In 1886, the United States was a time of rapid economic development, and countless people from all over the world rushed to this continent, worked hard to make a fortune, and created many strange inventions.
On a hot summer day, a drunken man walked into a pharmacy and asked the salesman for a potion called "Coca-Cola."
Invented by a pharmacist named John Pemberton, this potion can be used to treat headaches and relieve fatigue by mixing it with cold water when drinking.
The salesman of the pharmacy did not want to pick up cold water outside the store on this hot day, so he poured a cup of soda water on the counter into the "coca-cola" and handed it to the drunkard.
Unexpectedly, the drunkard was full of praise after drinking it, asked for cup after cup, and ran outside to introduce people to how delicious this soda-mixed potion was.
This is the origin of the world-famous beverage Coca-Cola, which today sells 1.6 billion bottles a day around the world and has become an indispensable drink in the lives of many people.
Even the famous U.S. military general Eisenhower sent an urgent telegram to the mainland during the African war, asking for 3 million bottles of Coca-Cola to be shipped to Africa for the U.S. military to drink immediately.
What makes a country's military also have a fondness for this drink?
The U.S. military was a powerful logistic during World War II
Only those who have carefully studied that history will truly understand how powerful the logistics of the US military was during World War II.
At the outbreak of World War II, the United States had become the world's largest economy, and the United States, which was rich in natural resources, had developed a very complete industrial chain at the same time.
At the beginning of the war, the United States was far away from the world battlefield due to its unique geographical conditions, and made a lot of money by exporting arms to the Allies.
At this time, the United States had amazing war potential, and once it participated in the war, its mobilization ability and equipment manufacturing ability would be unmatched.
Unfortunately, the stupid Japanese could not see this and brazenly launched the famous "Pearl Harbor Sneak Attack" operation.
The Americans were furious, walked from behind the scenes to the front of the stage, rolled up their sleeves and fought with the fascists.
Compared with the impoverished Chinese army at that time, the US military had only one operational policy -- taking massive artillery shells and sufficient ammunition to "wash the ground" for the enemy.
After round after round of bombing, the American soldiers stepped out of their positions and cleared the remaining remnants of the enemy positions.
In terms of the support of daily necessities, the US military is even more unique in the world.
While soldiers from other countries were nibbling on dry bread on the front lines, American soldiers ate canned beef and biscuits and drank hot coffee.
The U.S. Navy is even more excessive, and there is an unlimited supply of ice cream every day!
At that time, the German Nazi soldiers were most happy to seize a box of American materials, which meant that they did not have to eat the hard-to-swallow military food of their own country, and the United States ate an American "big meal".
Later
The U.S. military even regularly distributes Coca-Cola to soldiers on the front lines
This was an uncompromising luxury in the battlefield at that time, and for a time it envied the allied forces.
Eisenhower sent an urgent telegram asking for Coca-Cola
In 1943, Eisenhower led U.S. troops in a North African battlefield against Rommel, the famous German "Fox of Africa."
One day, the logistics headquarters on the U.S. mainland received an urgent telegram from Eisenhower
"It's too hot in Africa, so I immediately brought 3 million bottles of Coca-Cola to my soldiers!" ”
After receiving an urgent call from Eisenhower, the Logistics Department did not hesitate to grant his request.
You know, 3 million bottles of Coca-Cola is not a small number, at that time, The Coca-Cola container used glass bottles, which led to easy damage during transportation.
And if it was just to improve the food conditions of soldiers, why was Eisenhower so urgent?
It turned out that the American soldiers who were fighting in Africa at that time had already shown signs of instability in the military, and fighting in such a hot climate not only made the well-bred American soldiers very uncomfortable, but also seriously affected the combat effectiveness of the troops.
At that time, some soldiers in the barracks drank heavily every day, and when they were drunk, they gathered to make trouble, and the morale of the troops was already in a very low state.
In order to cool off the soldiers, Eisenhower sent an urgent telegram to the Logistics Department, and Coca-Cola was an excellent alternative to alcohol, so that the incidence of alcohol abuse in the military would be greatly reduced.
Finding opportunities, Coca-Cola built a business empire
The Logistics Department immediately placed an order with Woodruff, the president of the Coca-Cola Company at the time, after receiving the telegram from Eisenhower.
As a business wizard, Woodruff immediately sniffed the business opportunities.
If Coca-Cola's influence in the world can be further expanded with the help of THE US military's propaganda, the company's future will be unlimited.
In order to reduce damage in the middle of the transport,
The Coca-Cola Company decided to set up a semi-finished product processing plant on the front line
。 They sent a large number of company employees to Africa, who would set up blending and bottling lines on the front lines, and only the syrup was transported locally.
After the Coca-Cola was distributed to the soldiers, the morale of the troops was greatly improved.
Coke not only cools down the heat, but also has a refreshing and analgesic effect, with Coca-Cola, there have been almost no more incidents of alcoholism and injury in the barracks, and Eisenhower's urgent telegram has achieved good results
At the same time, Coca-Cola also took this opportunity to enter the market into European countries, and was deeply loved by the people of Britain and France.
In just two or three years, soldiers from all over the world consumed nearly five billion bottles of Coca-Cola on the battlefield, and the Coca-Cola Company not only made a lot of money, but also gained global popularity, laying an important foundation for the later establishment of a business empire.
After World War II, Eisenhower even recommended Coca-Cola to Marshal Zhukov of the Soviet Union, and Zhukov gave the drink a high opinion, but for political reasons, Coca-Cola was not introduced to the Soviet Union.
After that, Coca-Cola improved the formula several times, and sales soared, eventually building a huge business empire.
Today, although a variety of drinks emerge in an endless stream, it has never been able to shake Coca-Cola's leading position.
brief summary:
Coca-Cola is not only delicious, but also cheap, in some poor infrastructure in Africa and South America, The price of Coca-Cola is even cheaper than the local tap water, and it has become a necessity that local people can't live without.
According to statistics, the citizens of these countries each drink nearly two liters of Coca-Cola every day, creating huge revenue for the Coca-Cola Company.
It should be noted that excessive consumption of Coca-Cola will adversely affect the health of the body, everyone in the hot summer to come to a bottle of cold Coke, but remember not to covet the cup Oh.