Coke was the brainchild of John Stith Pemberton, a broke, morphine-addicted pharmacist in Atlanta who advertised it as a “brain tonic.” “Just add a few squirts of carbonated water,” he instructed the salesmen hawking the syrup in 1886. A century later, more than 79 billion gallons of water are required annually to dilute Coke syrup, and an additional 8 trillion gallons are needed for other aspects of production, including the manufacturing of bottles.

– Beth Macy, The International New York Times.