2 COCA COLA Uses

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.



Birth of Coca-Cola
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.




The Many Uses Of Coca-Cola (Coke):

• Remove grease stains from clothing and fabric.
• Remove rust; methods include using fabric dipped in Coke, a sponge or even aluminum foil.
• Remove blood stains from clothing and fabric.
• Clean oil stains from a garage floor; let the stain soak, hose off.
  
  
  
  
• Loosen a rusty bolt; pour on some Coke and wait for the magic to happen.
• Kill slugs and snails; a small bowl of Coke will attract them, the acid will kill them.
• Prevent an asthma attack! Apparently, the caffeine in two 12oz. cans can prevent the onset of an attack.
• Defrost a frozen windshield. Apply liberally and wait .  (Sounds messy but hey, if you have a can of coca-cola on hand, why not? lol.)
• Clean burnt pans; let the pan soak in the Coke, then rinse.
• Descale a kettle using the same method above.
• Neutralize a jellyfish sting.
• Clean car battery terminals by pouring a small amount of Coke over each one.
• Cure nausea; let a can of Coke go flat then take a teaspoon of Coke every hour.
• Also, flat coke can help relieve an upset stomach (aka the runs).
• Get rid of hiccups; gargle with a big mouthful of ice-cold Coke.
• Shake up a can and pour it over your windshield to remove bugs and other crud.
• Use the method above for your car bumpers, too.
• Clean your engine; Coke distributors have been using this technique for decades.
• Keep your tires dirt-free!  First, wash and scrub your tires then dry off the rims. Then you just spray the Coca-Cola (reg. not diet) onto your tires. Or, just use a rag dipped in the coke and rub onto your tires. Let dry and repeat. This will leave the tires black as can be and will not attract the dirt like all the other products out there.
• Relieve congestion; boil and a can of Coke and drink while hot to clear you up. (eeew - hot coke...)

• 

  Colicky baby!

  Got a colicky baby?  Leave out a glass of warm coke and give it a stir now and then during the day so most of the bubbles are out by the time colic normally hits. Put it in the babies bottle and let him drink and burp like you normally would and the colic and tears will be gone. Make sure it's warm, flat, regular coke - not diet!
• Baste a ham roast with Coke as it cooks. The sugars will caramelize; the ham will be moist.
• Add a can of coke to your pot roast to tenderize it and add extra flavor.
• Make pretty pennies; soaking old pennies in Coke will remove the tarnish.
• Make your hair curly; pour flat Coke onto long hair, leave for a few minutes then rinse.
• Age documents and photos; for that antique look, apply Coke, pat with paper, leave to dry.
• Clean tile grout; pour onto kitchen floor, leave for a few minutes, wipe up.
• Mix a can of Coke with a packet of Italian seasoning;  cook a tough steak in it.
• Make better compost; Coke increases the acidity, adds sugars and feeds microorganisms.
• Remove gum from hair; dip into a small bowl of Coke, leave a few minutes. Gum will wipe off.
• Get silky skin; mix a spoonful of Coke with regular lotion and apply liberally.
• Pour a little in a cup and set it out an hour before a picnic, away from your site; it will attract wasps and bees so they're not bugging you and your grub.
• Remove stains from vitreous china.
• Got a dirty pool? Add two 2-liter bottles of Coke to clear up the water (it acts as rust remover).
• Add Coke to your laundry to remove bad smells, especially fish.
• Remove (or fade) dye from hair by pouring diet Coke over it.
• Mop a floor with Coke to make it sticky. Its a movie industry trick to stop actors slipping.

• 

  Jellyfish

  Relieve jellyfish stings. Just pour on and leave.
• Clean a toilet; pour around bowl, leave for a while, flush clean.
• Apply to skin for a deep tan (although this seems like a recipe for skin cancer to me).
• Supposedly, drinking an 8oz can of Coke every day can prevent kidney stones.
  Add it to a Sloppy Joe mix.
• Perk up your Azaleas or Gardenias.
• Coke and aluminum foil will bring Chrome to a high shine.
• Strip paint off metal furniture; soak a towel in Coke, sit it on the surface for days. Make sure you keep adding Coke to keep the towel wet. (Seems like a hassle, I'd rather buy paint stripper.)
• BBQ Sauce - Ingredients:
  2 cups Coca-Cola (or similar cola)
  1 lg. onion (or 2 smaller ones)
  3 cloves garlic crushed or minced
  2 cups ketchup
  1 Tbsp. soy sauce
  1 Tbsp. black pepper
  2-3 Tbsps. chili powder(optional)
  1/4 cup brown sugar (optional)
  1/2 cup vinegar (optional)
  salt to taste
• Saute onion and garlic in the oil until transparent. Add ketchup, soy sauce, Cola and optional ingredients all together and simmer for 1-2 hours or until desired consistency. For thicker sauce - simmer longer. Cool and use on all your grilled meats. 
• Add it to vodka, rum or bourbon.

Did You Know...


Actual photograph of the experiment
as performed in the Why Files lab!
Note the Diet Coke
breaking the surface on the left.

• If you put a can of diet Coca-Cola and a can of regular Coca-Cola in water..... the can of regular Coke will sink, but the can of Diet Coke will float?
• Coca-Cola contains less citric acid than orange juice, and the concentration of phosphoric acid is far too small to dissolve a steak, a tooth, or even a nail, overnight.
• The gastric acid in your stomach is much stronger than any of the acids in Coca-Cola, so, contrary to popular belief, Coca-Cola is harmless.
• Plain soda water is even better than Coca-Cola for removing rusts and other cleaning purposes since it doesn't leave a sticky residue behind.

How It's Made

A 3-part video.  Well, not exactly what's in Coca-Cola, but rather, how it is all put together!

Resource(s): inventors.about.com/, wisebread.com, members.tripod.com/
Main-Photo credit: Capt Kodak