It first sold for 5 cents per glass on 8th May 1886 from Atlanta’s Jacob Pharmacy as a substitute for problematic pain killer Morphine and was registered as a patented medicine. American Civil War veteran Colonel John Stith Pemberton was suffering from PTSD and to deal with his chronic physical and psychological issues he prescribed himself Morphine. Soon, he discovered he had developed a pretty nasty Morphine addiction. To deal with his Morphine addiction he invented something more lethal and named it ‘Coca-Cola’. The invention story of Coca-Cola was ironical and worth your attention.
Being a chemist Pemberton always had an abundance of Morphine at his disposal. Now, Pemberton started searching for his panacea that would help him deal with his physical and mental scars. To be more precise, he was searching equally potent yet less lethal substitute for Morphine that would not make him an addict.
To execute his plan, he picked a few random chemicals and prepared a syrup that was quite tasty. After a few more trials, he finally came up with his final formula and patented it as a medicine. On 29th May of the same year, the medicine first time appeared in print media promoting its miraculous effects on human bodies. Those initial claims were tall, straightaway preposterous. Since, according to the manufacturer, the alleged medicine was capable of curing impotency, headache, nerve disorder, substance addiction, indigestion, and whatnot. To be precise, the only issue with that medicine was it was not capable of giving life to the dead.
Later, Pemberton teamed up with Ed Holland, David Doe, and Frank Robinson and formed a budding partnership business. One day when the four of them were brainstorming for a suitable name for their product then Robinson suggested the catchy name “Coca-Cola”. He also designed a beautiful logo for their product, which instantly got approved by the remaining three partners.
Since the basic properties of that drink were Caffeine and Cocaine, yes, you read it right – It was cocaine. Cocaine was legal back at that time. As people were not fully aware of the lethal side effects of Cocaine. Therefore, quite ironically, for Pemberton, the substitute of Morphine was way more lethal. Despite such anomalies, the journey of that non-alcoholic beverage was remarkable and it remained the same even in the twenty-first century.
The only difference is that great medicine is no longer considered as ‘medicine’ and presently it is the legendary non-alcoholic beverage Coca-Cola. Even after such fake claims Coca-Cola remains equally popular among consumers. In human history perhaps very few products were so controversial, and deceptive, yet so popular among the consumers. Do you like this amazing story of Coca-Cola? If you love fascinating stories inventions and discoveries, visit our “Stories of Invention” section. Discover how messy, accidental, or even funny moments have shaped the world and human history!
