2023-10-12
19 分钟Prices go up. Occasionally, prices go down. But for 70 years, the price of a bottle of Coca-Cola didn't change. From 1886 until the late 1950s, a bottle of coke cost just a nickel. On today's show, we find out why. The answer includes a half a million vending machines, a 7.5 cent coin, and a company president who just wanted to get a couple of lawyers out of his office. This episode originally ran in 2012.This episode was hosted by David Kestenbaum. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Hey, it's Nick Fountain.
Today we're going to replay one of my absolute favorite episodes.
It first ran in 2012.
Here it is.
This is planet money from NPR.
You know what the price of a Coca Cola was in 1886, a nickel.
In 1900, still a nickel.
Ten years later, 1910, a nickel.
1920, a nickel.
1930, a nickel.
1940, a nickel.
1950, a nickel.
As late as 1959, you could buy a six and a half ounce bottle of Coca Cola for one nickel.
And for economists, this is a total freak of nature kind of thing.
Prices you can read in any textbook are supposed to go up and down.
The price of gasoline goes up and down depending on how much is available, how many people want it, how hard it is to get out of the ground.
The price of a television depends on how expensive the components are to make and the price of labor.
The price of butter goes up and down.
Corn, cars, houses, everything.
Prices change.