100-Year-Old Coke Bottle Is About to Become a Movie Star
The Coca-Cola bottle, with its distinctive contoured glass, was created a century ago as a way for the soft drink company to give its product a competitive edge. As the company website explains, “In 1915, Coca-Cola attempted to fend off a host of copycat brands by strengthening its trademark. The company and its bottling partners issued a creative challenge to a handful of U.S. glass companies: To develop a “bottle so distinct that you would recognize if by feel in the dark or lying broken on the ground.”
The winning design, created by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Ind., worked — so well, in fact, that a century later the company is still using that basic concept to market its signature brand. Coca-Cola this year is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the bottle — and its influence in pop art and other realms — through a global advertising campaign, art exhibitions and a photo book, among other avenues.
Now the bottle and its history will also be the subject of a new “authorized” documentary, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (Coke will help pay for the movie’s marketing.)
Related: Why the Soda Industry Is Still Full of Hot Air
“When I can hold up a Coca-Cola bottle and ask, ‘is this art or is this commerce?’ and most commonly hear ‘it’s both,’ that sets the stage for an intriguing narrative,” the movie’s producer and co-director, Matthew Miele, told THR.
That narrative could include how the Coke bottle became the first commercial product to make it to the cover of Time magazine in 1950, or how it provided fodder for artists like Andy Warhol — and, especially if the film touches on today’s backlash against soda, it might even mention that the 10- and 12-ounce bottles that made their debut in 1955 were called “King Size” and a 26-ounce bottle was marketed as “Family Size.”
Miele and his team reportedly hope their documentary will premiere in November to coincide with the Nov. 16, 1915 date that the bottle design first won a patent.
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This Computer Only Costs $9
It's smaller than a credit card yet powerful enough to act like a super cheap PC. How cheap? It costs less than $10.
C.H.I.P. is a micro-computer that allows you to surf the Web, check email over Wi-Fi and play games with a Bluetooth controller. The minicomputer—basically a chip that hooks up to an external monitor—has a 1 GHz processor, 4GBs of storage and 512MB of RAM, according to its Kickstarter page.
The Next Thing Co., a company based in Oakland, Calif., began a Kickstarter campaign for the C.H.I.P. computer in May with a funding goal of $50,000.
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It has since blown past that goal, and by a large factor. The campaign has brought in just under $690,000 and counting as of Monday morning. The fundraising campaign ends June 6.
The small computer is designed for a mass audience, including students, teachers, grandparents, children, artists, makers, hackers and inventors, according to its Kickstarter page.
Raspberry Pi is another full-functioning, no-frills computer. Like C.H.I.P., the Raspberry Pi is basically a computer chip that plugs into a computer monitor or TV. It costs $35 and uses a standard keyboard and mouse.
Raspberry Pi teaches users how to program in languages like Scratch and Python.
This article originally appeared on CNBC.
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Craigslist Car Scams Are on the Rise, Especially in Midwest
An insurance group is warning consumers of a widespread scam in which fraudsters are buying cars on Craigslist with bogus checks.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau has identified nearly 100 instances throughout the Midwest of Craigslist car sales in which the buyers used fake bank checks.
“These scams are well organized and have all the appearances of being legitimate,” NCIB President and CEO Joe Wehrle said in a statement. “But in the end, the criminal gets the car and the sellers or their financial institutions are left on the hook for thousands of dollars still owed on the car.”
Related: A New Vicious Scam Targets Desperate Homeowners
The scam appears to be especially prevalent in states where vehicle owners retain the title despite an outstanding lien. NCIB, a nonprofit supported by the insurance industry, advises car sellers never to sign over the title until they have the money for the sale in hand, even if that means waiting a week or more for a check to clear.
Craigslist offers its own list of tips to avoid scams. Remember, the online marketplace offers no guarantees regarding items bought or sold via its site and little recourse if you are the victim of a scam.
The site’s No. 1 tip is to do all transactions in person. A growing number of police stations now offer dedicated space for people meeting in person for transactions they’ve agreed to online.
Those with information about insurance fraud or vehicle theft can anonymously report it by calling 800-835-6422 or texting keyword “fraud” to TIP411.
15 Restaurants Offering Free Food for Moms on Mother’s Day
Your Mom was the one who taught you to head straight for the clearance racks. Show her how much you've learned by taking her out for some deliciously cheap eats before taking a free garden tour.
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Mother's Day Freebies 2015
- Beef O'Brady's: Free Meal with purchase of equal or greater value up to $10
- Billy Sims BBQ: Free Single Meat Sandwich, Side and Drink
- Brick House Tavern & Tap: Free Brunch Entree with Entree Purchase (reservations required)
- Chuck E. Cheese's: Free Individual Thin & Crispy Pizza with $29.99 purchase of Large 1 Topping Pizza, 4 Drinks & 30 Tokens (requires printable coupon, exp. 6/1)
- Corner Bakery: Free 6 Pack Bottoms Up Bundts with Entree Purchase (printable coupon, exp 5/11)
- Fogo de Chao: Free Lunch or Dinner on Next Visit for Moms who dine on Mother's Day
- Hooters: Free Meal with Drink Purchase (up to $10.99)
- Hurricane Grill & Wings: Free Dessert with Entree Purchase
- McCormick & Schmick's: Free Chocolate-Covered Strawberry with your order
- National Public Gardens Day: Free admission 5/8, with many activities continued through Mother's Day
- Orange Leaf: Free 8-oz. Froyo
- PDQ: Free Combo Meal with purchase of a Kids/Combo Meal
- Shoney's: Free Slice of Strawberry Pie with your order
- Spaghetti Warehouse: Free Strawberry Lemonade and Surprise Gift
- Tijuana Flats: Free Entree (must show offer to redeem)
As always, local participation may vary, so call ahead to check - and then make reservations if you can.
This article originally appeared in The Brad's Deals Blog.
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This Disease Hikes Health Care Costs By More than $10,000 a Year
Medical professionals and economists have been worried about the growing prevalence of diabetes for years. A new report shows their concerns are well placed. In 2013, the per capita health care bills of consumers with diabetes was $15,000, nearly 71 percent ($10,700) higher than those without the disease, according to the Healthcare Cost Institute.
The brunt of those bills are borne by health care providers, but consumers with diabetes have per capita out-of-pocket costs of $1,922, compared to just $738 for those who do not have diabetes.
For those under the age of 65, health care expenses grew an average 4.1 percent from 2012 to 2013, but the increase was even higher among children, who saw expenses rise 7 percent from 2011 to 2012 and then another 9.6 percent from 2012 to 2013.
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“There has been extraordinary growth in health spending for children with diabetes,” HCCI senior research Amanda Frost said in a statement, citing branded insulin as one factor in the increase.
For children, the costs go beyond medication. A 2012 study in Health Affairs found that people who develop diabetes before age 30 make less money than their peers, are more likely to drop out of high school and less likely to attend college.
One of the most widespread chronic diseases in the United States, diabetes care consumes about 10 percent of U.S. health care spending, according to a study by the University of Michigan.
This College Choice Could Make You $3Million Richer
The differences in starting salaries for STEM majors versus those who study the humanities have been widely publicized. Now, a new study looks at how those differences add up over a lifetime of earnings – and the results are staggering.
The lowest paid graduates, early childhood education majors, earn just $39,000 annually mid-career, while the highest paid petroleum engineering majors, make an average of $136,000 per year. Over a career, that difference amounts to more than $3 million, according to the report The Economic Value of College Majors by economists at Georgetown University.
Among the major fields of study, architecture and engineering students earn highest average salary--$83,000 per year, and education majors earn the lowest--$45,000 per year.
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The study finds that generally it’s still worth it to go to college. The average bachelor’s degree holder makes $1 million more over a lifetime than a person with just a high school diploma.
A separate report released last fall by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the value of a bachelor’s degree has reached an all-time high of around $300,000. Researchers found that it takes about 10 years to recoup the cost of a degree, a historically low level, down from close to 25 years in the late 1970s and 1980s.
So those education majors should still go to college, but they might be smart to look for more moderately priced options and to be more wary about taking on debt than their engineering peers.