Ingredients in Coke and Their Function

Ingredients in Coke and Their Function You probably know that once upon a time Coca-Cola or Coke contained cocaine. What you might not know is that the beverage is still flavored with an extract from the coca leaf and that the cocaine which is extracted from the leaves is sold for medicinal use. The Stepan Company extracts cocaine from the coca leaves, which is sold to Mallinckrodt, the only US company that is licensed to purify cocaine. So... what are the other ingredients in Coke and what do they do? Coke contains a fairly short list of ingredients: Carbonated waterSugar (which can be sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup)CaffeinePhosphoric acid v. caramel (E150d)Natural flavorings (which include coca leaf extract) The purpose of the carbonated water and sugar is obvious, but you may be unaware caramel coloring is also an important flavoring agent... well, unless you ever tried the clear versions of Coke or Pepsi. Theres a good reason those never became popular. Caramel color is a soluble food coloring that is prepared by heat treating carbohydrates. The golden or brown liquid retains a bitter taste and burnt sugar odor. The caffeine is a stimulant, but also contributes a characteristic bitter flavor to the cola. The secret formula of the additional flavorings is known to two executives at Coca-Cola. The original copy of the formula is kept in Atlanta in the SunTrust Banks vault.

Methinks vs. I Think

Methinks vs. I Think Methinks vs. I Think Methinks vs. I Think By Maeve Maddox An archaic verb form that survives in modern speech, thanks to its presence in a well-known quotation from Hamlet, is methinks. A Google search for â€Å"methinks† brings up more than five million hits. The quotation appears in the â€Å"mousetrap scene† in Hamlet. Traveling actors are performing a play written to Hamlet’s specifications. He wants to dramatize his father’s murder and produce a guilty reaction in his stepfather. The Player Queen gives a highly charged speech about her feelings for her husband, swearing that, should he die, she will never remarry. Hamlet asks his mother, â€Å"How do you like the play?† Uncomfortable with the speech because of her own remarriage, Hamlet’s mother replies, â€Å"The lady protests too much, methinks.† Modern speakers frequently misquote the line as, â€Å"Methinks the lady doth protest too much† and seem to believe it means something like, â€Å"I think the person is trying to hide something by denying it so strongly.† Methinks is not the equivalent of â€Å"I think.† The thinks in methinks comes from the Old English verb thyncan: â€Å"to seem† or â€Å"to appear.† The think in â€Å"I think I’ll drive to Tulsa this weekend† comes from Old English thencan: â€Å"to think.† Methinks means â€Å"It seems to me.† Originally, it was spelled as two words. The me is an indirect object: â€Å"It seems to me.† Now it is spelled as one word, although some modern speakers, imagining that it means, â€Å"I think† spell it as two words. Note: Using methinks as if it meant, â€Å"I think† equates to such baby talk as â€Å"Me wants a cookie.† The past tense of methinks is methought: Methought I heard a voice cry, â€Å"Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep.† –Macbeth, Act II, scene ii. Another misunderstood word in the Hamlet quotation is protest. Modern speakers interpret it to mean, â€Å"to object,† but Gertrude means it in the sense of â€Å"to promise.† She thinks the Player Queen is overdoing her promise never to remarry should her husband die: Player Queen: Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife, If once I be a widow, ever I be a wife! Paraphrase: May nothing but trouble hound my steps for the rest of my life if I ever remarry after my husband’s death. Here are a few examples of how methinks is being used on the Web: Me thinks I have the perfect frame for it. Me thinks  Im in need of some serious psychiatric help. Me thinks  you drank a wee bit too much one night. Methinks  Jay Leno Is a Closet Conservative/Libertarian. Methinks ESPN’s Chris Broussard WANTS to get fired. Because so many speakers are already confused about the proper way to use the pronouns me and I, it may be a good idea to retire the use of methinks–at least at the beginning of a sentence. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Grammar Mistakes You Should AvoidWriting the Century10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for â€Å"Leader† or â€Å"Official†