The surprising innovations behind a can of Coke

Original post:  Mar 8, 2013

When we reach for a humble can of Coca-Cola, we probably don't take the time to reflect on all of the technological advances required to get that single 12 ounce container into our hands. This article gives you an outline of all of the innovations that needed to occur to make that happen. Kevin Ashton starts with the mining of the bauxite in Australia, includes the development of flavors and colors, adds in discussions about the fabrication and painting of the cans, and closes with the final delivery to the shelf of his local grocery store.

It's interesting to note that innovations built upon innovations that helped to take the development into new and surprising directions!

The author closes with an interesting argument:

The number of individuals who know how to make a can of Coke is zero. The number of individual nations that could produce a can of Coke is zero. This famously American product is not American at all. Invention and creation is something we are all in together. Modern tool chains are so long and complex that they bind us into one people and one planet. They are not only chains of tools, they are also chains of minds: local and foreign, ancient and modern, living and dead — the result of disparate invention and intelligence distributed over time and space. Coca-Cola did not teach the world to sing, no matter what its commercials suggest, yet every can of Coke contains humanity’s choir.

Here is the link to the full article:  https://medium.com/editors-picks/221d449929ef