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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!oliveb!hplabs!ames!jaw
From: jaw@ames.UUCP (James A. Woods)
Newsgroups: net.misc.coke
Subject: Of vanilla beans and tobacco juice in old Coke
Message-ID: <1054@ames.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Jul-85 17:37:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.1054
Posted: Mon Jul 22 17:37:11 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 25-Jul-85 07:35:00 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 26

#  When a woman loses her mystery, she is finished forever.
	-- Yves St. Laurent, "Opium" debut celebration, 1979

     Madagascar's vanilla bean economy almost collapsed a few weeks back
because of the formula switch, according to Wall Street Journal's continuing
excellent coverage of the cola wars.  An inference can be made here.  See the
Wed. July 17 reportage.  (check out the article on Mexican fireaters, too --
WSJ's human interest pieces are what net.bizarre should aspire to.)

     Oh, and the blurb below is a reprint of what I posted to net.rumor
over a year ago.  The only savvy reply to this (most were sidetrips to
the beaten-to-death issue of cocaine additives) -- was a comment that
perhaps there would be reports in New England J. Medicine about little
kids being detoxed in emergency wards if it were true.

=====
     Probably recycling an oldie here, but I understand that the 
"active ingredient" of Coca Cola is NICOTINE, supplied via tobacco juice,
and thus categorizable as a "natural flavoring."  As such, I don't believe
we are dealing with an FDA Class 2 substance, though I do wonder about
regulations which might govern its use.  Since nicotine toxicity is in
the milligram range, this speculation gives rise to the question of
a human LD-50 for this popular beverage.
=====

     -- James A. Woods  (ames!jaw)