#10 Coca-Cola used contain cocaine
There's nothing quite like the sugary rush that accompanies a cold glass of Coca-Cola — but did you know that the aptly named Coke used to deliver an even bigger kick? Until 1903, the world-famous soft drink contained a significant dose of cocaine.
While the Coca-Cola Company officially denies the presence of cocaine in any of its products — past or present — historical evidence suggests that the original Coca-Cola did, in fact, contain cocaine.
#9 Contains 10 Teaspoons of Sugar
One can of Coca-Cola contains 10 teaspoons of sugar. If you drink 3 cans Coca-Cola then you will consume 5 times than recommended sugar.
#8 Accused of Being Anti Semitic
Decades ago, some global companies refused to enter the Israel market because doing so could result in the rest of the Arab world refusing to conduct business with the establishment. A law in the U.S. actually made it illegal for companies to participate in the boycott against Israel, but because the law was so vague, violations were almost impossible to pin down. Coca-Cola, for example, was able to justify not bringing their business to Israel because the company had tried to establish a bottling plant in Israel in 1949, but since the Israeli government had blocked the move, Coca-Cola had a convenient reason why they served the rest of the Arab nations and not Israel.
However, in April of 1966, the truth was revealed when a civil servant in Cairo came into possession of an Ethiopian-made Coke bottle, mistook the Amharic lettering on it for Hebrew, and publicly accused Coca-Cola of conducting business in Israel. Coca-Cola’s Egyptian bottling operations manager then assured the press that Coca-Cola would never allow Israel to have its own Coca-Cola franchise, thus pinning down the company and triggering accusations of anti-Semitism. In response, several Jewish U.S. establishments, including Mount Sinai Hospital and Nathan’s Famous Hotdog Emporium, announced they would stop serving Coke. That forced the company to announce that they would open a bottling plant in Tel Aviv, and the Arab League promptly placed Coca-Cola on its boycott list until 1991.
#7 Died Drinking Too Much Coke
A New Zealand coroner has told an inquest that Natasha Harris, a mother of eight who suffered a heart attack in 2010, would not have died if she hadn't been dependent on on Coca-Cola.
As reported by the Associated Press last year, Harris, a 31-year-old stay-at-home mom, drank more than two gallons of the soft drink every day. Chris Hodgkinson, the woman's partner, said Harris was "addicted to Coke" and had unhealthy habits, such as eating very little and smoking up to 30 cigarettes a day.
#6 Secret Campaign Called H2NO
H2NO refers to an upselling campaign by Coca-Cola to dissuade consumers from ordering tap water drinks at restaurants, and to instead order more profitable soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages, or bottled water. The campaign's title, H2NO, reflects the program's purpose, which is to have customers say No to H2O, the chemical formula for water. The program taught waiters how to use "suggestive selling techniques" to offer an onslaught of alternative beverages when diners asked for water.
In July 2001, a link to a story about the program's success at Olive Garden was posted to Cockeyed.com. The link was reposted around the internet, until the story was taken down by Coca-Cola on August 2, 2001 for fears it might be misinterpreted. On August 20, 2001, the story was covered by the New York Times, and subsequently by a number of news providers.
The campaign ran only in the United States.
#5 Coke In India Contained Pesticides
In 2003, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) of New Delhi announced that water used by Coca-Cola in the production of their beverages contained toxic pesticides that could cause cancer and the breakdown of the immune system. More specifically, Coca-Cola’s beverages were found to contain thirty times the amount of pesticide permitted under EU regulations. The company angrily denied the allegations, but it still saw an 11% drop in its sales.
Regarding water supplies, several lawsuits, including those in Kerala, Plachimada, and Varanasi, have been brought against Coca-Cola in India for aggravating the water scarcity situation and degrading the water supply. None of the cases, however, have been decided against the company with finality. Nevertheless, Coca-Cola has admitted that it takes an average of 3.12 liters of water to create a liter of Coke.
#4 Coca-Cola Stirred Controversy Doing Business With Nazi Germany And Sponsoring The 2014 Sochi Olympics.
As did several large American companies, Coca-Cola had a controversial relationship with Nazi Germany. During World War II, a division of the company actually continued to operate in Germany, several of the top executives there being public members of the Nazi Party. In fact, when German Coca-Cola plants could no longer acquire ingredients to make Coke, they instead created Fanta especially for Germany.
In 2014, meanwhile, Coca-Cola once again courted controversy when it proceeded with its sponsorship of the Sochi Winter Olympics despite widespread calls for the event to be boycotted due to Russia’s passage of the law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors”. As a result, various LGBT-supportive groups, including those in several U.S. college campuses, called for Coke itself to be boycotted. The company responded to the controversy by posting on its website an open letter that asserts the brand’s status as “one of the world’s most inclusive brands.”
#3 Coke Contains Alcohol
Of 19 colas tested, the nine which did not contain alcohol were made by brands including Auchan, Cora, Casino, Leader Price and Man U-Cola. Ten which had traces of alcohol in them included Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Coca-Cola Classic Light and Coke Zero.
#2 Martin Luther King Told People Not To Buy Coke
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” delivered on April 3, 1968 is best known for how King seemed to foresee his impending assassination, which indeed took place the very next day. What isn’t often mentioned about the lengthy speech is that in it, he uttered the following line:
And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis.
King advocated the boycott of “white goods” as a non-violent means of protesting against racist businesses. At that time, white workers in Coca-Cola plants were getting paid a much higher wage than their black counterparts, while it was the latter who were being made to stay long hours and do the difficult work. That practice seemed to continue many years later, as in November of 2000, Coca Cola agreed to pay a large group of minority employees $192.5 million to settle a class action racial discrimination suit brought against the company. Today, however, Coca-Cola is one of the leading companies in terms of the diversity of its workforce.
#1 Coca-Cola Was Once Marketed As A Nerve Tonic That Could Cure Morphine Addiction And Male Impotence
After being wounded in the Civil War, Colonel John Pemberton became addicted to morphine, and sought a safe substitute to the opiate. The first Coca-Cola recipe was then formulated at a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia as a coca wine. In 1885, the substance was registered as a nerve tonic, and the following year, Coca-Cola was sold as medicine that could supposedly cure several diseases, including morphine addiction, neurasthenia, dyspepsia, headaches, and impotence. Of course, today, the drink is marketed simply as a refreshing beverage with no medicinal properties.
