Coca-Cola has reached a level of brand-recognition envied by many companies. There aren’t many places you can’t grab a Coke — if you’re driving through Djibouti and get a craving for a Coke, guess what? You can pick one up even in this semi-desert in Africa. That’s the kind of power Coke has; when aliens arrive on Earth, they’ll be like, “Oh, you guys have Coke too? That’s neat.”
Apparently, Coca-Cola was designated as a medicine when John Pemberton invented it back in 1885. He promoted it as ‘brain tonic and intellectual beverage,’ keeping the recipe under wraps but not hiding the fact that it contained a secret extracted from the coca leaf and caffeine from kola nuts (ergo, the name Coca-Cola). During Prohibition, it became popular as a ‘soft’ drink as people enjoyed its taste, without the added addictive stimulants, of course.
Sandwich
We can all thank poker for the accidental invention of sandwiches, which are perhaps America's favorite lunch food. John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, was settled at the gambling table and unwilling to leave, so he requested something to munch while he continued playing cards.
His cook brought him meat sandwiched between two slices of bread. The Earl was a fan, and soon the dish became popular, eventually being named after the town where its original eater was from. Nowadays, of course, sandwiches come in every style and shape; their convenience and ease of making are just some things we most love about them.
Yogurt
Before Stonehenge was erected, before the Egyptians built the pyramids, we made yogurt before we even invented the wheel! Evidence suggests yogurt existed as early as 6,000 BC. Our Neolithic ancestors began domesticating livestock, put some goat milk in a leather pouch, and after a while in the sun, yogurt was made - similar to cheese, by the way.
Since then, almost every culture (pun intended) and the country has begun to consume yogurt - whether it's topped with fruit and granola, served as a blended drink with rosewater, or used in recipes.
Granny Smith Apples
Granny Smith apples are amazing because: they're practically never mealy; they have a long shelf life. Whether they're raw or baked, they're still delicious.
"Granny" Smith was a real Australian lady that lived around the 1830s named Maria Ann Smith who tossed a bunch of rotten crabapples out of her kitchen window and into her backyard; these grew into a tree that accidentally spawned a different type of apple, her namesake apple. A very good apple indeed. So she patented it, and it soon became the most popular cooking apple around the world.
Slurpee
Slurpees are yet another snack food invented by accident. Omar Knedlik owned an old Dairy Queen in Kansas City in the late-1950s, and the machinery wasn't working well. When the soda fountain was acting up, he put some bottles in the freezer to keep them cold.
He probably left them in there too long, as when he opened them to serve, they had a slushy consistency rather than liquid. Customers liked them, though, and he began to receive requests for them. Now the movie theater and gas station staples make for the sweetest of sweet treats, perfect for when summer temperatures soar.