I stopped drinking soda when I was a teenager because it’s so unhealthy. Not only is it an expensive alternative to water (which is the best thing for your body — and often free!), but there are many other reasons — at least 22 of them — that may convince you to give up soda, too. 

Even though soda isn’t good for your body, cola, in particular, is good for lots of other things. There’s a seemingly endless list of unusual uses for cola — and probably even more as time goes on — but here are 15 of the best that I’ve found.

1. Dab cola on blood-stained clothing to remove the stain.

2. If you get stung by a jellyfish, there are several ways you can neutralise the pain — like with vinegar, but who has vinegar at the beach? You’ll be able to find a cold cola much faster to alleviate the pain.

3. Small doses of flat (noncarbonated) cola will settle an upset stomach.

4. There are many ways to get rid of the hiccups — my favourite method is to hold my breath for as long as I can while holding my tongue (works most of the time for me) — but apparently gargling with ice-cold cola will work as well.

5. Make your tarnished coins shine again. Drop them in a glass of cola and wait a few hours.

6. Peanut butter will remove gum from hair — but so will cola.

7. Deter bees and other pests from ruining your picnic by pouring a cup of cola and leaving it sit far enough away from your spot so that it attracts the bugs there instead of where you are. The insects will flock to cola because of all the sugar in it.

8. If you’ve run out of expensive toilet bowl cleaner, you can pour cola around the bowl, let it sit for a few minutes, and scrub it clean.

9. Pour a can of cola on your windshield to remove ice in the winter. Beats standing out in the cold, scraping it off while you freeze your bum off.

10. If you boil a can of cola and drink it while it’s still warm, it’s suggest that it will clear up congestion from a cold.

11. Don’t want to spring for expensive hair curling products? Pour a can of flat cola on your locks and let it set for a few minutes. Wash it out for bouncy, beautiful curls.

12. If you have the dubious distinction of being sprayed by a skunk, pour a can (or maybe even a two-liter) of cola from head to toe and wait a few minutes before you rinse it off to help reduce the odor.

13. I don’t advocate the killing of snails or slugs — personally, I think they’re kind of cute — but if you really want to get rid of them the hard way, just pour some cola on the little buggers. Honestly, though, do they really need to die? They won’t hurt you.

14. To remove the black film on any other stains for your pots and pans, use cola. Just boil a can of cola in the dirty pots and pans and let the cola cool before you wash your cookware clean. They’ll come out looking like new.

Have any other interesting ways to use cola? Let me know in the comments below.

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Mikey Rox

Mikey Rox is an award-winning blogger and journalist whose work has been published by more than 100 regional, national and international publications. Consistently, Rox writes for the personal finance blogs Wise Bread and Money Crashers and lifestyle sites such as FlyLyf and Swagr. Rox lives in New York City with his husband and their two dogs. Follow his OMG! moments on Twitter @mikeyrox.

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