
the famous cocaine
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the real thing
One of the most famous cocaine products was Vin Mariani, the
first of many cocaine-based wines. Jules Verne quaffed it and wrote Round The
World In 80 Days, a feat surely only conceivable under the influence of coke.
Louis Bleriot had a bottle in his cockpit during his strangely-accelerated
flight across the English Channel.
Bartholidi, the architect responsible for the Statue of Liberty, declared:
"Vin Mariani seems to brighten to increase all our faculties;
it is very probable that had I taken it 20 years ago, the Statue Of Liberty would
have attained the height of several hundred meters."
With his gurning, coke-addled face on it no doubt
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early coca-cola
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coca cola
The most famous cocaine product, of course, was a secret mix
of coca-leaf extract, sugar and the caffeine-rich kola nut. Its name? One guess.
Developed by Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton, Coca Cola was marketed as the
perfect beverage for a "turbulent, inventive, noisy, neurotic new America," good
for "any nerve trouble, mental and physical exhaustion."
Advertisements at the time declared the drink to be "one of the most delightful,
cheering, and invigorating of fountain drinks." No doubt. In 1886, every bottle
contained the equivalent of a small but respectable line of cocaine.
By 1902, the Coca Cola Company had ceased to use coca-leaf
extractin its manufacturing process, and then conveniently forgot they had ever
used cocaine. The Coca Cola museum in Atlanta does not mention Coca Cola's debt
to the magic bush from Peru.
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