Modern Marvels

13x43 - The Cola Wars

Coke started out with coke in it. Refashioned as Coca-cola, to give it brand recognition. Bought up by a another guy who changed the flavor to a more soda taste and less medicine taste. Did aggressive advertising, as well as wiping out competitors. They became famous. They also made a special bottle to distinguish the real thing.

Pepsi was making a acceptable profit, but kept going into bankruptcy. World War 1 came, they bought a lot of sugar out of fear - which lost them lots of money. During the Depression, they doubled their bottle size - which made it a hit. World War 2, they couldn't get sugar supplies.

Coke was granted a American necessity during WW2. Afterwards, Pepsi advertised towards the young and hip, making it popular. Coke refused change. Pepsi did the pepsi challenge. Coke changed their formula, which caused outrage. They changed it back, and made more money.

11x83 - More Doomsday Tech

First case of doomsday tech is Asteroids. Then comets. The difference between asteroids and comets is that asteroids are pieces of planets. While comets just kind of appear, giving them a few months or years to prepare. Deflection is by nudging the comet out of the way.

The second doomsday tech is biochemical. That smallpox has been eliminated, but kept in storage to observe. Russia has these giant cauldrons of it. They also have ICBM with pounds of anthrax to destroy a city. A 'what-if' scenario is terrorists infecting themselves with smallpoxs and going into airports. 10 days later, the symptoms occur. To fight smallpox, you infect a person with cowpox, which helps build the immune system for the fight. If a chemical attack occurred, cities have a facility which can attend to the infected in 12 hours, and decontaminate them.

The third is the food we eat, and the rise in food related illnesses. It was originally believed that one gene equaled one effect. But in 2000, they realized that each gene does different effects. We were originally believed to have 100,000 genes. We only have 30,000.