Why was Coke only a nickel for 70 years while the price of other products increased with inflation and according to supply and demand? From Slate:

Coke itself was taxed first as a medicine, then as a soft drink, and survived sugar rationing. All the while, the price stayed at a nickel.

Part of Coke's problem was the cost of replacing vending machines that accepted only nickels—and the fact that the alternative, dimes, represented a 100 percent price hike. (The boss of Coca-Cola wrote to his friend President Eisenhower in 1953 to suggest, in all seriousness, a 7-and-a-half-cent coin.)

The Mystery of the 5-Cent Coca-Cola [Slate]
(Photo: damageinc86)