This study recently published by the Journal of the American Medical Association says no to drinking soft drinks. I am sure many folks will read this as "do not drink soft drinks in those 10 European countries."
Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries:
Findings: In this population-based cohort study of 451 743 individuals from 10 countries in Europe, greater consumption of total, sugar-sweetened, and artificially sweetened soft drinks was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality. Consumption of artificially sweetened soft drinks was positively associated with deaths from circulatory diseases, and sugar-sweetened soft drinks were associated with deaths from digestive diseases.
Meaning: Results of this study appear to support ongoing public health measures to reduce the consumption of soft drinks.
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The Coca-Cola your rotting your guts out with today isn't the Coca Cola that rotted out your great grandfather's guts. On their way from a recipe sorted out for individual use and one developed for mass consumption, things change. Nuances of flavor or texture may be lost or gained. One recipe involves cocaine. The other? Not so much.
Back in 1886, John Pemberton had what you might call a bit of a morphine problem. His solution to sorting this addiction out was to replace morphine addiction with a cocaine addiction. Genius! Instead of snorting or shooting it, Pemberton developed a tasty tonic that he could infuse the drug into and down in a few refreshing gulps. It was the birth of Coca Cola--one of many. There's a number of formulas out there, some written in Pemberton's own hand, that are reputed to be the original. In addition to the fact that today's Coke products don't come packing cocaine as part of their punch, a modern can of the cola has little in common with these early recipes.
The YouTube food aficionados at Glenn and Friends Cooking whipped up a batch of Coca Cola, based on Pemberton's hand scrawled instructions. While its missing a couple of hard-to-get ingredients (like coca leaves), the crew stay as true to the recipe as modernity and their finances will allow.
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A pile of cocaine worth US$55 million was found at a Coca-Cola plant in Signes, France.
"The first elements of the investigation have shown that employees are in no way involved," said regional Coca-Cola president Jean-Denis Malgras.
The 370kg stash of bagged blow was discovered in a shipment of orange juice concentrate from South America.
When first launched at the end of the 19th century, a glass of Coca-Cola was estimated to contain nine milligrams of cocaine. In 1904, the company replaced that ingredient with cocaine-free coca leaf extract. Or at least that's what they tell us.
(BBC)
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In 1915, Swedish glass blower Alexander Samuelson designed the iconic Coca-Cola bottle. The form was inspired by the cocoa bean, while integrating the grooves in the glass apparently made it possible to patent the bottle design. Back then, it was referred to as the “hobbleskirt” bottle due to its similarity to a style of skirt worn at the time. Then in the 1920s, a magazine referred to it as the "Mae West" after the actress's figure.
"The Coca-Cola Bottle: Lasting Design" (Juxtapoz)
"The Story of the Coca-Cola Bottle" (Coca-Cola)
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At the NYT, Michael M. Grynbaum reports on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to abolish sales of large bottles or cups of soda outside of grocery stores.
The proposed ban would affect virtually the entire menu of popular sugary drinks found in delis, fast-food franchises and even sports arenas, from energy drinks to pre-sweetened iced teas. The sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 fluid ounces — about the size of a medium coffee, and smaller than a common soda bottle — would be prohibited under the first-in-the-nation plan, which could take effect as soon as next March.
Presumably, refills and the purchase of multiple smaller sodas will also be banned, in order to demonstrate that this isn't empty hot air that just happens to increase the price- and profitability-by-volume of soda. Read the rest
