca-Cola to get in the mood. Sigmund Freud believed the popular drink cured him of periodic depression and improved his sex drive. But we'll let you test this theory out for yourself.

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7

It Was Created To Ease Aches And Pains

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Coke's inventor, John Pemberton, used the combination of coca leaves and kola nuts as a substitute for morphine to relieve his illnesses and pain.

8

It Was A Solider's Necessity

<p>Coca-Cola positioned itself as a soldier's drink during World War II. Although the company took a hit during World War I, because of sugar rations, the company took far less of a hit during World War II, largely in part to its war efforts. Soldiers were said to depend on Coca-Cola heavily during wartime, as a pick-me-up; said one base surgeon, "I cannot conceive of a greater calamity worse than a loss of the base supply of Coca-Cola." In 1942, Coca-Cola was exempt from sugar rationing when sold to the military and bases; while other soda drink companies took hits up to 50 percent, Coca-Cola remained strong in the market. </p>
Courtesy of For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It

Soldiers were said to have depended on Coca-Cola heavily during World War 2 as a pick-me-up; one base surgeon even said, "I cannot conceive of a greater calamity worse than a loss of the base supply of Coca-Cola." That's a pretty profound statement.

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9

It (Kinda) Created Santa Claus

<p>Coca-Cola essentially shaped the Santa Claus we know today, thanks to its ads. Pre-Coca-Cola ads that appeared in the 1930s, the depictions of Santa Claus showed Santa as a tall and "gaunt" man usually dressed in blue, green, or yellow. Then, Swedish-American artist Haddon Sundblom drew a fat, jolly man wearing Coca-Cola red and drinking — well, what else? — and forever changed what Santa looked like. Some say this was Coca-Cola's first attempt to market to children, albeit subtly. </p>
Courtesy of For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It

You can thank Coca-Cola for allowing Santa to shake his belly like a bowl full of jelly. Before Coke ads, Santa Claus was depicted as a tall and gaunt man usually dressed in blue, green, or yellow. Then, in the 1930s, Swedish-American artist Haddon Sundblom drew a fat, jolly man wearing Coca-Cola red (and drinking a bottle, of course) and changed what Santa looked like forever. We cannot even imagine a world without fat Santa.

10

It'll Keep The Bugs Away

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Just fill a bowl with Coke and the sugar will draw the bugs to it and away from you and the most important part—away from your food.

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11

It Will Erode Your Teeth

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The phosphoric acid might give Coke it's familiar, tangy flavor—but it'll also erode your tooth enamel. Sip carefully.

12

It Can Fix Your Dye Job

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Hair too dark? Wash your hair with a can of Coke to fade some of that dark color.

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13

You Can Bake With It

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Baking hack: mix brownie mix + a bottle of Coke for moist brownies without any of the other ingredients.

14

The Bottle Wasn't Designed Like A Woman's Body

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The Coke bottle actually got it's shape and name from the same place—the cocoa plant. The glassmakers were intrigued by the shape of the cocoa pod, and the original design stuck.

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15

It'll Do A Lot To Your Body In Just 60 Minutes

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After the initial blood sugar spike, you'll experience increased blood pressure, dilated eyes, a bathroom run, loss of minerals, and a sugar crash. Coke seriously takes your body on one roller-coaster ride of an hour.

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