Pepsi's Surprising 1989 Military Role 🌍

In 1989, Pepsi briefly became the 6th largest military force in the world—but not in the way you’d expect. The Soviet Union wanted to continue importing Pepsi, but couldn’t pay in dollars due to Cold War restrictions. So instead, they bartered: they gave Pepsi a fleet of 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer in exchange for soda. Pepsi didn’t keep the warships—they sold them for scrap—but for a moment, Pepsi owned more military equipment than many countries. A company with a navy… all for cola.