National Have a Coke Day

March 29 is National Have a Coke Day. This day in 1886 is usually given as the date John Pemberton invented Coca Cola, although it wasn't introduced until May 8. He originally intended it as a patented medicine. Its name came from its original two key ingredients: kola nuts, which had caffeine, and cocaine leaves. However, Asa Griggs Chandler bought the company and marketed it as a soft drink. 

Pemberton had been a Confederate colonel in the Civil War. He was wounded and became addicted to morphine but wanted to find an alternative for the dangerous opiate. He developed the recipe for Coca Cola in his drugstore in Columbus, Georgia. To start with, he called it a coca wine. When Fulton County adopted prohibition laws, he took the alcoholic content out. Pemberton's first sale for the new drink took place at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta in May 1886. It cost five cents a glass at the soda fountain. His first ad ran in the Atlanta Journal on May 29.

Today Coca Cola is sold around the world. The current ingredients of the product remain a trade secret. The company markets over 500 brands in 200 countries. Shall we have a Coke to celebrate the day?

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