Cocaine was removed from the formula of what familiar product in 1903 at the behest of owner Asa Candler?

Answer 1

Coca Cola.

Answer 2

Coke was originally formulated in 1886 by one John Styth Pemberton, an Atlanta druggist and former Confederate army officer. Among other things it contained (and presumably still contains) three parts coca leaves to one part cola nut.

The new soft drink was one of many concoctions in that era containing cocaine, which was being touted as a benign substitute for alcohol. Coke, in fact, was promoted as a patent medicine, which would "cure all nervous afflictions--Sick Headache, Neuralgia, Hysteria, Melancholy, Etc...."

How much cocaine Coke actually contained and how much kick you got from it is not known (a Coke spokesman today says the amount was "trivial"). But for years Southerners called the stuff "dope" or "a shot in the arm," while soda fountains were called "hop joints" and Coke delivery trucks "dope wagons."

In the 1890s, however, public sentiment began to turn against cocaine, which among other things was believed to be a cause of racial violence by drug-crazed blacks. In 1903 the New York Tribune published an article linking cocaine with black crime and calling for legal action against Coca-Cola.

Shortly thereafter Coke quietly switched from fresh to "spent" coca leaves (i.e., what's left over after the cocaine has been removed). It also stopped advertising Coke as a cure for what ails you and instead promoted it simply as a refreshing beverage.

Answer 3

Coca Cola

Answer 4

Coca Cola

Answer 5

Coca Cola

Answer 6

Coca Cola

Answer 7

Coca Cola.

Answer 8

Coca-Cola

Answer 9

Easy, Coca-Cola

Answer 10

Coca-Cola!