State secrets

In the South, there are some things you just don't ask about. A woman's age, her shoe size, the recipe for a man's bar-b-cue sauce, or the location of his favorite fishing hole are examples of questions that aren't asked in polite company.

Another of the South's most closely guarded secrets is the formula for Coca-Cola. Even their competitors know better than to mess around with that:

ATLANTA - Coca-Cola and Pepsi are usually bitter enemies, but when PepsiCo Inc. got a letter offering to sell Coke trade secrets, it went straight to its corporate rival.

Six weeks later, three people face federal charges of stealing confidential information, including a sample of a new drink, from The Coca-Cola Co. and trying to sell it to PepsiCo Inc.

According to the report, the suspects were arrested after an undercover FBI agent offered $1.5 million for the documents and the sample.

Coca-Cola officials said that the actual formula for Coca-Cola was not taken in the theft. In fact, it is widely held that the secret formula is known to only two Coca-Cola executives at any given time (although contrary to urban myth each knows the entire recipe, not just half). So thankfully, one of the South's best kept secrets is still safe.