COCA-COLA

The name Coca-Cola makes perfect sense: Its inventor, John Pemberton, had originally created a cocktail called Pemberton's French Wine Coca in 1885. This was a version of "cocawine," which was little more than wine and cocaine. Pemberton was a pharmacist by trade. He fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and had injuries that required anti-pain medication. When authorities in his home state of Georgia introduced prohibition laws in 1886, Pemberton removed the wine from the cocktail, kept the cocaine (using South American coca leaves, from which cocaine is derived) and added African kola nuts (which have a high caffeine content) for flavor. However, he removed the cocaine in 1903.