# Want to debunk an UL about Coca-Cola? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 30, 2000, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407 "2000-11-30T18:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JosephFinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JosephFinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JosephFinn)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/1 "2000-11-30T18:28:00Z")
Have at it, my friends. I got this e-mail forward today. See how many you can debunk: "For all you Cola drinkers throwing back “The Real Thing” to make it through your afternoon, here’s some trivia for you! Michael Just when you thought you knew everything about Coca Cola… ``` 1. In many states, the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the car to ``` remove blood from the highway after a car accident. ``` 2. You can put a t-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will totally dissolve the steak in two days. 3. To clean a toilet, pour a can of Coke into the toilet and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. 4. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china. 5. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers, rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of aluminum foil dipped in Coke. 6. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals, pour a can of Coke over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion. 7. To loosen a rusted bolt, apply a cloth soaked in Coke to the rusted bolt for several minutes. 8. To bake a moist ham, empty a can of Coke into the baking pan, then wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. ``` Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy. ``` 9. To remove ``` grease from clothes, empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coke will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield. ``` FYI: 1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It's pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. 2. When carrying the Coke syrup concentrate, the commercial truck must use the "Hazardous Material" place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials. 3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years! Drink up!" ``` ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/2 "2000-11-30T18:32:11Z")
Here ya go: [http://www.snopes2.com/cokelore/acid.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/cokelore/acid.htm) Add Snopes to your list of favorites. You’ll be glad you did. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/3 "2000-11-30T18:35:02Z")
Ah, I believe the correct answer is, “E–none of the above.” I drink Pepsi, myself. Did you know that scientists have proven that Pepsi drinkers, overall, score higher on intelligence tests than Coke drinkers? ---
**Author:** ![JosephFinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JosephFinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JosephFinn)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/4 "2000-11-30T21:17:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doctor Jackson \* > \*\*Here ya go: > > [http://www.snopes2.com/cokelore/acid.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/cokelore/acid.htm) > > Add Snopes to your list of favorites. You’ll be glad you did. > > \*\* Thanks, Doctor! Now I can send that to the person who sent the forward and make them a little more informed. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/5 "2000-11-30T21:32:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*Ah, I believe the correct answer is, “E–none of the above.” > > I drink Pepsi, myself. Did you know that scientists have proven that Pepsi drinkers, overall, score higher on intelligence tests than Coke drinkers? \*\* I refuse to believe that intelligent people would willingly consume anything as disgusting as Pepsi. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/6 "2000-11-30T22:59:36Z")
Coke is a surprisingly strong acid. I remember in a junior high school science class experiment it registered as a pH of 2 with litmus strips. Since it is an acid and not a base, I don’t think Coke would dissolve beef, but I have no experimental knowledge of this. Denny McLain, the last pitcher to win 30+ games in a season, got serious stomach ulcers from over-consuming soda, but I believe the soda in question was Pepsi, not Coke. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2000, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/7 "2000-12-10T00:58:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JosephFinn \* > \*\* > The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It’s pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. > \*\* I didn’t feel that Snopes gave enough factual information. The pH of coke is actually around 2.5 (see here: [http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/oct98/909181221.Ch.r.html](http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/oct98/909181221.Ch.r.html)) (and most soft drinks are acidic from the carbonation) However, your stomach is full of hydrochloric acid and usually has a pH between 1 and 2 (see here: [http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/zoo00/zoo00114.htm](http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/zoo00/zoo00114.htm)) So coke would actually reduce the acidity of your stomach, rather than raise it! fiddlesticks - Most stomach ulcers are caused by an infection. The doctors may have blamed this guys ulcer on Pepsi, but it was probably H. Pylori ---
**Author:** ![djbdjb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/8 "2000-12-11T18:38:54Z")
And how come his web sites get recommended for debunking things when he has “jokes” on his site that purport to be true facts. How do we know that originally this coke stuff wasn’t just such a joke that someone found and started passing around as true? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/9 "2000-12-11T18:59:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*Did you know that scientists have proven that Pepsi drinkers, overall, score higher on intelligence tests than Coke drinkers? > > \*\* Pepsi drinkers drinkers are at least twice as smart as Coke drinkers - sometimes their IQ is in double figures (except DDG whose IQ is as high as a mountain) ---
**Author:** ![Wood\_Thrush](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b38774/32.png) [@Wood\_Thrush](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wood_Thrush)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-debunk-an-ul-about-coca-cola/43407/10 "2000-12-11T20:14:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by djbdjb \* > \*\*And how come his web sites get recommended for debunking things when he has “jokes” on his site that purport to be true facts. How do we know that originally this coke stuff wasn’t just such a joke that someone found and started passing around as true? > \*\* Read the [FAQ](http://www.snopes.com/info/faq.htm).