After Mr. Gessler said in class today that Coke is so secretive about their secret ingredient, I found this article! The radio show "This American Life" thinks that it has found the exact recipe for Coke. The drinks secret flavoring component is something called "Merchandise 7X." According to company historian Mark Pendergrast, Candler was so paranoid about the recipe leaking out of his proprietary control that he would go through the company mail himself to prevent any employees from seeing invoices that might tip off its ingredients.
Here is what they found in the secret notebook:
The recipe:
Fluid extract of Coca: 3 drams USP
Citric acid: 3 oz
Caffeine: 1 oz
Sugar: 30 (unclear quantity)
Water: 2.5 gal
Lime juice: 2 pints, 1 quart
Vanilla: 1 oz
Caramel: 1.5 oz or more for color
The secret 7X flavor (use 2 oz of flavor to 5 gals syrup):
Alcohol: 8 oz
Orange oil: 20 drops
Lemon oil: 30 drops
Nutmeg oil: 10 drops
Coriander: 5 drops
Neroli: 10 drops
Cinnamon: 10 drops
Pemberton had reportedly hit upon the formula for Coke in an attempt to overcome the addiction to morphine he contracted after the Civil War, so it's perhaps not surprising that, in addition to alcohol, the drink originally contained Coca leaves laced with cocaine. After Atlanta passed a local prohibition ordinance in the 1890s, the company took the booze out of the formula, and the company has used cocaine-free coca leaves since 1904.
I think this is just hysterical.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
City Is Looking at Sewage Treatment as a Source of Energy
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/science/09sewage.html?_r=1&hpw
NYC has a huge sewer problem. It had a foul odor and contaminates waterways. They are trying to figure out a way to make these beneficial instead of just terrible. Their plan is to use the gas and by products of the waste water as an asset-more specifically as potential sources of renewable energy. But like other cities around the country looking to reduce both the costs of sewage treatment and disposal and the heat-trapping greenhouse gases emitted in the process, New York is beginning to look at its waste as an untapped resource. Sewage treatment plants can sell methane gas to provide energy for homes while heating fuel can be extracted from sludge and butanol, an alternative fuel to gasoline, from the algae generated by wastewater. These plans are more of a long-term solution that can lead to huge profits. New Yorkers currently produce some 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater daily. The agency is seeking vendors to find uses for the resulting daily yield of 1,200 tons of sludge, a residual that is currently sent to landfills in Suffolk County, N.Y., and Virginia. The biggest potential source of energy is the methane gas. They already use 20% but now they want to use half of gas produced which is burned off and wasted. The agency is also studying proposals for solar and wind projects on Staten Island. I believe this is a very good start to converting waste into something useful and benefical...if of course the process is enforced and used.
NYC has a huge sewer problem. It had a foul odor and contaminates waterways. They are trying to figure out a way to make these beneficial instead of just terrible. Their plan is to use the gas and by products of the waste water as an asset-more specifically as potential sources of renewable energy. But like other cities around the country looking to reduce both the costs of sewage treatment and disposal and the heat-trapping greenhouse gases emitted in the process, New York is beginning to look at its waste as an untapped resource. Sewage treatment plants can sell methane gas to provide energy for homes while heating fuel can be extracted from sludge and butanol, an alternative fuel to gasoline, from the algae generated by wastewater. These plans are more of a long-term solution that can lead to huge profits. New Yorkers currently produce some 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater daily. The agency is seeking vendors to find uses for the resulting daily yield of 1,200 tons of sludge, a residual that is currently sent to landfills in Suffolk County, N.Y., and Virginia. The biggest potential source of energy is the methane gas. They already use 20% but now they want to use half of gas produced which is burned off and wasted. The agency is also studying proposals for solar and wind projects on Staten Island. I believe this is a very good start to converting waste into something useful and benefical...if of course the process is enforced and used.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
E.P.A. Plans New Limits on Toxic Chemicals in Drinking Water
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/science/earth/03epa.html?_r=1&hpw
The Obama administration said on Wednesday they would impose limits on permissible levels of a new set toxic chemicals in drinking water. This includes the first standard for the perchlorate which is a dangerous compound found in rocket fuel and fireworks that has contaminated water supplies in 26 states. The move announced by the EPA is said to help update the nation's clean water laws which have been lagging way behind. Studies have shown that hundreds of industrial and agricultural chemicals are present in municipal water systems around the country. Wednesday’s decision to regulate perchlorate reversed a 2008 finding by the Bush administration that a nationwide standard for the chemical was unnecessary and would do little to reduce risks to human health. Perchlorate can occur naturally, but high concentrations have been found near military installations where it was used in rocket testing and around places where fireworks, flares and solid propellants are made. Health researchers have found that the chemical may impair the functioning of the thyroid, potentially stunting the growth of fetuses, infants and children.
I think this is a great start to try and make the water safer. Hopefully this will snowball into other laws that help to get rid of the other chemicals that are lingering in our drinking water.
The Obama administration said on Wednesday they would impose limits on permissible levels of a new set toxic chemicals in drinking water. This includes the first standard for the perchlorate which is a dangerous compound found in rocket fuel and fireworks that has contaminated water supplies in 26 states. The move announced by the EPA is said to help update the nation's clean water laws which have been lagging way behind. Studies have shown that hundreds of industrial and agricultural chemicals are present in municipal water systems around the country. Wednesday’s decision to regulate perchlorate reversed a 2008 finding by the Bush administration that a nationwide standard for the chemical was unnecessary and would do little to reduce risks to human health. Perchlorate can occur naturally, but high concentrations have been found near military installations where it was used in rocket testing and around places where fireworks, flares and solid propellants are made. Health researchers have found that the chemical may impair the functioning of the thyroid, potentially stunting the growth of fetuses, infants and children.
I think this is a great start to try and make the water safer. Hopefully this will snowball into other laws that help to get rid of the other chemicals that are lingering in our drinking water.
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