Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What Coke Contains

medium.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 142 posts

Re: What Coke Contains

#51

Post by yareally »

DigitalSea wrote: post #24
jscheel wrote: post #9

Ok, bit of a bragging moment here: my grandpa, with two other gentlemen, created the process for machining seamless cans that is described here. Before them, cans had a lead seam in them. They discovered that you could draw down the aluminum and stretch it to form cans in one piece. He also invented the process for creating the bottom of soda cans, and his friend invented the modern tab on the top of soda cans.

Wow that's awesome. We live in a society where one person takes credit for something and in this case a Coke can is comprised of many inventions as are many things. You never hear about the guy who helped shape the process of creating the bottom of soda cans or the tab on them. I wonder who invented that piece of plastic that holds store bought bread together?

Not the individual inventor, but this company[1] invented the twisty in 1939.

Also twistys are color coated on bread, denoting the day of the week it was put out[2].

[1] http://www.twistems.com/pages/profile.html

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twist_tie#Color_coding_for_brea...

Re: What Coke Contains

#52

Post by freiheit »

DigitalSea wrote: post #24
jscheel wrote: post #9

Ok, bit of a bragging moment here: my grandpa, with two other gentlemen, created the process for machining seamless cans that is described here. Before them, cans had a lead seam in them. They discovered that you could draw down the aluminum and stretch it to form cans in one piece. He also invented the process for creating the bottom of soda cans, and his friend invented the modern tab on the top of soda cans.

Wow that's awesome. We live in a society where one person takes credit for something and in this case a Coke can is comprised of many inventions as are many things. You never hear about the guy who helped shape the process of creating the bottom of soda cans or the tab on them. I wonder who invented that piece of plastic that holds store bought bread together?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Paxton

Re: What Coke Contains

#53

Post by Jach »

frozenport wrote: post #30

I am a lead pencil—the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write. http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPncl1.html

Exactly what I was thinking about. Milton Friedman mentioned that story as well in his talk here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ERbC7JyCfU

Re: What Coke Contains

#54

Post by yareally »

jrockway wrote: post #44
s0rce wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need grapes and yeast, it just happens that the yeasts are found in the air/on the grapes.

Time is the other ingredient, of which wine requires a lot.

And force (either from a press or the bottom of someone's foot) :)

Re: What Coke Contains

#55

Post by kens »

lostlogin wrote: post #2

>>The top of the can is then added. This is carefully engineered: it is made from aluminum, but it has to be thicker and stronger to withstand the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas. Eh? The pressure is greater at the top of the can?

The top needs to be thicker because of its geometry. The curved sides and domed base can resist pressure better than the flat top.

Another interesting fact is the can is narrower at the top to reduce the size of the lid, saving cost and mass.

Lots of details and photos on aluminum cans at http://www.chymist.com/Aluminum%20can.pdf so check it out.

Re: What Coke Contains

#56

Post by yareally »

mbaird wrote: post #34
6cxs2hd6 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Coke is just addictive sugar water It would be somewhat healthier if it actually contained sugar (as opposed to high fructose corn syrup).

In the UK it still uses sugar, and imho tastes a whole lot better than the HFCS version.

Most countries still do, except the US, where we have corn subsidies and sugar tariffs to artificially lower the price of corn and artificially raise the price of sugar (to protect a few growers in the south US).

The other year when sugar prices were near equal to corn, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper distributed soda with sugar only throughout much of the United States. I haven't followed the prices of sugar since, but I would gather the price went back up either naturally or through congressional means.

Re: What Coke Contains

#57

Post by chimpinee »

An enormous and sophisticated 'tool chain'. Surely it could never be implemented in a one-day-to-be-invented universal fabricator? One is reminded of those 19th C ppl who thought recorded music was impossible since any player would have to contain miniature versions of all the orchestral instruments (or things that resembled them: "humanity's choir") together with a horrendously large paper roll punched full of holes

Re: What Coke Contains

#59

Post by 8ig8 »

jscheel wrote: post #9

Ok, bit of a bragging moment here: my grandpa, with two other gentlemen, created the process for machining seamless cans that is described here. Before them, cans had a lead seam in them. They discovered that you could draw down the aluminum and stretch it to form cans in one piece. He also invented the process for creating the bottom of soda cans, and his friend invented the modern tab on the top of soda cans.

And this is why I love HN. There are so many interesting people lurking about. Thanks for sharing.

Re: What Coke Contains

#60

Post by fernly »

I think Mr. Ashton is trying to illustrate Sagan's dictum, "If you wish to make apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." Except it's coke, and he doesn't go past bauxite.
Post reply on HN