March 12 In History: The First Time Coca Cola Was Voted

Photo illustration (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - On March 12, 1894, for the first time Coca Cola or Coke was sold in glass bottles. Previously, during the first few years of its existence, Coca Cola was only a drink provided with a soda machine.

Quoting History, Coca Cola was originally developed as a non-addictive substitute for morphine. Coca Cola was later marketed as a non-alcoholic "simple drink".

Coca Cola was invented by John Pemberton, a pharmacist in Columbus, Georgia. The drink was immediately popular throughout the region.

Then the rights to the brand were given to Asa Griggs Candler. Candler's nephew had advised him that selling bottled drinks could greatly increase sales.

Asa Griggs Chandler (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

But Griggs was not interested, until the owner of a candy shop in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Joseph A. Biedenharn became the first to bottle Coca Cola. He realized that sales of bottled drinks could increase sales.

Biedenharn then put the drink in a reusable glass bottle. The bottle back then bore no resemblance to the current Coca Cola bottle.

Biendenharn had time to ship the bottles to Griggs, but Griggs kept his sales with the soda machine. Five years later, Candler finally sold the national bottling rights to Coca Cola to the two Chattanooga brothers.

Candler then sells the bottling rights for one dollar. The contract stipulated that a bottle of Coca Cola would cost 5 cents and had no legal oversight expiration date, which resulted in the price remaining the same until 1959.

The journey of the Coca Cola bottle design

Coca Cola plastic bottle (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

Dating back to 1915, bottlers issued calls for a new bottle design that was very distinctive. The design was made so that people could recognize it if it fell or could feel it in the dark.

The winning design was produced by Root Glass Company of Terre Haute. The company from Indiana gave the world the iconic contour bottle we know today.

Although the bottles were produced in early 1916, not all bottlers have succeeded in replacing the glass packaging in previous sales. This is because glass bottles are more expensive.

The company began doing national advertising featuring exclusive bottles. The first national calendars featuring the bottle appeared in 1918 and 1920.

Photo illustration (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

Most of them pack Coca Cola using this special bottle. In 1923, the patent for the bottle was renewed.

The patent office has a habit of issuing patents on Tuesdays of every week. For the 1923 patent, that Tuesday just happens to fall on December 25.

When a new patent was issued, the date on the side of the bottle was changed to December 25, 1923 and the bottle was quickly nicknamed the "Christmas Bottle". Patents expire 14 years.

And by 1951, all patents on the Coca Cola bottle had expired. The company began to approach the Patent Office and ensure that the bottle's distinctive contoured shape was so well known that it should be given trademark status.

On April 12, 1961, Coca Cola's contoured glass bottle was recognized as a trademark. This is partly supported by the fact that a 1949 study showed less than 1 percent of Americans (US) could not identify a Coca Cola bottle by its shape.

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