April 23rd: Today in 1985 in a move still regarded as one of the most braindead in its history the Coca-Cola company launched New Coke. The result was immediate, riots in the streets, cats sleeping with dogs, otters in swimming pools, complete anarchy. By July the company relaunched ‘Classic Coke’ and the world began to stabilize on its axis once more. My favorite of the comments received by the company to the change is

When they took Old Coke off the market, they violated my freedom of choice. It’s as basic as the Magna Charta, the Declaration of Independence. We went to war in Japan over that freedom.

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