Learn more about The Real Thing


I had to learn a lot of stuff about Coca-Cola and all sorts of other things to write this book.

Here's some stuff you might not have known about this book.
Permission from The Coca Cola Company
A lot of people ask me if we had to get permission to use the brand name Coca-Cola in this book. We didn't need to, legally, but we did send the book to them before it was published in case there was anything they objected to. (There wasn't).
They did object initially to our use of the Coke shaped bottle on the front cover, but graciously allowed us to use it in the end.
The Turtle Dove
This is the name of a boat in this book. I took the name from an old Coca-Cola advertising jingle. You may know it, it went "I'd like to teach the world to sing". You can find the rest of the lyrics and a really interesting history of the advertisement here.
Making Coca-Cola
I had to learn a lot about how they made Coca-Cola to write this book. I learned a lot from the Coca-Cola website here (take the virtual plant tour), and I got other information from the production manager at Coca-Cola Amatil in Auckland, John Wright, who was incrediby helpful.

Harry S Truman
The real Harry Truman was a president of the USA, and yes his middle name was "S". Here is what President Truman himself said about this:

"I was supposed to be named Harrison Shippe Truman, taking the middle name from my paternal grandfather. Others in my family wanted my middle name to be Solomon, taken from my maternal grandfather. But apparently no agreement could be reached and my name was recorded and stands simply as Harry S Truman."
The Coca-Cola Three
Is it true that there are only two or three people in the world who know the formula for Coca-Cola?
It's part of the mystique of Coke but who really knows if it is true. There is an interesting article about it here.
Controllable Pitch Screws
In the chapter "Collision at Sea" I explain about controllable pitch screws. Here is what they look like.