David Michael Burrow

Mr. Burrow enjoys collecting Pepsi memorabilia. The first item in his collection was a Soviet Pepsi bottle. He bought the Pepsi for 35 kopeks (plus a 5 kopek deposit) when he visited the USSR in 1985. Since then he has added bottles and cans from many different countries--from Israel and Egypt to Japan to Iceland.

He also owns several landmark and souvenir bottles and cans from the USA, as well as assorted other items sporting various Pepsi logos. These include cups and mugs, toy trucks and cars, coolers and snack tins, puzzles and trading cards, soccer balls and hockey pucks--just to name a few. Among the more recent additions are Pepsi-logo baseball gloves given to him by a former student who played ball professionally and a neon clock that was a gift from his quiz bowl team. By far the largest item in Mr. Burrow's collection is a discarded convenience store cooler that was rescued, restored, and given to him by two of his students.

When pressed, Mr. Burrow admits that he doesn't really like Pepsi all that much. At home he mostly drinks water or juice, and he prefers citrus drinks like Squirt and Fresca to colas. What's more, when he does drink cola, it is almost always Diet Pepsi, rather than the full-sugar version whose logo he collects. The Russian connection started it, though, and the collection continues to grow with the help of numerous contributions from friends, relatives, and students.

Part of David Burrow's Pepsi collection