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Happy President’s Day!!! And what is more “presidential” than a selfie of Bill and I from my trip to the White House this past summer? Not much, let me tell you, HA!
Anyway…I have a confession to make. Since living in central Arkansas I have been to the Clinton Presidential Library all of three times and each was for an event I was invited to at the center. I really need to step up my local game…especially since one of my blogging goals was to get local and see more of my surroundings!! HA!!
Last week I was invited to the library for an event honoring the 100th anniversary of Coca Cola and McDonalds. As many of you probably already know, I am an ambassador for Central Arkansas McDonalds and have loved every part of the “job” especially nights like these when I get to learn all kinds of cool stuff about McDonalds and Coca Cola!
Did you know that there is no official contract between Coke and McDonalds? The agreement was settled with a handshake and a promise and those have held true for 100 years. That’s pretty amazing!!
Coca Cola in a glass bottle. Does anything taste better? I think not!
While nothing tastes as good as Coke in a cold glass bottle I do think that a Coca Cola you get from a McDonalds is a close second. McDonalds Coke’s are held to the five attributes that Coca Cola outlines for their world-renowned, high quality beverages and they are:
- Ratio- believe it or not there is a proper ratio of syrup to water for a true, gold standard drink.
- Temperature- McDonalds has their drink system calibrated at a constant cold temp to ensue the finished Coke product is always at the correct temp
- Taste- McDonalds has a special water filtration system in place to ensure that their drinks are always free of odor or anything that would make it taste off.
- Carbonation- the water and syrup that are being mixed are always pre-chilled before going into the fountain dispenser so that they always have a sharp bite and sparkle of good carbonation.
- Age of Syrup/Concentrate- McDonalds sells so many Coca Cola products that they can always guarantee that the syrup is fresh and so the end result will be too
McDonalds also has specially designed straws that are nice and wide so that all of your taste buds are satisfied with every drink. All of this Coke talk has me craving a quick trip to McD’s for lunch!! Good thing there is one 3 minutes from my house, HA!!
After learning about the relationship between McDonalds and Coca Cola, and how they keep their Coke tasting so fresh, we got to tour the Clinton Library’s Coca Cola display, Coca-Cola An American Original. The tour started with this amazing display of 3D printed coke bottle spirals. There were almost 1000 of these spiral that were hung from the ceiling!! How awesome is that???
The first exhibit we saw was about the evolution of the Coke bottle. It was neat to see how the shape of the bottle has changed and leaner the process of why it was changed so much to bottle we know and love today. Believe it or not, there is a reason it is shaped the way it is.
Here is the display featuring all of the official Coke bottles from first bottle to the most current.
It was also really cool to see all different iconic bottles on display…I may need to start collecting Coke bottles???
I also fell in love with this huge pop art display of a Coke bottle. If you look through a special eye piece at one end of the display you will see the whole bottle put together as if in one piece.
After touring the upstairs exhibit we went downstairs to check out Coca Cola art throughout the years. i keep forgetting to mention that our whole tour was led by Ted Ryan who is the director of Heritage Communications at The Coca-Cola Company. That’s right, one of the best Coca Cola Historians was in Little Rock AR to lead us on a tour of a Coca Cola Exhibit. Mind = blown. Also- how do I get a cool job like that???
In the downstairs exhibit we got to see all sorts of awesome Coca Cola paintings and art that has been used in print ads throughout the years. Did you know that when an artist completed a painting for Coca Cola they never painted the bottles in? The painting was sent to Coca Cola and they had their artists paint in the current bottle. How neat is that??
And here is one of my favorite Normal Rockwell pieces made into a display…
…how cute!!
If you want to check out the Coca Cola exhibit at the Clinton Library then you better get there ASAP because today is the last day it will be there!! And if you do choose to go then today is your lucky day because since today is President’s Day you get FREE admission to the Clinton Library!!
Have you seen the Coca Cola exhibit at the Clinton Library??
Did you know that McDonalds and Coke had such an amazing relationship??
What an awesome event this sounds like! How lucky that you got to go :)
WOW that is amazing that there is no contract! Now a days that would never happen. I love that they did that and still keep that promise!
How cool is this exhibit! I live in Ohio, have never been to Arkansas and therefore have never been to the Clinton Library. I had no idea there was a Coca-Cola exhibit there! Thank you for sharing this event (and information) with us.
We visit the Little Rock area at least a couple times a year but I have never been to the Clinton library. I live near the George Bush library in Dallas and have been to that one so I’ll have to make a point to visit the Clinton one too.
I didn’t know that Coca-Cola has a very rich history. That would be a great place for the Coca-Cola fans.
Oh how cool! It’s been a while since I’ve seen a glass bottle but apparently you can still get them in certain places. I’d love checking out the Coca Cola display.
Looks like a really fun event! Who knew a handshake 100 years ago would still hold up today! How cool!
Awesome! I love the Coca-cola bottle display! I got to see some of those commemorative bottles but I never thought of saving or preserving them. Thanks for a great President’s day activity suggestion.
What an interesting event. It must have been cool seeing all those Coca Cola memorabilia.
How cool is this. Sound like a amazing event i love the coca cola bottle design
Those Coke bottle spirals are amazing! I would love to be able to see that. I think this would be a wonderful place to be able to see. How neat!! Sounds like a great event.
What an awesome exhibit! I am loving all your pictures. Thank you for sharing.
How terrific to celebrate this wonderful holiday in that place. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
What a cool exhibit. My uncle worked for Coke for many years and they gave their employees some incredible gifts and awards. I don’t drink a lot of pop, but there is something magical about Coke in a glass bottle.
Wow who knew there were so many fun facts! I love the contract between coke and Mcdonalds, only a handshake, that would never work these days.
My grandmother has everything Coca Cola in her house that you could possibly imagine! I think she would have loved to attend an event such as this! The history alone in Coco Cola will keep you intrigued and coming back for more! Thank you for sharing! ~MS for Kelli
It sounds like you had a great time. I don’t care for coke very often. I do enjoy it from the glass bottles though.
This would be a great way to spend the afternoon. I love to enjoy a Coke in a glass bottle. It reminds me of my youth.
Coke always does taste good at McDonalds. It’s usually the only thing I ever get from there, but really enjoy their Coke.
What a super interesting tour.
We use to have some of those Santa and CocaCola pictures. I loved them.
Happy President’s day. I really want to enjoy a nice cold Coke now. =)
I never knew that the relationship between coke and McDonald’s was never official. I think it’s really cool how even after all these years it has stood the test of time.
I’ve never seen the Coca Cola exhibit at the Clinton Library, but we’ve been to the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta and there were amazing things and facts that we saw there too. Love those spiral. So pretty!
I’ve never been there before, but it sounds like you had a great time! I love all of the Coca Cola memorabilia.
Wow! Coca Cola has been here for so many years! It’s fun to see all those different bottles from way back!
That is very interesting – I had NO idea about the process. I always think Coke tastes better from a fountain YUM!