Coca-Cola really did contain cocaine

The link between Coca-Cola and cocaine sounds like an internet hoax. But it's well documented, and the drink's own name is the first clue.

When the pharmacist John Pemberton created it in 1886, he blended two star ingredients: the kola nut, rich in caffeine, and coca leaf extract, which brought small amounts of cocaine. At the time the substance was legal and considered a fashionable tonic, present in wines and remedies.

As the century turned, social pressure against cocaine grew, and by around 1903 the company adjusted the formula to remove the alkaloid, using already-processed coca leaves. Curiously, the company kept importing coca leaf (without cocaine) to preserve the flavour. The name stayed on as a fossil of that original recipe.