Coca-Cola

Invented in 1886 by an Atlanta pharmacist, John S. Pemberton, Coca-Cola is the second-best-known term on earth (after “OK”) and is the most widely distributed single product in the world. As a symbol of the American consumer lifestyle, the drink has significance and power far beyond its fizzy sugar-water contents.

Coca-Cola evolved from Pemberton’s French Wine of Coca, a cocaine-laced wine beverage sold in imitation of the extremely popular Vin Mariani. When Atlanta voted in November 1885 to go “dry” the following year, Pemberton revised his formula, removing the wine and adding an assortment of essential flavoring oils, caramel for color, and a large amount of sugar. Along with coca leaf and kola nut extract—the respective sources of cocaine and caffeine and the origin of the drink’s name—these ingredients made up Coca-Cola syrup, which was then mixed with carbonated water to make a popular drink in an era of resplendent soda fountains offering a wide variety of flavors.