Not #17 (yet)

Sigh. I love Coke. It's such a stupid thing to drink, it's almost as stupid as putting burning sticks in your mouth and sucking out the smoke.

Scaremongery American facts about Coke:
(source: scaremongering email)


COKE
#1. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
#2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
#3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the 'real thing' sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous China .
#4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
#5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
#6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
#7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.
#8... To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
#1. the active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.
#2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.
#3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean engines of the trucks for about 20 years!

Personal experience: it gives me a Coke belly and rots my teeth.

Good stuff.

But...

Ice cold Coke is really, really nice. Today I am drinking fizzy water in replacement. 46p from Sainsburys for 2l, it's a cheap alternative. I know, I should be drinking tap water, the bottled stuff is bad for the environment, but I don't yet have carbonated tap water and I am doing One Step At A Time. And compared to Coke, it must be pretty much carbon neutral (it's sourced in the UK FYI). In fact, my switch from Coke to Sainsburys sparkling water is good news for everyone, except maybe the Coca Cola company who will undoubtedly experience a severe drop in profits having lost their best customer.

Coke Memory # 1: My best ever Coke was from a little tiny cafe hidden in the cliffs in Ibiza, after a baking hot climb up and back down said cliffs. A real Coke, from a proper bottle, ice cold, served with ice. I still have the little bottle, it was a very special Coke.

Day one, Life After Coke. I will resist. I will resist.