Traveller 2300 (1e): New Coke & 2300

[Graham2001]

Back in the early days of the internet, someone put up a website (now lost) which amongst other things had 'urban legends' for the 2300AD setting written up as plot hooks. The only two I remember were, first, someone building a spacecraft to fly out far enough to record old (pre-Twilight) TV broadcasts and second the claim that a certain cola company had inadvertently retrieved the wrong formula from the ruins of Atlanta and so what people are drinking under a particular brand name is actually the infamous 'New' version (Which according to rumor tasted a hell of a lot like another well known brand of cola.)

It seems that Coke has decided to revive the product in a (sadly) limited edition release as part of a promo with Netflix.

The link to the official story is below.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/st...take-viewers-back-to-1985-for-stranger-things

The reason I bring this up is I've always felt it would have been a great way to emphasize that this is the future and there is a memorable discontinuity (The Twilight War) in that futures past to players by offering up the closest I could come up with (eg Pepsi in Coke bottles...) as refreshments during a game.

I never had the courage to try it, but I think the idea is worth sharing.

 

[Condottiere]

I believe the original formula was alcohol and cocaine.

Which not only gives you wings, but a jump drive.

 

[SanDragon]

Well, buckle up Travellers, because Crystal Pepsi is coming back this summer.

 

[Timerover51]

I believe the original formula was alcohol and cocaine.

Which not only gives you wings, but a jump drive.

I believe that you are right about the cocaine. A lot of patent medicines and over-the-counter medications around 1900 contained that and also opium in the form of laudanum. They did work, but also did cause addiction.

 

[AsenRG]

I believe that you are right about the cocaine. A lot of patent medicines and over-the-counter medications around 1900 contained that and also opium in the form of laudanum. They did work, but also did cause addiction.

But then that, in itself, helps your sales!

 

[BRJN]

I'm hoping to find some of the Revitalized New Coke to buy a case. To see if the taste is still as jarring as I remember.

P.S. I do not believe what is sold today is Restored Old Coke, I think they tried to reconstruct the recipe from memory. (In part because some line employees had copied down the original recipe and tried to 'claim a finders fee' - corporate referred to this as 'blackmail' - when the company gave up on New Coke.)

 

[wellis]

So what made New Coke so terrible? Is it any worse than Crystal Pepsi?

 

[kilemall]

I'm hoping to find some of the Revitalized New Coke to buy a case. To see if the taste is still as jarring as I remember.

P.S. I do not believe what is sold today is Restored Old Coke, I think they tried to reconstruct the recipe from memory. (In part because some line employees had copied down the original recipe and tried to 'claim a finders fee' - corporate referred to this as 'blackmail' - when the company gave up on New Coke.)

I held onto some of the original Coke for awhile. Even flat it was better then New Coke.


The restored Coke was never the same. I think they cut corners on the formula and/or additives. It just never came back.

 

[willtron3030]

So what made New Coke so terrible? Is it any worse than Crystal Pepsi?

Coke had altered the formula to compete with Pepsi and their "Pepsi taste test" and, alienated a lot of their customer base. They also apparently underestimated how many people could taste the difference between cane sugar and HFCS.

Pepsi is very citrus-forward in their flavor profile. Coke has a warm vanilla/anise top note.

Pepsi gave test takers a sip of each, and asked, "which do you like better?"
Pepsi was usually the choice.

What no one disclosed was Pepsi's own market research that said when asked "which would you prefer if you have to drink the whole can," Coke usually won.

If you want a general feel for Old New Coke, try Coke Zero, which comes on strong with more than a little lime flavor, with a finish more like Coke than Pepsi.

Crystal Pepsi was an abomination, and was never going shift the market share of 7-UP *or* Sprite.
Lemon Pepsi was all right first sip, but aged quickly and poorly in the glass.
Lime Pepsi was a tragic aberration: Someone must have mistakenly swapped the intended formula with the analysis of a urine sample from a goat raised in a keffir lime grove.

[Me? I love them both Coke and Pepsi, but can't hack all the sugar. I'll drink Diet Pepsi from bottles or cans, and Diet Coke poured from a fountain or 2-liter bottle. Pepsi foams up a lot more, and takes forever to fill the cup.]

 

[whartung]

I can pretty much no longer drink soda much. Definitely not like I used to.

I've replaced it pretty much entirely with the "scented" carbonated waters that we've been inundated with.

But this is the best taste test campaign ever conducted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh3p5jFUUW8

 

[SanDragon]

A&W, all the way!!

 

[Bromo33333]

Patent Meds

Don't forget Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Elixir that was wildly popular. It was marketed in 1876 and I don't know when it went out of production.

But it was a mix of spices and herbal extracts in a base of drinking alcohol. Like 150 proof. Used to "steady nerves" and supply other benefits.

 

[Reban]

Don't forget Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Elixir that was wildly popular. It was marketed in 1876 and I don't know when it went out of production.

But it was a mix of spices and herbal extracts in a base of drinking alcohol. Like 150 proof. Used to "steady nerves" and supply other benefits.

Is that the same Lilly the Pink... the savior of the human race!

Hey that's a good advertising tagline during a war for humanity's survival :rofl:



A link to the humorous song "Lilly the Pink" by the Scaffold.
Fair warning; contains 1970s humor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpxlKV0fXR4

 

[Bromo33333]

Is that the same Lilly the Pink... the savior of the human race!

Hey that's a good advertising tagline during a war for humanity's survival :rofl:



A link to the humorous song "Lilly the Pink" by the Scaffold.
Fair warning; contains 1970s humor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpxlKV0fXR4

That's the one!

 

[PVernon]

I just checked the wiki, there are two different versions still in production. Always learn something new/odd.

 

[Bromo33333]

I just checked the wiki, there are two different versions still in production. Always learn something new/odd.

What I want to know, is Mexican Coke still being made in 2300AD, and which one (New Coke, Coke Classic, Mexican Coke) is the most popular in the Texas Republic?

:-D

I would put money that Fanta is still popular in Russia.

 

[kilemall]

What I want to know, is Mexican Coke still being made in 2300AD, and which one (New Coke, Coke Classic, Mexican Coke) is the most popular in the Texas Republic?

:-D

I would put money that Fanta is still popular in Russia.

Well if Texas is still Texas in 2300, that would be Dr. Pepper!

 

[AtlanticFriend]

Penta-Cola the biodrink that makes you twice as alive ! :coffeegulp: