Terms Which Have Disappeared

[LizzieMaine]

I remember that phrase from my days in the military.
Cigarettes sold for 20¢ a pack at the base exchange.

Big Tobacco and the military had a very cozy arrangement from the World War I era forward -- thus ensuring a steady stream of new customers. If you weren't a smoker when you were drafted/enlisted, it was a near-certainty that you'd be one when you were discharged.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Is it true, as I've heard, that coca leaf is still used in the making of Coca-Cola, but it is "decocanized," meaning that the drug is removed?

Correct. "Merchandise No. 5" in the Coca-Cola formula is a decoction of decocainized coca leaf prepared in alcohol. The coca leaf is prepared at a facility in New Jersey that's the only factory in the US licensed to process coca for medical purposes -- Coca-Cola buys the residue. There's been no actual cocaine in Coke since 1903.

Merchandise No. 5 also originally contained extract of kola nuts, which was the source of most of the caffeine in the drink. But the company reduced the caffeine content at the same time the cocaine was eliminated by eliminating the kola extract and replacing it with a smaller amount of a synthesized caffeine extract. It was the elimination of kola that allowed the word "Cola" to become a generic word for any Coke-like beverage instead of a protected part of a registered trademark.

Diet Coke doesn't contain "Merchandise No. 5", nor did "New Coke." A major part of the reason for the whole New Coke debacle was to reduce the cost of the formula by eliminating No. 5 -- the cost of coca leaf skyrocketed during the '80s, and the company was feeling the pinch.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Shell shock -> Battle fatigue-> Post traumatic stress disorder

I don't have a problem with medical practitioners using clinical rather than colloquial terms. I'm not sure why it bothers people to be told they have an "impacted third molar" rather than a "toothache" or they have "diarrhea" rather than "the runs".

 

[tonyb]

I don't have a problem with medical practitioners using clinical rather than colloquial terms. I'm not sure why it bothers people to be told they have an "impacted third molar" rather than a "toothache" or they have "diarrhea" rather than "the runs".

I'm not bothered by it, either. Not a bit. We're all capable of understanding those terms, and in understanding them we gain a clearer understanding of our health conditions.

Still, there are certain diagnoses that tell us more about the diagnoser than the diagnosed. The mental health fields offer plenty examples.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I'm not bothered by it, either. Not a bit. We're all capable of understanding those terms, and in understanding them we gain a clearer understanding of our health conditions.

Still, there are certain diagnoses that tell us more about the diagnoser than the diagnosed. The mental health fields offer plenty examples.

Perhaps, but I don't see how describing someone as "shell shocked" is any more informative than a clinical diagnosis of PTSD. Using colloquial "catch all" phrases by untrained individuals may tell us "more", but it's often terribly wrong information.

I think too often people want label every "new to them" term as political correctness run amok and to excuse lazy thinking by saying "I'm not PC". First, it shows a remarkable misunderstanding of what "political correctness" is, and secondly, it's mostly just an excuse to act like an ass.

 

[tonyb]

Perhaps, but I don't see how describing someone as "shell shocked" is any more informative than a clinical diagnosis of PTSD. Using colloquial "catch all" phrases by untrained individuals may tell us "more", but it's often terribly wrong information.

I think too often people want label every "new to them" term as political correctness run amok and to excuse lazy thinking by saying "I'm not PC". First, it shows a remarkable misunderstanding of what "political correctness" is, and secondly, it's mostly just an excuse to act like an ass.

Of course. I'm hoping you aren't suggesting I'm the sort to engage in that mindless sort of thinking you describe in your closing paragraph. Changing ways of referring to phenomena reflect changing thinking on those phenomena. Those who object to any line of reasoning really ought address that line of reasoning. But, as you say, they are lazy. So they resort to name calling.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Of course. I'm hoping you aren't suggesting I'm the sort to engage in that mindless sort of thinking you describe in your closing paragraph.

Oh no, of course not. I was simply making a general observation, not accusing you of that thinking. My apologies if it came across that way.

 

[BlueTrain]

Remember, more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette. It was right after the war. A young couple on the veranda light up. Why, Bob, you've changed your brand. Yes, remember during the war when we smoked whatever we could get....

A funny thing about advertising is that you remember the advertising so well, yet the advertising itself had zero effect on your as far as consuming the product. Nor did others consuming the product either, sometimes. I never smoked while I was in the army nor did I drink coffee. But when one place I worked started providing free coffee, I started drinking it and I drink a lot. When I was little, however, all the adults I knew would drink one cup (not a big mug) with dinner and that was it. I probably drink at least a quart every morning and it still isn't enough to keep me awake all day.

 

[tonyb]

... I never smoked while I was in the army nor did I drink coffee. But when one place I worked started providing free coffee, I started drinking it and I drink a lot. When I was little, however, all the adults I knew would drink one cup (not a big mug) with dinner and that was it. I probably drink at least a quart every morning and it still isn't enough to keep me awake all day.

My mother got a pre-pubescent me addicted to the stuff. In fairness, it should noted that she never forced coffee on me, but coffee was always "on," seemingly. Among our people, everyone had a percolator, and if the coffee had been in the pot too long it got poured out and a fresh pot was made. It was never forbidden, although as a little kid I didn't care for the taste. Always did like the smell, though.

If I go more than a few waking hours without coffee I get a headache. Fortunately, coffee is cheap enough, and so readily available, that my addiction to it presents few difficulties in my life or in the lives of those stuck dealing with me.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I always thought coffee tasted like burnt pencils and still do. Tea on the other hand...

 

[Bushman]

I always thought coffee tasted like burnt pencils and still do. Tea on the other hand...

Tea I need a buttload of sugar to enjoy. Not so much with coffee. I prefer coffee with a lot of cream and sugar, but I can drink it black as well.

 

[BlueTrain]

I might agree that coffee tasted like burnt pencils, only that's one of many things I've never tasted, which includes dishwater and paint thinner, in spite of having recently used paint thinner as a reference. So I really don't know what paint thinner tastes like but the aroma isn't bad.

We drank iced tea by the gallon when I was little, always sweetened. I never noticed anyone drinking hot tea. The way I drink coffee is black but sweetened to just this side of syrupy.

 

[Trenchfriend]

I always thought coffee tasted like burnt pencils and still do. Tea on the other hand...

I'm not thinking about ugly german filtrecoffee, with the harsh taste, coming from the filter-bag. Brrrgs.

No, on average, instantcoffee tastes better, to me, even the cheapest spray-dried storebrand-instantcoffee! Important is, that you find the right amount of sugar for the current sort. If your coffee is still too "harsh", just give one further spoon sugar in it and everything is ok.

My Bio/Fairtrade-instantcoffee (freeze-dried) from Tanzania got a wonderful fruity, smokey, aromatic taste. The trick is, to give three spoons of sugar in a whole coffee-mug, instead of the usual two spoons. And this coffee haven't got the seemingly usual lack of coffeine, like the other instantcoffees.

And turkish-brewed filtrecoffee, as the old basic version, is still very popular in East-Germany. And it tastes much better, in compare to the machines filtercoffee, because you don't have the taste of the filter-bag in it.

Mokka from the Bialetti tastes nice, too. But, this coffee got seemsingly no coffeine-effect. To me, it's the same on real Espresso from a Espresso-machine.

My favorite is stíll the aromatic instantcoffee from Tanzania.

And the smell, like from heaven. Mmmmmmh...

 

[2jakes]

The way I drink coffee is black but sweetened to just this side of syrupy.

When I would take my ma to her favorite cafe in the mornings.
She also liked her coffee "syrupy".

I teased her after the fifth
spoon of sweetener in her cup...
"Ma...I’ve noticed that you like coffee in your cup of sugar!"

She smiled, but I got the impression that she had no
idea of what I was saying.

I lost her this Jan.
& I miss her so much!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Like my coffee black..no cream or sugar. I'm hooked on Cracker Barrel coffee with it's unique flavor sold by the bag in their country store.
My oldest Daughter bought me her favorite summertime drink from Starbucks a few years ago. Iced coffee with a dash of caramel. I still like to pick one up on occasion when on the bike ( Actually I could probably drink it every day ). Good stuff
HD

 

[EngProf]

Proper tea protocol:
1) brew with lots of sugar
2) let cool
3) pour into tall glass
4) add lots of ice
5) add more sugar
6) add lots of lemon
7) drink with crispy fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, and hot biscuits !!!

 

[tonyb]

When I would take my ma to her favorite cafe in the mornings.
She also liked her coffee prepared
the way you do.

I always teased her after the fifth
spoon of sweetener in her cup...
"Ma...I’ve noticed that you like coffee in your cup of sugar!"

She smiled, but I got the impression that she had no
clue of what I was saying.

I lost her this Jan.
& I miss her so much!

Sorry to hear of her passing. How old was she?

 

[tonyb]

In Seattle, where Starbucks originated and is headquartered, the rap on its coffee used to be that it is over-roasted. But that's been quite some number of years ago.

It seems that people have become habituated to very dark roasts. I know that I have. I typically drink my coffee on ice, and I judge a coffee's quality by how it tastes cold, which isn't entirely fair to most robusta varieties, which in my estimation are much better hot than cold.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I'm not so fond of Starbuck's hot coffees, especially those doctored up with foamy cream, etc. However, their iced coffee with that over roasted (?) tang is kind of more enticing when sweetened with a shot of caramel over ice.
HD

 

[ChiTownScion]

I never touched coffee until I was 27, out of law school, and working a midnight shift for a job which I was vastly overqualified... while working a day job in my field- technically as an attorney- for minimum wage. It kept me going- "addictive" or otherwise.