大象传媒

I started school in September 1945 with the war just ended, but with American troops still stationed in Britain. A story went round the school thet Americans drank coke! This seemed a very strange thing to do; it looked as if it would taste horrible. A few of us decided to try it nevertheless. If Americans did it then so could we.
The school boiler was coke fired, and a lorry arrived regularly from the gasworks and tipped its load of coke near the cellar which housed the boiler. One day at playtime we got an empty school milk bottle and a piece of coke. We tried in vain to crush it. Coke looks to be a crumbly and honeycombed material, but it proved to be surprisingly strong. It could not be crushed underfoot. Even five year old boys with steel reinforced shoe heels could not crush it.
We returned to the heap of coke and found enough coke dust to put a small amount in our milk bottle. Next we visited the toilets and added a small amount of water. The mixture was shaken. It did not look like a nice drink. But Americans drank it so it must be all right.
The bottle was passed around and everybody took a swig. This was followed by spluttering. It did taste horrible! Nobody wanted a second mouthful. We decided that Americans must be mad.

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