Charles Howard Candler Sr.

I bet you've never heard this one, right? From WBEZ Chicago, This American Life, I'm Ira Glass.

Probably the best story about how protective Coca-Cola is of its secret formula comes in this book that was written by Charles Howard Candler.

Uh, his, uh, dad, Asa, did not invent Coca-Cola but founded the Coca-Cola Company back in 1892.

And, uh, Charles, the son, uh, wrote this, "One of the proudest moments of my life came when my father initiated me into the mysteries of the secret flavoring formula, inducting me into the holy of holies." Uh, Charles then says, "Incredibly, there was no written formula, and the labels had been removed from all the containers of the ingredients, so they were, quote, 'Identified only by sight, smell, and remembering where each was put on the shelf.' And I thereupon experienced the thrill of making up, with his guidance, a batch of Merchandise 7X." Merchandise 7X.