What brings about more nostalgic sighs than those wrought-iron Coca-Cola
chairs or a plump Santa chugalugging a bottle of
Coca-Cola?FIG1,FIG2
Yes, we're talking about memorabilia of that world-famous
brew—Coca-Cola.
And where can you see, touch, and catch whiffs of such ancient treasures?
At the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, when you are in town for APA's Institute
on Psychiatric Services.
It all started in 1886 when a Philadelphia-educated pharmacist and Atlanta
resident named John Pemberton decided to enter a local market for soda
fountain tonics that promised health benefits of one kind or another. He
concocted a drink from the extracts of the coca leaf and kola nut, both
stimulants, a combination that wasn't changed until
1905.FIG3
The resulting potion was a thick, caramel-colored syrup that was supposed
to help a person's brain and nerves function better. He poured some of the
syrup into a jug and took it to Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta, and the pharmacy
then made a fountain drink of the syrup by mixing it with water. The drink was
sold to customers for a nickel a glass. Coca-Cola was born.
By the end of 1886, Pemberton had sold 25 gallons of Coca-Cola for a sum
total of $50. In 1887, because of his poor health, he started to sell off his
Coca-Cola company. By 1891 a druggist and businessman named Asa Candler had
acquired total control of it. In 1893 Coca-Cola became a patented product in
the United States. In 1919 Candler sold the company for $25 million to a
consortium headed by an Atlanta businessman named Ernest Woodruff.
As the 20th century moved on, Coca-Cola became a much-sought-after beverage
not only in the United States but in many other countries as well. Today
Coca-Cola is the world's most popular soft drink. Cokes can be purchased in
more than 200 countries across the globe, and Cokes are served nearly one
billion times a day.
In 1990 the Coca-Cola Company opened a museum designed to celebrate its
world-famous soft drink. The museum, called the World of Coca Cola, is located
in the tourist area of Atlanta, adjacent to Underground Atlanta; it is very
close to where the first Cokes were sold in Jacobs Pharmacy.
The museum consists of a three-story pavilion, where visitors can move at
their own pace through exhibit galleries. There are fascinating Coke
memorabilia, radio and television ads, and a fanciful Coke-bottling process.
An old-fashioned soda jerk demonstrates how an early Coke was
prepared.FIG4
You can visit "Tastes of the World," an international sampler
of soft drinks distributed by the Coca-Cola Company outside the United States.
There is even a futuristic soda fountain.
The World of Coca-Cola is located at 55 Martin Luther King Jr.
Drive. The phone number is (770) 578-4325, and its Web site is<www.woccatlanta.com>.▪