In May, 1886, Coca Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton
a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. John Pemberton concocted the Coca Cola
formula in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard. The name was a suggestion
given by John Pemberton's bookkeeper Frank Robinson. Being a bookkeeper, Frank
Robinson also had excellent penmanship. It was he who first scripted "Coca
Cola" into the flowing letters which has become the famous logo of today.
The soft drink was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob's
Pharmacy in Atlanta on May 8, 1886.
About nine servings of the soft drink were sold each day. Sales for that first
year added up to a total of about $50. The funny thing was that it cost John
Pemberton over $70 in expanses, so the first year of sales were a loss.
Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as a tonic, contained extracts of cocaine
as well as the caffeine-rich kola nut.
By the late 1890s, Coca-Cola was one of America's most popular fountain drinks.
With another Atlanta pharmacist, Asa Griggs Candler, at the helm, the Coca-Cola
Company increased syrup sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900. Advertising,
was an important factor in Pemberton and Candler's success and by the turn
of the century, the drink was sold across the United States and Canada. Around
the same time, the company began selling syrup to independent bottling companies
licensed to sell the drink. Even today, the US soft drink industry is organized
on this principle.
Until the 1960s, both small town and big city dwellers enjoyed carbonated
beverages at the local soda fountain or ice cream saloon. Often housed in
the drug store, the soda fountain counter served as a meeting place for people
of all ages. Often combined with lunch counters, the soda fountain declined
in popularity as commercial ice cream, bottled soft drinks, and fast food
restaurants came to the fore.
On April 23, 1985, the trade secret "New Coke" formula was released. Today,
products of the Coca Cola Company are consumed at the rate of more than one
billion drinks per day.
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