Bellringer #29

• What do you think is the most important invention OF ALL TIME? Explain your choice.

Important Inventions

Coca-Cola

• Here’s the story of the invention of one of the world’s most popular soft drinks…Coke!

• The drink called Coca-Cola was invented in 1886 by John Pemberton. The Coca-Cola Company began its rise to fame under the leadership of Asa Candler in 1892.

Pemberton

Candler

• John Pemberton was a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia.

• He owned his own apothecary

shop, or pharmacy. At the age of 50, he was working hard to find a cure for headaches.

• He cooked up mixtures in a big pot at his home, trying to find one that would cure headaches. Some of the ingredients that he experimented with were leaves of the coca plant and kola nuts.

• One of his concoctions turned out to be a good-tasting drink. He added carbonated water and served it to his customers to see how they liked it.

• The customers came back again and again to pay five cents per glass for Pemberton's refreshing new beverage.

• Pemberton's bookkeeper thought up the name Coca-Cola, naming it after two of Coke's main ingredients (coca plant and kola nuts).

• He wrote out the name Coca-Cola in his best

cursive handwriting, and it has been written on Coke products just the way he wrote it ever since then.

• Pemberton never got rich from his invention. He made only $50 the first year, and after a few years, when his health began to fail, Pemberton sold Coca-Cola to Asa Candler for $2,300.

• Asa Candler began the Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Candler knew that to sell lots of Coke, he would first have to make sure that lots of people knew about it.

• He thought of many creative ideas to promote his product. In that first year, 1892, Candler spent $11,000 on posters, murals, flyers and other forms of advertisements. The company grew by leaps and bounds.

• In 1899, Candler sold the rights to bottle Coca-Cola to two lawyers.

• After that the Coca-Cola Company produced concentrates and syrups to make Coke, and bottling plants made the finished product. By 1909, there were already over 400 Coca-Cola bottling plants.

• In 1916, when other manufacturers were trying to copy the secret Coke recipe, the Coca-Cola Company created the famous green-glass bottle to make it stand out from the competition.

• Today, Coca-Cola is popular all over the world. It has a total of around 300 brand names in many different languages and is sold in nearly 200 countries.

• At the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta you can study the history of Coke products, purchase collectibles, and taste-test a variety of Coke flavors, some of which are not sold in the U.S.

• You might say that the invention of Coca-Cola was really a two-part invention, the invention of the drink by John Pemberton and the invention of the company by Asa Candler.

Important Inventions

• Throughout history, people have made inventions that changed the world. – Some got lucky and stumbled on something on

accident– Some actually set out to make something– Some improved existing technology to create

something original

Important Inventions

• printing press—device that allowed copying without rewriting by hand– allowed ideas (books) to

spread more quickly • (ex. religion & the Bible)

– helped spread of education (textbooks)

– helped save knowledge by making multiple copies of books

Important Inventions

• cotton gin—device that made it easier & quicker to pull seeds out of cotton– made it possible for cotton

to spread across the southern U.S.

– extended slavery in the U.S. by at least 60 years

– allowed U.S. textile mills (industry) to get started

Important Inventions

• steam engine—engine used to power locomotives (trains) & steamboats– allowed boats to travel

upstream (trade & travel)– allowed trains to become

widespread (settling of the American West)

– used to power factory machines and industry

Important Inventions

• wheel– allowed development of carts & chariots for

quicker transportation– helped speed up trade and cultural diffusion

Important Inventions

• gunpowder—powder used to fire bullets from guns/cannons– made it possible to fire at a much faster rate – made it possible to fight with less training– ended usefulness of mounted knights and forts

Important Inventions• flight– sped up travel over long distances (trade & information)– eventually helped bring the world together (international

flights)

Important Inventions

• antibiotics—first discovered in 1945– people began surviving diseases that used to kill

them– peoples life expectancy has gotten much longer– overuse is leading to resistant “super diseases”

Your assignment

• What invention will you make that will change the world?– Your assignment is to come up with an invention– Include:• A picture of it• A detailed explanation of how it works or what it does• The reasons why it will change the world

– If time permits…The class will vote on the best invention and the inventor will get a prize!