Coca-Cola's red and white logo is so iconic that supposedly nine out of every ten people on Earth know it on sight. Nearly two billion servings of Coke are sold a day, enough for one out of every four people on the planet. Yet while a glimpse of a billboard or bottle might start you humming one of their catchy jingles, this legendary brand was actually created by a morphine-addicted, down-on-his-luck pharmacist desperate for a big break. In fact, the first Coca-Cola product was actually a knockoff of the Pope's favorite drink, a concoction featuring red wine and cocaine. So how did Coke transcend its dubious origins to become one of the world’s biggest companies, not to mention a globally recognized symbol of all things American? It’s a story that involves Sigmund Freud, US military assistance, international drug treaty loopholes, and a New Jersey facility that extracts and burns piles of cocaine (yes, really, cocaine!) just miles from Manhattan. Gastropod’s here with Coca-Cola’s real secret formula for success, and we didn’t even need to break into their vault to get it.
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Gum's the Word: A Sticky Story
Déjà-Brew: How Coffee Got Bad, Then Worse, and, Finally, Good Again
Grounds for Revolution: the Stimulating Story of How Coffee Shaped the World
The Fortune Cookie Quest
Guest Episode: Graveyard Cookies and Dollhouse Crimes
Mango Mania: How the American Mango Lost its Flavor—and How it Might Just Get it Back (encore)
Guest Episode: Scents and Sensibility
Your Mystery Date
The Most Interesting Oil in the World
Are Plant- and Fungus-Based Meats Really Better than the Real Thing?
Guest Episode: The Doorbell by Nice Try!
Balls *and* Brains: The Science and History of Offal
Trick or Treat: Soul Cakes, Candy Corn, and Sugar Skulls Galore!
Buried Treasure: Weeds, Seeds, and Zombies
The Barrel That Could Save A Forest
Tofu for You: Meet the Cult Leader, the Spy, and the Pioneering Woman Chinese Doctor Who Brought Tofu to the West
The Great Gastropod Pudding Off (encore)
It's All Going to Pot: the Science and Economics of Edibles
Baked: How Pot Brownies and Pate de Fruits Fueled an Edible Cannabis Revolution
The Bottle vs. Tap Battle Finale: Alkaline H2O, Lead Pipes, and, Yes, Water Sommeliers
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