On May 29, 1886, an American chemist by the name of John Pemberton started advertising a brand new soft drink that he had invented, one that was eventually to become an American icon: Coca-Cola. He didn’t mean to create one of the most popular drinks in history. In fact, he wasn’t actually trying to create a soft drink at all. It was actually something of an accident. Pemberton had fought in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and had been seriously wounded by a saber during the Battle of Columbus. He required morphine to deal with the pain and got addicted to it as a result. His battle with morphine addiction led him to put his chemistry knowledge to use after the war when he started trying to come up with a formula that would treat pain without the harmful side effects of morphine. So he got a brass cauldron and started mixing things together in his backyard.
What he came up with in May 1886 was not exactly a replacement for morphine, but it was tasty and refreshing. He took it to Jacob’s Pharmacy, where soft drinks were sold at the soda fountain, and had them sample it. Pronouncing the brew “excellent,” the pharmacy added it to their line of sodas.It proved to be quite a hit with the customers, so Pemberton took out an ad in The Atlanta Journal, advising thirsty Atlantans to try “the new and popular soda fountain drink.” And the rest, as they say, is history.
Fun Fact: Coca-Cola contained trace amounts of cocaine due to the coca leaf. But they stopped using the coca leaf in 1903.