Refreshing Facts About Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is such a big hit around the world that some people refer to all colas as "Coke", and even though the syrupy brown beverage invented by druggist John S. Pemberton in 1886 is bad for your health it's still a classic taste people crave.

In fact, people like the taste so much they rallied to preserve the classic recipe when New Coke came out in 1986, and yet they kept selling New Coke as "Coke II" until 2002, hoping it would catch on because it was cheaper to make.

So what is the taste of Coke anyway?

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According to a recipe discovered by Atlanta historian Charles Salter, who found it among a pile of documents belonging to inventer John Pemberton, Coke contains lemon oil, nutmeg oil, vanilla, cinnamon caramel and coriander, among many others.

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And one could say Coke also knew the recipe for success when it came to making oddball digi-character Max Headroom a star in the 80s:

The bizarre, pseudo-animated Max Headroom character was created as a virtual television star in the UK by record company Chrysalis in 1985. Sensing his appeal for young consumers, Coca-Cola licensed Headroom that same year and made him the center of their ad campaign with a series of commercials directed by Ridley Scott. According to Coke, the spots helped Headroom gain a 76 percent recognition rating among teenagers.

Read 12 Refreshing Facts About Coca-Cola at Mental Floss