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Episode 240: Coca Cola's Secret History · Strange Stuff Podcast

• Andy: Hello everyone, I'm Andy and this is Strange Stuff Podcast even earlier than usual. Mark: And I'm Mark. and I'm still sulking. Did you hear that? Andy: My daughter. Hello? Hi honey. Whatcha doin'? I'm just recording with Mark. says hello. Hello, say hi. It's okay, what are you up to? I just wanted to give you a ring. Missed you. I missed you too. I was going to call you either today or tomorrow anyway before your B day. I haven't forgotten. Are you doing anything special? No, I'm inside. Mark: Hi, Hannah. Andy: I have a semester. Oh, right. Listen, I'll call you when I'm finished. Love you. Bye. Mark: That was a setup. Andy: No, she's obviously, what do mean a set up? I didn't even have time to make my tea before you hassled me to come online today. Mark: My daughter's never said she misses me. Andy: My daughter misses me because I live a million miles away. Mark: That's a good point actually, yeah Yeah, yeah So up yes, did you hear I'm still sulking Andy: about Mark: Last week's bloody episode. The one that I had been waiting four years for. Andy: ⁓ that was fantastic. Mark: You better have something really exciting to do today. Andy: Well, first we've got to talk about the second coming. Mark: Jesus. Oh, sorry, Trump. The thing that interests me is, I mean, obviously, it's impossible to work out what's going in his mind. But what do you think was going through his mind when he posed? Because he obviously didn't make it. He's not technically, no, he's not technically capable enough of doing an AI vision of him as Jesus Christ. But what, what? Andy: No, he hasn't got the intelligence. Mark: do you think was going through his mind when he poked? Andy: He literally has a God complex. ⁓ Mark: I think he does, think he literally believes that he is like the second coming. Andy: He believes he's omnipotent. He's fucking divine. He's born to be the ruler of the planet. He's like fucking Ming the Merciless. Mark: Yes, yeah. But what's really worrying is when you get these other lunatics, Hegseth and who's the other Christian nationalist, JD Vance, all these Vance, these people, you really have to start worrying that they're all mad. Andy: Thanks. They're as mad as the fucking extremist Muslims. They're all, anything that's extreme is bad. Except sex sometimes. That could be fun. Mark: . and mad. Any sex would be regarded as pretty extreme by you these days. Andy: Solo sex would be something to look forward to these days. Mark: But yes, posting a picture of an image of you as Jesus Christ. Andy: Healing the sick no less. And like, I mean, the excuse that Levitt came out with was, ⁓ no, that was doctored. And she obviously briefed him and said, look, we're going to say it was doctored. And he went, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll back you up. And he's come out and says, ⁓ I thought I was a doctor. Mark: ⁓ dude. Andy: Because he said, because I do heal people. It's like fucking... I don't know. I just... I give up. You don't even need to troll him. And Iran doesn't need to make memes about him. You just have to wait until he opens his mouth. Mark: The funny thing. I know, I know, that's the incredible thing. I mean, it's the technique that James O'Brien uses that you hate so much. He just lets the people talk and they put the nails in their own coffin. Andy: No, James O'Brien doesn't let people talk. He repeats the, it's a simple yes or no. It's a simple yes or no. It's a simple yes or no. He will not let you talk. That's what I fucking hate. He's happy to talk for 25 minutes, but you, yes or no. Mark: I don't listen to any of it anymore. Yeah. Yeah. Andy: Anyway, anything good happening in the world? Mark: I don't know. We've got an absolutely beautiful day here. I was able to start early because my workforce were here at just gone seven o'clock. So I was able to do the morning briefing. Andy: What are they doing? They building foundation for your new workshop? Mark: Garage, yeah, exactly. Garage Workshop, yeah. You know, I mean, they've been doing it. These guys actually did the foundation for my house, which was 15 years ago. Still going. Andy: And they're all still alive. Mark: Thing is, you know, I think about doing these sort of jobs myself, but to be honest, I'm just too old. ⁓ You know, it would take me months to do what they take three or four days to do. And of course, they got a massive great big digger machine, helps. Anyway, so yes, that's all good news. I had a day trip yesterday. Andy: Yeah. and then Uppsala. Did you go to the KFC in Uppsala? That's the big Mark: Yeah, so Farland, I didn't, but I did pass it funnily enough and I thought of you. I thought, ⁓ Andy would want some of that. Andy: You could have just nipped in, got a bucket and dropped it off. Mark: What I could have done actually, just to piss you off, is dropped in, take a picture of a bucket of KFC and sent it to you and then I would have just chucked it in the bin because I can't eat it. Andy: Let's buy some, take a picture. ⁓ no, that would be criminal. Mark: I could send it to you in the post. Andy: I'd still eat it. It wouldn't be out of question for me. Mark: I bet you would actually. Well that's the worrying thing. I reckon you could leave it. That would be an interesting experiment. Leave a bucket of KFC chicken in a warm room for a couple of weeks and go back to it and see if it is probably not decayed at all. There'd be no mold. There'd be nothing on it. Andy: Well, the Big Mac can, it doesn't degrade for like 25 years. Mark: There used to be stuff that they gave to the US Army, like hamburgers, that just could last for months and months and months. Andy: Yeah, it's hamburger helper. think it's called, it's just fake hamburger. Mark: Anyway, so that was quite nice because there was very little traffic and you can really move quite quickly on the on the motorway, which I took. Andy: . There is one bit of good news in the paper today. The transport secretary had her car written off by a moon-sized crater pothole on the roads of London. Well done. That'll teach you. Mark: and Yes. No, really? Is that right? I was going to tell you about my medical because it's quite interesting. Andy: ⁓ But you're still here. Mark: Yeah, well, unfortunately for you, I'm going to be here for a few more years to come, seems. Well, that's not going to kill me anyway. Andy: Thank you. did they stick anything up your bum? Mark: No, it was just an ultrasound and it was very quick. It literally took five or 10 minutes. They were very thorough. She was very thorough. And ⁓ apparently it's a 2 % 2 % of people who go in there for this. When you get to 65 checkup, that there's a level outside of the normal range. Andy: But I mean, it's basically treatable if they find that you've got an enlarged aorta or whatever it is they were looking for. Mark: It is treatable, you can certainly take precautions, but the thing is that if it breaks, if it bursts, it's obviously catastrophic. Andy: It's not your problem anymore is it? Mark: Well, no, literally, because I said to her, said, hang on a second. She said, we like to avoid the aorta bursting. And I said, I'm not bloody surprised. You'll be dead in 10 seconds. And yeah, you'll be dead in 10 seconds. Andy: It even sounds as though it might be important, doesn't it? The aorta. I wonder if I could do without, I mean, it's not like a spleen. No one cares about the spleen. The aorta sounds as though it might actually have a job, a function. Mark: Yes, yes, exactly. Exactly, or an appendix. but funnily enough, I don't think they check that in England. I don't, they do prostate, but they don't do anything else, as I recall. Andy: I was surprised the first time I got one of those sample kits through the post. Yeah. Yeah. They do that in England. Mark: ⁓ yeah, for your poo. Yeah, colon cancer, yeah. I think they probably do actually, yes. I think they do, I'd have to ask my... Andy: I might have discussed it with my brother, because we talk shit. Mark: How old is your brother? 65? Andy: No, but that starts at 60. Mark: ⁓ you're right, the old colon cancer kit. Anyway, so that all went well. was well right at the low end of the acceptable range, which is good. You don't want to be towards the upper end of the range. You want to be towards the lower end of the range. Andy: I, prevaricated last time they sent me one of the shit kits. ⁓ It's just the idea of playing with me poo. But, ⁓ anyway, was sitting, it was sitting on the occasional table beside the sofa for a while. Mark: Why? Come on Andy, I've heard. What, so visitors could see you poo testing? Come over for a cup of coffee, darling. Did you invite anybody back? Andy: What visitors? What visitors? At the time I was living in the middle of a forest. Mark: That's true. Andy: But they simply remind us. It was like, where's your shit? Mark: you Andy: Send us your shit. Mark: It's amazing how, I mean, obviously all these sort of testing things, but it is amazing how just a little speck of poo and they can detect whether there's any blood in it or not. Andy: very strange. Well, I mean, it's not just blood they're looking at though, is it? Is it? Mark: It is. Yeah, they're just testing for blood. Blood in the poo. Just to ask you. Andy: Why don't I just ask? Yeah, got any blood in your shit? No, okay. Mark: There's even a public information advertisement on LBC occasionally. If you see blood in your poo, even if it happens once, I don't know why the girl has got a northern accent, but she does actually. Andy: mutually you'd notice Because they eat a lot of deep fried Mars bars. Mark: But you know, I think it's absolutely fantastic these sort of tests. Well, that's bizarre. I had to pay a tenner for it and I thought it was free. But anyway, I said to the girl, I said, this is absolutely great. You know, why not have all these tests to prevent enormous? Can you imagine how much it would cost if something did need treating? Catch it early. Andy: Well if it's an A-Auto problem, it's probably cheaper just to let it go. Mark: Let you go you may just buy You might not make it back up to reception ⁓ So anyway that was all good so I can rest easy for another year or two Andy: Yeah Yeah, come in next Thursday. Mark: So I've had all the tests actually this year. Andy: Well, I'm glad you're all well and good and I'm sure that our listeners, if we've got any left now, are fucking fascinated. Mark: After that. But I'm sure I've asked you and I'm sure you said you haven't. Have you tested the old prostate? Andy: No, not for years. Not since I was taken by surprise by a doctor when she slipped a finger in surreptitiously. Mark: Will you see that? I think that's silly, Andy. I think it's silly. You know more men die of prostate cancer in the UK than women die of breast cancer these days. Andy: What? You know, all these tests cost money. Mark: Don't cost you anything. Andy: Of course it does, just going to the doctor costs me money. We've been through this. costs me 300 crowns to visit a doctor every time. Yes, here it is. It is here. 300. Mark: No. Oh, I see. Oh, sorry. So even if you go for a blood test, 300 kroner. Andy: Everything. Every time I go to the fucking doctor, 300. Mark: I'm surprised that they have different pricing schedules in somewhere like Sheleftio as compared to Mora. Andy: They have it in every different commune. They make their own rules. Mark: Anyway, so yes, you asked for a bit good news and for me that's good news. It may be for people who find me irritating. Not such good news. Andy: Mmm. Mark: can't be many of those around though surely. So yes all is good all is good. Andy: Probably not. ⁓ So while you were on your day trip. Mark: Yes. Andy: Did you stop somewhere for a refreshing beverage? Mark: Did I stop? Funny enough, I did not. I didn't stop on the way down at all. I stopped by Petrol in Uppsala. No, didn't stop at all. It's only three and a half hours. Andy: Well that's killed my Segway. Mark: Why? What were you going? What were you going? People who diet stops. Andy: No, we're going to talk, you'll find out. But we'll start the story at the beginning. And the beginning is... Fuck you, cat! The beginning was on the evening of April 16th in 1865. Mark: Stagecoach. It's a stagecoach story. Andy: Well, it's the Union and Confederate cavalry clashing over a bridge in Columbus, Georgia, in what was arguably the last battle of the US Civil War. Now during this fight, Mark: Oh, hang on. Just a complete tangent thing. Yesterday, I think was the anniversary of the great Wall Street crash in 1929. And your work... Andy: Did you feel a little twinge in your belly? Mark: Yes, exactly. But no, the sad and I, it was your words that prompted me to remember this. There was some poor fellow who the day before the crash happened on Wall Street, his business had collapsed and he topped himself. He unfortunately committed suicide the day before the Wall Street crash because he thought that he was the only failure in business in the world. He couldn't understand why everybody else was doing so well and his business failed. So the poor chap tops himself and the following day he would have been joined by hundreds or thousands of other people who business failed as a result of the stock market crash. Andy: He sounds as though he was quite a sensitive individual. Perhaps he shouldn't have been in business in the first place. Mark: Well, you can, there's room for sensitive people in business. Anyway, back to the stagecoach story. Andy: Okay, the last battle of the Civil War. Now during the fight, a Confederate Colonel, the Confederates were the good guys with the rebel flag. Mark: And I have to obviously correct you at that point. They were the pro-slavery team. Andy: I mean, they had the best flag. Mark: Confederates. I can't even remember the name of the opposition. Andy: The Yankees. Mark: It was Confederate against the Yankees and the Yankees from up north. Andy: It was the Confederates. It was the Confederates and the Union. The Union Army. Mark: Alright. Andy: ⁓ you're making me scroll. I hate that. So anyway, this Confederate Colonel named John Pemberton, he took a slashing saber wound to the chest and he had to be carried away from the fight. Now believe it or not, this set of facts is the basis for why, and you'll understand this, today, you clip coupons before a shopping trip. and why every vertical surface in the world is plastered with advertisements and why children believe in Santa Claus. Mark: Alright, well I'm interested to see how you're going to parry all of these three together. Andy: You Mark: So what we got were advertisements on walls. We've got coupons for the discount in supermarkets, which don't actually exist in anywhere outside of America. And what was the. Andy: ⁓ they, you get them here as well, you know. Yeah. If you get your local newspaper free, whatever, there's always coupons and the, your supermarket will send you a booklet sometimes with special offer coupons. You'll get them from Ica, Coop, all sorts. Mark: What? I just chuck these things straight in the bin, I don't even open them and they've got coupons in them. Andy: Yes, you could be a couponer. I think there's a word for them. Wankers. Mark: Well, yes, in the States, it's such a big thing that people can save hundreds of dollars with coupons, can't they, in America? Andy: They've made reality shows about it, documentary type things about people who've gone out and they've planned for like three weeks that are shopping here and they spend like $1,700 and by the time the coupons are all added up, they get a $20 cashback. Mark: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. No, no, think very sensible. Why not? Andy: It's nice if you can get away with it. Well, anyway, the thing that ties all these together. Mark: Indeed. So hang on a second, this is just bollocks to start with. This poor soldier gets slashed across the chest and that's got to do with coupons at Costco. Andy: Yes. So this, this, these, these three things are tied together by two words, Coca-Cola. And this is the brand that John Pemberton went on to found and it's taken over the world. Interbrand, the authority on brand names and their value, lists Coca-Cola as the world's third most valuable brand behind Apple and Google. Its total assets equal about $90 billion, which is significantly more than Pepsi and Nike combined. Moreover, Coca-Cola has grown into one of a select few brands that practically act as overseas ambassadors of the United States itself. Coca-Cola is so closely associated with American culture that the country's cultural imperialism is often referred to as Coca colonization. But what made Coca-Cola the symbol of America that it is today? Where did it start? How did it grow? And why is its logo probably more well known than the American flag in all but two countries, which is Cuba and North Korea, on Earth today? No. Mark: who don't sell. They don't sell coke. So sorry, this fellow Pemberton, he was a Confederate Colonel. Andy: Yes. Mark: So Coca-Cola was founded by a confederate. Andy: Yes, got damn Rebs, Johnny Reb. So it all started with that stroke of the sabre that very nearly killed John Pemberton. John Pemberton was dragged off the field at Columbus with what was suspected to be a mortal injury. The slashing saber had cut him deeply and he was bleeding from a huge wound. Unconcerned about long-term side effects, the doctors gave him a massive dose of morphine to ease what they thought must be his last few hours. And the morphine treatment continued as Pemberton unexpectedly rallied and began to recover. But like many Civil War vets, he became dependent on the painkiller, even going so far as to start a pharmacy in Atlanta after the war, just to ensure that he had a steady supply of his drug. Now after about a decade, with his daily opiate habit taking its toll, Pemberton started looking for a cure. And this was at a time in the 1870s, when medicine was barely scientific by today's standards, which is still barely scientific. Mark: Don't you remember, didn't we do a section on harrods used to sell heroin? Andy: Yeah. And most cures for various ills were patent medicines that were virtually indistinguishable from exotic liqueurs. Pemberton had heard good things though about Coca, Coca wine and a mixture of wine and cocaine, which was all the rage in France. And he resolved to try it out. His first product. beautifully named Pemberton's French Wine Coca Nerve Tonic. Mark: They were doing cocaine and wine in France in the 1870s. Andy: Yes. Cocaine was a massive worldwide hit. The city of London was built on opium trade, as you know. Cocaine was an offshoot. Mark: Sorry, excuse my ignorance. Is cocaine an opiate? Andy: Um, not particularly, but you know, it's part of the drug family. So this Pemberton's French wine, Coke and Earth tonic was a very strong shot of alcohol mixed with Coke marketed as a cure for a long list of ailments, including opiate addiction. Mark: I'm not bloody surprised. Andy: You could say anything in those days and no one was allowed to sue you. So including opiate addiction, upset stomach, neurasthenia, chronic headaches and erectile dysfunction. Mark: That can't be true. Or does I would have assumed that alcohol kills the boy, doesn't it? Andy: Well, the cocaine counteracts that, apparently. Allegedly, I wouldn't know. Mark: What so cocaine gives you a bit of a stiffy does it? Andy: It makes you horny as hell, allegedly. Mark: Is that right? I didn't know that. Andy: ⁓ my god, honestly, should be illegal. It should be illegal. But anyway, the drink was whipped up in batches of thick syrup and delivered to pharmacies where it could be mixed with soda water and dispensed by highly trained professionals. Mark: So that is interesting that even in those days it was sold as a concentrate. Andy: Yes. I mean, it's the greatest money making idea ever. Let's make it a concentrate so we can just add water and charge even more. Mark: Well it is because think of the transportation costs and all of that sort of thing that are minimized. Andy: Also, if you've got a gallon of concentrate, you've got maybe a hundred gallons of saleable liquid. Mark: Do they know the recipe? At this stage, do they know the recipe of Coke? Of the original Coke? Andy: I will be adding the recipe to the show notes at the end. Mark: No, but I'm interested in the original recipe because it would be actually fun to mix up a batch of the original recipe. Andy: The actual... I'm not going to give you the recipe for a cocaine based tonic. Mark: Well it must have been leaked on the internet by now, surely? Andy: I'm sure we could find it, but where are you going to buy your cocaine? Mark: I don't know, there must be some drug dealers in the area. Andy: In more or less plenty. However, disaster threatened Pemberton's new venture when, in 1886, fucking prohibition fever swept over his part of Georgia and halted the production of saline alcohol. Cocaine, was still totally fine. So Pemberton reformulated his product into a non-alcoholic beverage and kept right on selling it. Although by 1888, the recipe contained only around nine milligrams of Coke, which is about one tenth of the usual recreational dose. An 1886 Coca-Cola ad proclaiming its use of the Coca plant from which cocoa is made was prevalent at the time. Interestingly though, ⁓ no Coke product has contained cocaine since 1903, but one of Coke's partners, the Stepan Company of New Jersey, retains the only active federal license to import and process coca leaves from which cocaine is made. Mark: Can we do a programme on prohibition at some stage? What is completely bizarre to me is, in the late 1800s, early 1900s, you had this prohibition against alcohol. And I assume that was on the basis of health concerns, too many people getting drunk and not showing up to work, that sort of thing. Andy: Probably. Mm-hmm. ⁓ It was either that or it was uncontrolled taxation because there was so much bootlegging going on, perhaps, that the government weren't making enough tax dollars. Mark: But anyway, they were able to identify a problem and introduce a ban on alcohol sales in America. And I bring you forward to 2020. Why can't they outlaw the sale of fentanyl or whatever that drug is called, base drugs? Andy: Yeah. Because who do you think runs the government? Mark: No, but this is my point. If they were able to ban alcohol in the early 1900s, why the hell can't they ban fentanyl-based drugs in 2020? Andy: because it's not to anybody's benefit. Mark: What do you mean? It's to other than the people who bloody walking around like zombies in the middle of New York. Andy: No one cares about them. No one cares about them. What they care about is the dollars they're making through the pharmacies. Mark: Clearly. Is is oxycodone? Is that fentanyl base or am I confusing it? Andy: It's an opiate. They're all opiates and fentanyl is basically a highly refined heroin. Mark: That's an opi- and that is an opiate. Andy: Yes. Mark: And that's what people literally they sort of you see these terrible pictures of these people usually on their knees just sort of flopped over. Andy: and the walking dead. The Walking Dead. Mark: And you wonder how can a society just not think, Christ, that's something we really need to deal with. mean, forget bombing Iran. mean, deal with those sort of poor individuals who just literally, as you say, they're like zombies. Andy: But there's no money in it. There's money in bombing Iran, but there's no money in curing people of their problems. Mark: Mmm. Anyway, so come on, let's go back to Coke. When was the last time Coke was sold with cocaine in 1903? Andy: I'm trying to do it. 1903. So anyway, the process. Mark: Can you scroll back to the beginning just to tell me when ⁓ Pemberton was born? Andy: Fuck off. So as I say, there's still one place that has a license to import and process cocoa leaves. And this process produces raw cocaine, which is shipped to the only pharmaceutical company in America that's the license to handle it, which is called Malincrot. Well, with the spent leaves then being used to produce a flavoring agent that's still employed. Mark: And what do they do? Andy: in the top secret recipe for Coca-Cola. Now the keywords in that sentence were spent leaves. So there's no active cocaine. It's just the flavouring. But even more than that highly sought after recipe, the production sales distribution network that Pemberton set up right off the bat is probably the biggest single factor in Coca Cola's early and continued success. Pemberton didn't actually invest in facilities or distribution. Instead, he made the syrup at his own plant and then he shipped it out to contractors and affiliates. who could mix it and sell it how they liked. And this system created a very flexible arrangement where local distributors could freely experiment with marketing and delivery structures without putting the main franchise at risk. Much like drug dealing is today. Coca Cola dispensaries began to spread across the South, selling their drink for five cents a glass, a price that would remain static for contractual reasons all the way until 1959. Mark: So I wonder how... Okay, let's accept the cocaine's out of the mix, 1905 or whatever it was. I wonder how the drink in 1905 tastes compared to the drink that we drink now. Coca-Cola classic. Andy: I mean, it's the taste of Coca-Cola has changed since we were kids. Yeah. I mean, I don't drink it very often, but you, you, you, you notice it's like a, a sea change almost when, when the change happens, you notice it. It's big. Mark: Has it? I don't know, I don't drink coke. Andy: It's like, cause I think probably when we were kids, it was still, they were still sneaking some drugs into it because it was quite addictive. Yeah, it was a treat, but it's, mean, we never, we didn't do goodies like they do today. We had like a sweet shop that was fairly local. And if we were lucky, we got to visit it once every couple of weeks and spent Mark: Mmm. Were you allowed to drink coke as a child? ⁓ Andy: Top and zapenny on some blackjack and fruit salads. Mark: Exactly, black jacks and fruit salads. remember that because I remember when I was very young, when I was at junior school, so I was probably six or seven, we used to, because the school entrance was quite close to the shops, I used to go and buy sweets, but I don't remember drinking much coke, though funnily enough in my adult life, we always used to have bottle of coke in the fridge probably until the children arrived and then we stopped all that. haven't, I drink occasional coke of course I do but I don't have coke in the fridge ever. Andy: We had a sweet shop near my primary school, St Dominic's, and it was run by this old boy called Len, or Lenny. He must have been probably 40, but to us he looked like 90. And we were in there being naughty one day, and because he was on his own, someone would ask him for something behind him, and he'd turn around to pick it up, and we'd all start filling our pockets. Mark: Yeah. thieving bastards even at that age. Andy: We never did this on the regular. This was a one-time thing. We just thought we were being naughty. So we filled, we're filling our pockets anyway. He's turned around and he's, he's like served his finished serving this guy. And then he's gone, and I saw you, you thieving little bastards. I've got eyes in me ass. We fucking ran man. was only about eight, seven or eight years old scared the shit out of us. Mark: So your criminal history goes back to when you were eight years old, no wonder. Andy: I wouldn't call that criminal history. Mark: What shoplifting? Absolutely. Andy: You're so left-wing. Anyway. Mark: What do you mean? No, you know there's a shop, you know that, oh sorry, I won't go into it, that you know there's a group of people who've been protesting by shoplifting in Tesco or Sainsbury's or whatever. Andy: ⁓ yeah, that's just an excuse. A bit of free shopping. Now the morphine addiction that John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola to cure finally killed him in 1888. Around this point, due to the complicated network of ownership and responsibilities that Pemberton left behind when he suddenly died of an overdose. Mark: or whatever. Andy: The history of the Coca-Cola brand gets a little bit murky. One of Pemberton's partners, Orsa Candela, ⁓ claimed to have bought a controlling stake in the company before Pemberton died. However, Pemberton's son, Charlie, claimed to hold the rights to the brand name, stating that the recipe was merely being used by Candler under an informal license. Now the loose, complex corporate structure that had worked so well for John Pemberton threatened to sink his brand within months of his death. if these issues couldn't be resolved. So in the end, Candler solved everything in the most American way he could think of. He threw money at everybody who had a stake in the brand until he was in total control. Mark: So Pemberton, some, didn't get anything. Andy: By 1891, Candler was Coca-Cola's sole proprietor, having invested the princely sum of around $3,000 in buying up shares and rights. And this was actually probably for the best, because Candler turned out to be a bit of a genius who fundamentally changed the way that large businesses operate all over the world. Even before John Pemberton died, Candler was hard at work building the Coca-Cola brand. In 1885, he may have devised what is now the world famous Coca-Cola logo, writing out the name in the flowing Spencerian script that every school child had to learn, and which is also the chosen font of the Ford Motor Company and Budweiser. Mark: Yes. Andy: to name two imitators of this approach. Yeah. Mark: Budvisor? Their logo is the same script as Coca-Cola. Andy: Yep. Sources differ on whether it was Candler or Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, who drafted the design, but Candler evidently thought the world of it and kept it as the official logo for as long as he ran the company. Candler was also tireless in coming up with new ways to share Coca-Cola with the world. Mark: Hang on, what you haven't done in this in-depth research, where did the name come from? Andy: First of all, it's pretty in depth. The name came from cocaine initially and from the French. Mark: Yeah, but where do the cola? Why do they think up a word cola? Coke I can understand, but why cola? Andy: Cola is, ⁓ it was like a soda, a cola, a spritz, a thing, or maybe he had a friend from Pensacola who he really liked. I don't fucking know. Mark: No exactly, you don't know, do you? Andy: God, it's 7.30 in the morning. How much research do you expect? Mark: you Alright. Andy: So in 1886, he started distributing little slips of paper that could be redeemed at the fountain for a single glass of Coca-Cola. And while that notion may seem as insignificant as the little slips of paper in question, this seems to be the first instance in history of a company issuing coupons for free samples. And the theory which proved to be deadly accurate, was that people would be happy to try something new for free and that they'd be just as happy to pay for it later as loyal customers. Especially if you're addicted to the fucking cocaine in the Coca Cola in the first place. Mark: I wonder how quickly... No, but in fact the thing is that there was probably just as much if not more sugar. I wonder how quickly the sugar addiction kicks in and were there were there I can't imagine but were there a similar number of products that contained so much sugar that people consumed in those days? You didn't have any high hyper-processed food, you didn't have any sugar or salt additives in the raw material raw foods that you ate. Andy: No. No. Mark: So a sugar hit from coke must have been pretty... extreme. Andy: No. It would have been unique. ⁓ Mark: So I suspect that the addiction, no wonder it was cited to ⁓ cure ⁓ opiate addiction. It was because it was just replacing it with something else, sugar. Andy: Yeah, yeah, it's basically replacing one addiction with another. In fact, two addictions because you've got sugar and cocaine. Mark: So that was the basis of the success. I'm pretty sure that's probably a reasonable assumption, hypothesis. Andy: So between 1894 and 1913, approximately one in nine Americans drank a free Coca-Cola. And with tactics like this, Coca-Cola soon spread across the entire United States. Mark: Carry on. Andy: various Coca Cola bottle designs through the years with the oldest ⁓ game from 1894. have played quite a large part in various marketing campaigns. But Candler was mostly focused on selling Coca Cola syrup to the pharmacies and fountains that had always been Coca Cola's main distributors. The first attempt to actually bottling the product was an informal arrangement with a Vicksburg based distributor in 1891. And eight years later, the first Coca-Cola bottling plant was set up in Chattanooga by another independent distributor who bought the rights to do it for $1. The bottling company never did pay that dollar to Candler and the loose contract that existed between them saw them going into and out of court for decades. Nevertheless, Bottled Coca-Cola was a hit, and after the 1898 federal tax on medicines, Coca-Cola stopped marketing itself as a cure-all and left the pharmacy forever. Henceforth, Coca-Cola's approach to marketing would be positioning itself as a refreshing beverage, one you could drink recreationally and building up positive emotional associations with the drink among consumers. It is of course a myth that Coca-Cola invented Santa Claus. Many earlier versions of the character had been used to sell mineral water and other products since the 1870s, but it was Coca-Cola that made Santa a jolly fat man in a red suit. Before that, he had simply been Father Christmas. a lean or tall man in a red, green or brown suit. Coca-Cola's appropriation of the image, originally done to boost sales of the cold drink during winter months, created a character that literally billions of children would grow up associating with magic, family and presence. This paid dividends as those kids grew up and started families of their own. Perhaps as important as Santa Claus was Coca Cola's invention of outdoor advertising. Obviously ads had existed before Coca Cola, there's even a carved advertisement for a local brothel in one ancient Roman city, for instance. Mark: No. Andy: Yes, I've been there. Mark: Yeah, you probably were in the time of the Romans, no doubt. Andy: Oh, of course. 800 years AD. But Coca-Cola broke the mold for plastering every available surface with its brand. And to this day, Coca-Cola's brand identity is so powerful that while blind taste tests actually do reveal that most people prefer the taste of Pepsi, non-blind tests where participants can see the labels yield the opposite result every time. Mark: You see, it's very interesting. Now what I want to know is who was the name of the advertising company that was responsible for the branding of Coca-Cola? Andy: Well, I want to say Sarchie and Sarchie, but I'm not sure they were around in those days. Mark: You see, it was very interesting transition because up to that point... Andy: But don't forget, when the company first started, they were branding it themselves. There wasn't a marketing company. were marketing it themselves. Pemberton and Candler himself came up with the logo, allegedly. Mark: No, but the thing is that what they did originally was look at the attributes of the drink and say this cures opiate addiction. They were looking at the attributes of the product. They weren't associating it with a lifestyle, i.e. Santa Claus. Andy: Yeah, but it was... Yeah. No, but the marketing happened accidentally because it was a new product that was designed specifically to cure John Pemberton of his own morphine addiction. That was where they stood their baseline from. That it was a cure-all. It would cure you of your addiction. And by the way, it cured headaches, stomach ache, and gave you a rock hard PP at the same time. Mark: Yes, and that I can understand, but it seems very early on that they actually forgot the attributes of the drink itself and just said, if you drink this, you know, it's like Santa Claus. Santa Claus coming down the chimney and delivering presents to the children. If you drink Coke, it's an association to a sort of something that's completely outside of the product itself. Which I think, and I know I'm being a bit stupid here, but when you think about it, when advertising stopped looking at attributes of the product in terms of how they market it and trying to create a brand with a lifestyle association, that's where the whole world went pie-shaped, pear-shaped, in effect. Andy: Yes. ⁓ my god. Mark: because that was where... Andy: Yeah, that's when it became desirable just to have the product, regardless of what the product was. Mark: Yes, exactly, because it instilled some sort of social status on you or some sporty aspirations or whatever. that was the Andy: It's very much like the luxury handbags that women drool after. Who the fuck cares ⁓ if your handbag is made by Versace when you could buy exactly the same quality handbag for 25 bucks and probably made by the same slave labor in China that your Versace bag was made by? Mark: Yes, exactly. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yes, mean, sort of, not quite, but the point is, I think that was the inception of true consumerism, where people consume things just for the sake of consuming rather than for any need. And that really has been the Dalfour of civilization, as far as I can see it. Andy: Yes. And I think Kola is responsible for the label branding, label, label, label. It has to be a certain label. Mark: Just think if advertising didn't exist. If... No, no, no, yeah, but I'm saying, okay, so, all right, let's put it another way. Just imagine advertising was banned. Social media would disappear in an instant. So that's that evil sorted out. Andy: someone would invent it in seconds. Well no, they would find another way to fund it. You would have to subscribe to social media. Mark: Even that is better. At least it would put some break on social media, some obstacle that they need to overcome. Because at the moment it's a free for all. you I worry about what goes on on your relatively innocuous Instagram and all of that sort of thing. They're so smart. in keeping you online or looking at Instagram or they're all the same, that these days what they've started doing, and I'm sure I'm not just going off in a nutty thought, now they have extended text. So it starts off with a very short story and then they have a lot of text. So rather than having a picture, they have text that you have to read if you want to get to understand what they're talking about. And that takes time. Andy: Oh, there's, there's a lot of this on Facebook where you get the first page of it. It looks like an am I the asshole type story and you get the first page and it says more and there's like eight more pages and that's when, yeah. Mark: Yes. Yep. Yep. Yep. Click on comments to see the rest of the story. All of that is basically just playing the algorithm. Andy: it's just clickbait, it's just bollocks. Mark: Yeah, but it's it's done in such a subtle way that you don't notice it. Anyway, we've gone off on a bit of a tangent, but it is interesting that Coke, I didn't know that, that they invented Santa Claus as we know him. Andy: Yeah, as we know him today. ⁓ And it wasn't until 2012 that the Coca-Cola company announced a deal to export its product to Burma. And with this venture, just Cuba and North Korea were left as the only two countries in the world where you could not legally obtain a bottle of Coca-Cola. Of course, even in these authoritarian dictatorships, the drink is secretly distributed. throughout underground black markets alongside other forbidden pleasures such as dirty pictures, cell phones, and take that's latest singles, who knows. But just as those black markets exist today, people had been informally exporting Coca-Cola almost from the beginning. Ironically, given the drinks current status in Cuba, The first rum and coke seems to have been mixed in a Havana bar in 1900 by a Signal Corps officer who drank a toast to, more irony, Cuba's newly won freedom from Spain. And his cry of Cuba Libre thus named the drink that millions of people would break the ice with at nightclubs over the rest of the century. Now, Cuba. Mark: I don't actually drink... Well, as I said, I don't drink much Coke at all, but... Rum and Coke, is that what you're talking... No, I don't do rum and Coke. Andy: Roman Coke. Yeah. Kuba Libre. I've ordered a Cuba Libra before now. Mark: and a Cuba Libre is rum and coke. What did the girls used to drink in the pubs in Essex? Was that rum and black? Rum and black. Andy: Polo and black. Perno and Black. Mark: Perno and Black? Andy: Yeah. Mark: Really? Andy: very sickly sweet. Mark: It was the one thing that they didn't... the pub that I used to go to from a relatively early age, they didn't sell Pernod in the pub because Don and Sheila, landlady and landlord, said that it was the one thing that caused endless problems, people getting pissed on Pernod. Andy: They'd be loving it today with the Sambucas and the Jagermeisters and all the rest of it that they throw into drinks now. Mark: Yes. Andy: Anyway, Cuba aside, early overseas success for Coca-Cola was quite limited. Now, also Candler's son and successor ⁓ tried to fire up enthusiasm for the product on a 1900 business trip to England. But Coca-Cola's total exports to England for that year amounted to just five pounds of syrup. Other efforts to expand into Europe met with similar failure. In Germany, the idea of adults drinking non-alcoholic beverages was absurd. Anything other than beer, wine or water was for children. In France, the very idea that anyone wanted to buy an inferior American beverage was frankly insulting. So it fell to a new generation. and another marketing genius to pry open Europe and establish Coca-Cola as the American standard. And that genius, and you may have heard his name, was Ernest Woodruff, who bought the company and took it public in 1919. Woodruff was one of those human dynamos who conquers every inch of the world around him and then choose the scenery until he's a household name. Before taking over Coca-Cola's operation, Mark: Hmm? Andy: Woodruff had already risen through the white motor company, starting as a truck salesman and finishing as general manager after just a few years. Woodruff then ran Coca-Cola for 60 years and nothing would ever be the same again. 19 hundred and something, three maybe. Mark: When did he start? Alright, so basically through the whole of the 1900s, the 50s, the 60s, the 70s, he was in charge. Andy: Yes, and for starters, Woodruff instinctively realised that the bottles were going to be a much bigger seller than the fountains overseas. Indeed, it was on his watch that bottled sows passed fountain sows for the first time, and to help make this happen, Woodruff sponsored the development of metal topped coolers to keep the bottles cold, and then He invented the six pack with a handle so that people would buy more coke to keep those coolers filled. He also pioneered the famous glass fronted coin operated cooler that dispensed a single bottle for a nickel and which would be a fixture of every single gas station in America for half a century. Mark: That was the first, was that the first vending machine? Andy: Mm-hmm. Mark: You just don't have a clue, do you? Andy: Yeah. Whatever. I'm talking about Coca-Cola. You can't expect me to go into the research, the history of vending machines as as a buy the buy. Mark: Well, that's the difference between a quality research job, you add colour to the picture. Andy: Feel free to add to my research at any point. Now eventually, Woodruff turned his dynamic energy towards overseas markets, resolving that there wouldn't be anywhere on earth that didn't have a Coca-Cola handy. Coca-Cola's first organized attempt to market overseas started in 1926, when the company opened an office devoted to buying the world of Throughout the late 1920s and the early 1930s, Coca-Cola was advertised, given away, and sold all over Europe as a fun, refreshing import from exotic America. The company even developed a special export bottle for foreign consumers, and these bottles were dark green and closely modelled on champagne magnums, presumably on the theory that the French would be more likely to drink it if it looked like wine. The export bottle even had a gold foil seal over the cap. If you happen to find one of these in your grandparents' attic, be sure to let somebody know. Because on the rare occasion that they come up at auction, authentic export bottles command thousands of dollars each. Even the official Coca-Cola museum only has three surviving bottles from this early attempt at global expansion. So check your attic. Mark: I don't have one. Andy: Woodruff had an instinctive grasp of what made a successful marketing campaign. In 1928, the US Olympic team arrived in Amsterdam with 40,000 bottles of Coca-Cola, its official sponsor. The association of Coca-Cola products with the Olympics continues to this very day, and probably played a role in the Olympic committee's choice. to host the 1996 Centenary Games in Atlanta, which is the site of Coca-Cola's corporate headquarters. Mark: ⁓ that I didn't know. Andy: Woodruff also forged links between Coke and the US military. At the outbreak of World War II, he swore that American servicemen would be able to get a cold Coca-Cola everywhere the war took them, and with very few exceptions, he was as good as his word. Soldiers all over the European theatre had bottles of Coca-Cola waiting for them in rear areas almost before They had replacement socks and gloves, and the drink followed soldiers to Japan during the post-war occupation. Naturally, with every soldier swigging Coca-Cola from the bottle practically every time a unit stopped for rest, people in the liberated countries came to associate the drink with American soldiers who were generally willing to share. So overnight, Coca-Cola, along with Hershey's chocolate and Spam, became an American hallmark. Eventually, the American forces withdrew from occupation duty, but the products they had introduced to a generation of foreigners remained behind. Today, Coca-Cola is sold virtually everywhere in the world. Researchers working at the South Pole can enjoy a frosty Coca-Cola in the sub-zero temperatures. Mountain climbers in the high Himalayas can stop for a Coca-Cola at their base camp 20,000 feet above sea level, so high that breathable air itself is a rare commodity. And the drink was even carried into space. on the July 12, 1985 anniversary of the billionth bottle. And it was carried aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger for very important research into whether water can be carbonated in microgravity. And apparently it can. Mark: Was it? Andy: Every day, people all over the world drink 1.9 billion servings of Coca-Cola between them. That's one in three people have a Coke every day. Mark: One in three people have a Coke every day. Andy: That's some serious marketing. It is. Mark: What's amazing is... Sorry, can't... I was going to say what's amazing is so Coke has been around effectively since the early 1900s. You've just said that one in three people in the world have a Coke every day and yet Google and Apple are bigger companies. Andy: 18th Yeah, advertising money. Bottomless pit. So. ⁓ It is by some measures, the most widely distributed product in history. The brand's humble, up by the bootstraps origin story, its history of innovation in both marketing and technology, and its close association with American men in uniform have made Coca-Cola virtually synonymous with America's image overseas. And this close association has mostly worked for the company, but sometimes it gets in the way. Just before World War II, for example, no less than leading Nazi, Hermann Göring, Heil Hitler, blocked the import of Coca-Cola syrup into Germany unless a huge bribe was paid. The company then created Fanta. as a way to enter the German market. Other countries, as they've passed through their own anti-American periods, have also vented their rage at Coca-Cola. As of now, however, the official word from Islamic authorities is that Coca-Cola is halal, since the Quran doesn't explicitly forbid drinking it. But this question even came up. there really is a competing product called Mechacola, shows what a double-edged sword Coca Cola's 130-year-old marketing strategy has been. Either way, the product has been linked with America in the world's consciousness, for better or for worse, and it's unlikely to change anytime soon. And that is the secret history of Coca Cola. Mark: Yeah, I mean it's, it is actually quite an interesting history and when you think about it, are Coke, Coca-Cola company ever going to be hold responsibility, responsible for the contribution to the sugar addiction that has afflicted most of Western civilization? Andy: Yeah, the same day that the pharmaceutical companies will be held responsible for the fentanyl and the Oxycontin and all the other drugs that have killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. Never. Mark: So you're saying probably not. And I wonder if they look upon it in that way. I wonder if the Coca-Cola company with their extremely effective branding and advertising and everything else associated with the Olympics for Christ's sake, as you were just saying. Andy: Do you remember in the 80s when the cigarette companies were being harangued and sued? They came away clean. I mean, yeah, it was very little. I mean, it was pennies compared to what they've made. ⁓ one of the things that they... Mark: Yeah. Yeah. I don't think so. No, no, no. The tobacco company's had to pay damages to somebody. Andy: said was that the cigarettes were referred to as a nicotine delivery system. They knew that it was addictive and they just needed a way to get people hooked. Mark: Mmm. But is it widely accepted in somewhere like America that sugar is an addiction? Andy: ⁓ I think so. mean, we know it's an addiction. I'm sure that they're aware of it in other countries. Mark: ⁓ Did you ever see that documentary about one of their competitors? I think it's a drink called Mountain Dew. Andy: Yes, that's an American dream. Mark: I think that's a drink in America that I- that I think contains even more sugar than Coke. And people get so addicted to it that there were literally people who have... Yeah. Or actually it's more concentrated than a sugar cube. Andy: Yeah, I think it's basically a sugar cube. It's basically a No, I mean, it's literally a sugar cube with a teardrop of water added just to give it some liquid. Mark: Well, and there were some poor people, I mean, obviously it's a documentary, so they always look to the extreme, where people have been drinking it for years, the sort of 20, mid-20s people. Two of the guys that they were interviewing had lost all their teeth as a result of the amount of the two litres of Mountain Dew that they drank every day. all of their teeth are removed and the dentist is saying you know it's this drink that's causing your teeth to fall out and in spite of that they carry on drinking it. Andy: I've worked with two people who every day would get through two litres of Coca Cola. Mark: What does that do to your insides? Andy: No idea. No idea. Mark: Really? I mean, two litres of anything is quite a lot, but two litres of sugar? Holy shit, are they still alive as a matter of interest? Andy: I know one of them is, I'm not sure about the other. I haven't seen or... Mark: No, because seriously, I'll tell you what, if you drank two litres of coca-dai, I don't think your life expectancy would be particularly high. Andy: I don't know. Anyway, there we are. That's this week's episode. Mark: Mmm. Yeah, that was actually quite an interesting subject, Andy, I have to say. Hang on, hang on, hang on. You did the coupons. No, I want to check you did all three. The coupons? Santa Claus. What was the third one? Andy: Yeah, thought you'd like that one. Mark: ⁓ you have to scroll back. ⁓ you can't do that. Can you? Andy: Fucking hell. Mark: What were the three things that you were going to link together? Andy: I did link them. ⁓ yeah, coupons, Santa Claus and ⁓ see if I can quickly find it. Mark: I can't remember the coupons. Go on, because we need to confirm that you actually did what you set out to do. Otherwise we'll need a part two. Andy: Did it. Mark: No. Andy: Guys, there's a long fucking script today. Mark: The only reason I asked it is just to see you irritatedly scroll back. Andy: not a con. We're not going to do it. You just have to listen to the podcast. Mark: You can't tell me about how irritating scrolling is and then not expect me to test you on your scrolling ability. Andy: You'll have to listen to the podcast and hope that your Spotify doesn't cut out after 11 minutes and 30 seconds. Mark: Yes, which it did to me the other day. All right, well done. Yeah. Andy: Anyway, thanks for listening people. I hope you enjoyed that little history lesson on one of the biggest brands in the world. It was quite interesting. Can you stop moving my microphone, mister? Mark: Yes, and I came up with a good idea, one on prohibition. Andy: ⁓ yeah, it's just never going to happen. Mark: Well, I'll tell you that don't bother if it's going to happen like my South American masonry skills. Andy: You Anyway, join us again same time next week, unless you're a Patreon member, when you can join us on Wednesday. And if you're not a Patreon member, become one. We have some fabulous episodes, including the one that Mark's mad about, which came out this week. And you can join our Patreon for the price of a coffee or the price of a beer. And you will have access to over a hundred more episodes, which is all good. Mark: Indeed. Andy: You can contact us by email at strange stuff podcast at gmail.com if you've got any suggestions for an episode. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok where you can be kept up to date with our superbly acted video advertising campaigns that I manage myself. And yeah, just join us. See you same time, same place in the future. Bye for now. Mark: Bye for now.