17. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola quickly became a staple in the American culture after its accidental invention in 1886 by John Pemberton. He was a pharmacist that originally invented the formula to be a medication that he could patent and sell–a multipurpose cure if you will. The medication didn’t work so well but it became a tasty soft drink that had great commercial success after businessman Asa Griggs Candler marketed it. The original formula was intended to be a medication alternative to morphine, which Pemberton became addicted to after being injured in the American Civil War. As many advertisements did back then, the original, which was published in the Atlanta Journal, 1886 stated that the drink cured many illnesses, none of which turned out to be true.