Guess the glory days of free refills are slipping through our fingers...

[US News & World Report] (Thanks to Alex!) (Photo: robinryan)

Basically, what we learned from the video is that this stuff might be ok if you're drunk which could probably be said for a great number of things. We are anxious to see how Pepsi will torture Japan's taste-buds next year.

Pepsi Blue Hawaii [HikanNinja]

From the WSJ:

Sold in corner groceries, vending machines and other outlets since the early 1990s, soft drinks in 20-ounce plastic bottles revitalized U.S. sales for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Inc. by getting Americans to drink larger servings. Because they are often sold at prices similar to a two-liter bottle, they have also been highly profitable for the companies' bottlers.

Now, health concerns, aging baby boomers' waning thirst for giant-size sodas and the softening economy are taking the fizz out of the 20-ounce bottle. While U.S. soda sales in major retail channels overall declined 3.5% in the first quarter, convenience-store sales dropped 4.2%, according to Beverage Digest, an industry publication. The 20-ounce bottle accounts for most convenience-store soda sales.

To win back sales, several Coca-Cola and Pepsi bottlers are conducting pilot tests on a variety of bottle sizes they hope will appeal to consumers put off by the 20-ounce bottle or looking for a cheaper option to cushion the blow of high food and energy prices.

Why have you stopped buying 20 oz Cokes? The WSJ says that Pepsi is testing a 16 oz model. Will you buy that?

20-oz Sales Lose Fizz [WSJ]
(Photo: Ben Popken )

"Official Dr Pepper Press Release" [Blogspot]

To look in more detail, the team carried out a 12-year study of 46,000 men aged 40 years and over with no history of gout, asking them regular questionnaires about their diet.

Over the period, 755 newly diagnosed cases of gout were reported.

The risk of developing the condition was significantly increased with an intake level of five to six servings of sugary soft drink per week.

This link was independent of other risk factors for gout such as body mass index, age, high blood pressure and alcohol intake.

Diet soft drinks did not increase the risk of gout but fruit juice and fructose rich fruits (apples and oranges) were associated with a higher risk, the researchers said.

"Gout surge blamed on sweet drinks" [BBC News]
(Photo: Getty)

Concerned that developing countries will start drinking as much soda as we fatties here in the States (a legitimate worry, we must admit,) they're asking governments around the world to require soda companies to change the way they do business. They want more low-sugar alternatives to soda, smaller portion sizes of existing high-sugar sodas, prominent display of calorie information, and warning labels that warn consumers to drink water to quench thirst.

In addition, they're asking that soda companies "stop promoting and selling sweetened beverages, including sports drinks and fruit flavored beverages and teas, in all public and private elementary, middle, and high schools" and to instead sell fruit juice (in container sizes of 250 ml or less.)

These sorts of campaigns always remind us of something we noticed way back when we were in school. When kids were asked how to stop other kids from smoking, the first thing our classmates always said was, "Advertise against it," but when the instructor asked the class if they were influenced by advertising they always said no. Either the kids were lying or they knew that cheesy "don't smoke" ads and warning labels didn't work and wouldn't keep them away from the forbidden pleasure of smoking themselves to death. Probably both.

Personally, we drank too much Coke in high school because they hid the coffee machine in the teacher's lounge. Damning teenagers to high school without caffeine is cruel and unusual punishment, even if the alternative is to be fat with rotten teeth.

In our elementary school, however, soft drinks were not allowed and we didn't consider it much of a hardship at the time. On the other hand, death would surely have come to anyone attempting to pry the "Ecto Cooler" juice box from our tiny fingers.

Do you think soft drinks should be banned from schools?

The Global Dump Soda Campaign
(Photo:chickee510)

Apparently, the drink is stored in special custom vending machine that keeps it at a certain temperature. When the drink is opened, some sort of "mechanism" inside causes the drink to form ice out of the Sprite inside. We do not understand this, but if its successful, expect to see Coke and Diet Coke as well.

Coke plots 'Sprite with ice' with help of new technology [Marketingweek via Buzzfeed]
(Photo:Abandoned In Place)

Researchers gave 150 three-year-olds and about 150 eight and nine-year-olds drinks that contained "either a mixture with sodium benzoate, a preservative, and several food colorings, or drinks that looked and tasted the same but contained none of the additives," according to the WSJ Health Blog.

The results of the study showed that the children who ingested the sodium benzoate and food coloring were more likely to suffer from hyperactivity and attention deficit problems.

Britian's Food Standards Agency funded the study and is now suggesting parents try eliminating food coloring and sodium benzoate from the diets of hyperactive children to see if that improves their condition.

Do people usually let three-year-olds drink Coke? We're so out of touch.

Food Additives May Make Kids More Hyper [WSJ Health Blog]
(Photo:NYCviaRachel)

A soft drink that actually burns calories is like a burrito that makes your flatulence smell like bakery fresh cinnamon rolls: the holy grail of science. Every reasonable man is skeptical that it can be done; nevertheless, we fat-asses keep hoping.

Still, there's a good reason to believe that Coke's new Enviga drink, advertised as "The Calorie Burner," is a total scam, and Mouseprint has finely combed the small print to showcase the absurdity.

For one thing, the study that 'proved' that Enviga burned calories was only 32 people of normal weight. No one actually burned any fat, even when they were on placebos, but heck... "energy expenditure" was higher for Enviga drinkers. Whatever the hell that means.

Coke, of course, officially denies their drink burns calories, wandering around the wording of their fine print with a weasel-like slither. Heck, we're only marketing it as 'The Calorie Burner.' It's not like we're saying it burns calories or something!

Enviga from Coke: Burns More Calories Than it Contains* [Mouseprint]

The details of the plot: a mysterious informant writing from the Bronx and identifying himself only by the name 'Dirk' wrote PepsiCo, claiming to be a high-level employee with Coca-Cola. He asked for $10,000 for the trade secrets and $75,000 for the recipe. PepsiCo called the fuzz, an undercover agent offered Dirk 1.5m for other trade secrets, Dirk fell for it, and now he's in jail. All is right with the world; the secret Coke formula, like the recipe for McDonald's Big Mac sauce, remains sacrosanct.

The leak apparently all came from an executive assistant for a high-level Coke executive, who supplied 'Dirk' with his documents and information after he seduced her. No word on whether she's been fired yet, but all signs point to 'Canned.'

3 charged with stealing Coca-Cola info [Yahoo News]

remember that post a few weeks ago about Coke Blak? well, I tried some of it out of sheer skeptical curiosity, and as it turns out I love it. I mean, really love it. as in, "I just bought a 4-pack at Walgreen's", love it. and now I'm afraid it'll get discontinued because so many people either assume it's gross without trying it, or try it & then think it's gross.

if you've ever had Canifield's chocolate soda, it tastes kind of like that, only, you know, with coffee.

again, as I mentioned earlier, this is the biggest nonupdate of all time, but I thought I'd report back since I hadn't even heard of this stuff until the Consumerist post.

So there you have it, friends. An anonymous stranger on the Internet likes Coke Bl ?k! And actually, we're just teasing her. As consumers who enjoy all sorts of weird foods, like pickle flavored potato chips, peanut butter and bacon sandwiches and Dr. Pepper (also fondly known as "Liquid Ashtray"), we're no stranger to eclectic tastes. So support Courney W. and buy yourself a four pack of Coke Bl ?k!

Previously: Coca-Cola Bl ?k Effervescent Coffee Crap Debut