Coca Cola is a drink everyone knows about, and it can be found almost everywhere in the world except for two places: Cuba and North Korea. It seems rather crazy that coke has such a variety of consumers from around the world, but this isn’t the only fun fact about coke. Coca Cola has many unexpected facts, including its initial production purpose, its influence on modern sales, and even how it impacted what we envision of Santa.

Coca Cola was originally made in Atlanta, GA in the backyard of a pharmacist by the name of John S. Pemberton. It was advertised as a nerve tonic to help with headaches and exhaustion. At the time of its initial launch in 1886, medicine wasn’t as regulated as it is now and patent medicines often contained traces of addictive drugs, such as cocaine. Coca Cola certainly had a surprising intent for its purpose, that’s far from what we now know it as.

Candler created the now well known and beloved brand, Coca Cola in 1888, soon after Pemberton’s death. He was already a business tycoon, and he purchased the Cola recipe and rights from Pemberton for $1,750. As someone with more business experience, he was much better at advertising. Originally, he had a salesperson giving out free coupons for the drink, and people liked it so much they kept coming back for the 5 cent glass of cola. This was actually the first time coupons were used as an advertising ploy, so he technically invented coupons. Using this tactic along with several other marketing strategies, he boosted sales for Coca Cola nearly tenfold.

In 1931, Coca Cola released ads in the Saturday morning post featuring Santa. It may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but this was actually the first interpretation of how we see Santa. Before this ad, the idea of Santa existed, but the image of the big jolly man in a red Christmas gown hadn’t been created. This ad made by a drink company is the reason for how all Americans envision Santa which is pretty mind blowing.

So next time you see Coke at the store, maybe you’ll take a second to think about Coca Cola’s unique origins and the strange influence it has had on American culture starting from its production purpose, to its invention of coupons, and its creation of our image of Santa.