I remember the exact moment it hit me. I was in riding a down escalator. I just got back from a dentist appointment and I was doing a little shopping before heading back to school. What!!? You never squeezed an extra hour or two out of an excused absence when you were in high school? The news was bad, very bad: Sixteen cavities— I kid you not. I decided right there and then, I would never drink soda pop again. My decision was based on a simple assumption: sugar and carbonation was eating away the enamel on my teeth. That’s why I got so many cavities. It had to be true; we used Coke in industrial arts class to remove the enamel from our metals projects. Read next feature >