From History Daily: John S. Pemberton Sells the First Glass of Coca-Cola

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3:36Pushkit. Too quick? No, it was perfect. Pushkit. Stop. You got it. Hey, it's Jacob. Today, we are bringing you an episode of a show called History Daily, specifically an episode about a pharmacist who perfected a drink that he called French wine coca, a drink that eventually turned into Coca-Cola. If you like what you hear, you can find more episodes of History Daily wherever you get your podcasts.

4:10It's April 16, 1865, on a battleground in Columbus, Georgia, before the final days of the American Civil War. As night falls, Confederate Lieutenant Colonel John S. Pemberton and his fellow soldiers prepare to defend the city from approaching Union forces. Four years into the Civil War, John and his comrades are battle-hardened, but tonight feels different than their past engagements. As the men ride into battle, the fate of the Confederacy is heavy on their shoulders. The tide of war has already turned against the Confederates, but the capture of Columbus would all but ensure a Union victory.

4:45As the largest remaining supply center for the Confederate army, Columbus is key, and John and his fellow soldiers are ready to stop at nothing to defend it. The sound of marching cavalry grows louder, and the ground beneath John begins to shake as the two armies collide. The noise of battle is deafening. Gunfire erupts in every direction. John's ears ring with the sounds of men dying around him. As John tries stubbornly to resist the enemy's advance, he meets the eyes of a Union soldier and locks himself into a sword fight. John's heart races as he blocks the soldier's every move, but he's growing tired.

5:22Suddenly, he feels a sharp pain in his torso and looks down to see blood soaking his uniform. The Union soldier has stabbed him in what looks like a fatal blow. John tries to scream for help, but his voice is too weak. As his opponent leaves him for dead, John falls to his knees, gasping for breath, and his fellow soldiers are swallowed up in the chaos. While the Confederates will lose the Battle of Columbus, as this conflict will come to be known, John S. Pemberton will walk away injured and lucky to have survived at all. It will be John's last time on the battlefield, and shortly after, the nation's fighting will also cease.

6:00But even after the war's end, John and many others will find themselves up against a new, painful battle. The agony of John's war wounds will cause him to become dependent on morphine. While America experiences its first opioid crisis, John will set out to develop a better alternative, returning to his profession as a pharmacist eager to create a cure for the widespread pain sparked by war and addiction. To this end, John will concoct a drink that he hopes will relieve the people of their dependency on drugs and alcohol. He will call it Coca-Cola, billing the beverage as a cure-all tonic when he sells his first glass at his Atlanta pharmacy on May 8, 1886.

6:46From Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is History Daily.

7:07History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is May 8, 1886. John S. Pemberton sells the first glass of Coca-Cola.

7:24It's March 1885, and John S. Pemberton is in his backyard laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia. It's been 20 years since John was stabbed by a Union soldier during the Battle of Columbus. A slanting scar still remains on his chest to his abdomen, but today it's well hidden beneath John's lab coat. Since the end of the Civil War, John has been operating a successful pharmacy while also attempting to produce the perfect tonic to cure America's many ailments. Two decades after the war's end, there are still hundreds of thousands of veterans nursing lifelong injuries. In addition, Americans are now contending with a new sickness.

8:01With the country in a state of flux, urbanization, industrialization, and the railroad have brought hustle, bustle, and competition to civilian lives. The pace of life has sped up so drastically that doctors have coined a term for the new disease, neurasthenia, an illness of the nerves brought on by the hectic modernization of society. For many, the only way they know to soothe their pain and discomfort has been with alcohol or opioids. Addiction to drugs has become rife, and John is one of the countless men suffering from this expensive affliction. Beside him on his work desk, amongst the myriad of tubes and metallic stands, is a bottle of Vin Mariani, a wine drink named after its creator, French chemist Angelo Mariani.

8:44According to its inventor, this concoction is far from just a normal alcoholic beverage. It's a powerful health booster. It's been touted to improve mood, restore strength, increase energy, and inject vitality into its users. These claims have turned Vin Mariani into a sensation, with President Ulysses S. Grant and even the Pope sharing their love for the beverage. The drink contains a blend of Bordeaux wine with extracts from the coca leaf from South America. For over 2 ,000 years, this leaf has been chewed by South Americans to enhance their digestion and energy. But the ethanol in Vin Mariani brings out one of the coca leaves' most powerful compounds, cocaine.

9:24This ingredient greatly interests John. He read in the British Medical Journal of the drink's seemingly magical properties, learning that many in the medical community see coca leaves as a way to potentially cure morphine addiction. John has been searching for a drink like this for the last 20 years, and he has tasted countless cheap imitations made by wannabe millionaire entrepreneurs. But John knows there's still a gap in the market for a properly distilled American version, and he feels like the perfect person to fill it. He has the pharmaceutical skills, the lived experience of drug addiction, and another special ingredient that will make his version of Vin Mariani even more powerful, cola nuts.

10:02John has also read of the effect of cola nuts on the people of West Africa where the plant has grown. They are a stimulant similar to coca leaves, except their principal effective ingredient is caffeine instead of cocaine. A single nut contains more caffeine than a cup of coffee or tea. And it is caffeine that John intends to exploit. He believes the apparent healing and energy-giving properties of cocaine, supplemented by the additional boost of caffeine, could have the power not only to soothe America's ailing population, but even re-energize them. But John has yet to find the right mix of ingredients to create a drink that's both effective and tasty.

10:38So today he's back in his lab trying to strike the right balance. After a few hours of tinkering, distilling, and recording, John lifts what he feels like is the thousandth batch to his mouth. Blowing on it to cool it down, he purses his lips and slurps, smacking his lips to get the full flavor. After a few moments, his eyebrows raise, and soon he is spinning around the laboratory in joy. He's found the perfect blend. Not long after John perfects his drink, he begins a marketing campaign to bring his new creation named Pemberton's French Wine Coca to market. He labels it as an all-curing panacean drink that will bring America back to its feet.

11:16And before long, John's drink begins to fly off the shelves. In mid-June, he runs an ad claiming to have sold nearly 1 ,000 bottles in a single day. But trouble lies on the horizon. In just a few months, the The anti-alcohol temperance movement will pressure the Atlanta city government to pass local prohibition laws. Just when John finds success, he will be forced to adapt or fail.

11:42This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. There's something interesting about how seamlessly certain tools fit into daily life. Apple Card is one of those things. It can be applied for right in the wallet app on iPhone, and approval can happen in minutes. So it's ready to use immediately with Apple Pay. I'm so glad the days of finding my wallet, fishing out the credit card, using it, putting it back in my wallet, or oops, maybe I use cash, where's the ATM? Enough. The first time I used Apple Pay on my phone with my Apple Card, I was like, this is the future, there's no going back. With Apple Card, purchases earn daily cash up to 3 % with no points to track and no waiting for rewards.

12:27It's simply daily cash back that I earn on every purchase. There's even an option to open a high-yield savings account through Apple Card. And while I haven't done it yet, if I do, my daily cash can grow automatically over time without any extra effort. Because Apple Card lives in the Wallet app, it's always accessible on iPhone and can be used with Apple Pay at over 85 % of merchants in the U.S. and the security of Face ID and Touch ID prevents unauthorized purchases, whether using iPhone or Apple Watch. To exploit yourself, you can apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app on your iPhone. Subject to credit approval, savings is available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility.

13:14Savings in Apple Card by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch, member FDIC, terms and more at applecard.com. This episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. At Navy Federal Credit Union, May is their favorite month. Even though they support the military community all year long, Military Appreciation Month is their time to celebrate all those who go above and beyond. Because they know all members of the military community protect our country at home and abroad, take care of their families, and volunteer in their communities. That's why it's been their mission to help for over 90 years.

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16:09It's November 25, 1885, in Atlanta, Georgia, just a few months after John S. Pemberton started selling his French wine coca. Church bells ring out as crowds of residents parade through the streets celebrating the city's new ban on alcohol. Since the mid-1800s, the nation's temperance movement has been gathering steam, encouraging drinkers to resist the temptation of alcohol. Prohibitionists tie the drink to the nation's current social ills and have been rallying to rid society of its toxic influence. In Atlanta, these efforts recently came to a head. Local prohibitionists were vocal and insistent enough to force an election on the issue, and today its result was announced.

16:51Prohibition was enacted. The news has induced a considerable amount of anxiety in John Pemberton. While others celebrate, he ruminates on its implications for his business. He knows he needs to act fast to create an alcohol-free version of his French wine coca if he wants to get an edge on the competition. It's a frustrating obstacle, but John welcomes the challenge. As someone still enduring his own morphine addiction, and whose son also now struggles with the same, a part of John agrees that the removal of alcohol could only help diminish the country's wider culture of addiction. But John also knows that cutting out alcohol won't single-handedly solve the drug addictions ravaging the country.

17:31Instead, he remains convinced that his coca drink could be another key instrument in alleviating the nation's suffering. So John returns to his backyard laboratory, determined to find the right non-alcoholic base for his beverage. But nothing seems to work. He tries oils and fruit flavorings, but they're all too bitter. He tries adding sugar, but it makes it too sickly sweet. It's only after months of trial and error that he finds his perfect base, carbonated water. Upon first taste, he can barely believe it. The carbonation balances out the coca leaf and cola beans perfectly. It's neither too sweet nor too bitter.

18:08John notes down the formula and sets out about creating his first large batch. On May 8, 1886, the drink is ready for sale. At a downtown pharmacy, John prepares to open shop, excited to debut the new and improved incarnation of his now-famous French wine coca. He rummages around the storage room behind the counter. It's filled from top to bottom, shelf upon shelf, with bottles of his new concoction. Maneuvering past the towering boxes, John reaches for and pulls out a chalkboard sign. In italic, flowing letters, he writes the words, New today. Delicious and refreshing, alcohol-free temperance drink.

18:46Coca-Cola. He places the sign outside the shop and flips the sign in the window from closed to open. Coca-Cola is now ready for public consumption. After a few minutes, the pharmacy door swings open. A young customer walks to the desk and asks to try a glass of this new Coca-Cola drink. John smiles and requests five cents for a glass. The money is handed over, and John carefully pours the dark, bubbling liquid. He watches intently as the customer sheepishly takes his first sip, and with widening eyes, the customer finishes the drink and places the glass back on the counter, immediately asking for another.

19:24John's new Coca-Cola is a modest success. Each day, customers around Atlanta purchase the drink from their local pharmacies. And as prohibition is more strongly enforced, John sees his new drink sore in popularity. But his success will be sullied by the persistent pains of addiction. Coca-Cola won't be the cure-all he had hoped for. John will remain addicted to morphine himself, as will his son Charles. John had once hoped Charles would be the one to carry on his business and continue expanding Coca-Cola's reach, but this dream will not come to fruition. In time, John will be forced to accept that his mission to create the perfect curing tonic has failed, and he will prepare to leave his business behind.

20:06Despite Coca-Cola's success, his morphine addiction will lead John toward poverty, and he will start selling off parts of his company to fund his habit, a need that will only intensify when John develops stomach cancer just two years after selling his first glass of Coca-Cola and finding himself at Death's Door.

20:35It's August 16, 1888, at John S. Pemberton's home in Atlanta, two years after he started selling Coca-Cola. John is lying in bed, suffering from the stomach cancer that has only worsened his morphine addiction. He is surrounded by his family, his wife Anne and his son Charles. John gazes at their faces, trying to absorb all the details of their features, but he struggles to keep his eyes open. Since developing cancer, John has been steadily growing weaker, and today he's the feeblest he's felt yet. He knows the end is quickly approaching. So as John stares death in the face, he is forced to reckon with his legacy.

21:14Coca-Cola is thriving, but John no longer has any hand in the business he created. After becoming intrigued with the drink, businessman and druggist Asa Griggs-Kandler offered John$2 ,300 for the recipe and majority ownership of the company. John accepted, and now Asa is mass-producing the drink to bring it to a wider market. But the fate of Coca-Cola concerns John far less than the future of his son. Even amid his own battles with addiction and cancer, his son's struggles have been one of the greatest sources of pain. As he lies on his deathbed, John pleads with his son Charles to take care of himself, not to end up how he has.

21:52It may be too late for John, but he urges his son to keep fighting against his own addiction. Later that day, John passes away at the age of 57. Six years later, his son Charles will also pass away after overdosing on opium. Neither will ever see the extreme heights that Coca-Cola will reach after Asa Griggs Candler takes the drink to international prominence. Though the beverage will fail to fulfill John's original hope to help those like himself suffering with pain and addiction, it will go on to become the most famous soft drink of all time, a trajectory that would be hard for John to fathom when he sold his first glass of Coca-Cola in a quaint Atlanta pharmacy on May 8, 1886.

22:40Next on History Daily, May 9, 1998, Israeli singer Donna International becomes the first transgender performer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.

22:58From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily. Hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham. Audio editing by Mohamed Shazid. Sound design by Katrina Zimrak. Music by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written and researched by Luke Lonegan. Produced by Alexandra Curry-Buckner. Executive producers are Stephen Walters for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.

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