The 1.25-litre soft drink has been an Australian institution for decades. Order a pizza, grab a bottle of Pepsi, Coke or Fanta to match that large Hawaiian. Hit the supermarket, stock up on lemonade, tonic water and ginger ale for the long weekend. Sadly, much like the elves of Middle-Earth, the 1.25-litre is, gradually, departing these lands, at least in the case of Schweppes.

There are few people who haven't heard of Fanta. It's one of the world's most popular soft drinks and a beloved staple at kids' birthday parties. Despite its huge brand recognition, many people don't realise that the product originated in Nazi Germany - just like the Volkswagen Beetle.

Coca-Cola was originally marketed as a nerve tonic and substitute for morphine. No, really. Over the past 130-odd years, consumers have used the beverage as a DIY solution for almost every problem you can imagine. This infographic looks at 50 alternate uses for Coke; from neutralising jellyfish stings to cleaning your toilet.

Soft drinks are regularly cited as one of the top causes of obesity and tooth decay in Australia: yet we still quaff them by the gallon. You know it's bad for you - you may have even tried to quit - but that highly addictive sugar hit will always have you in its thrall.

This infographic breaks down the sugar content in five popular drinks; from Coke to Powerade. The ranking might actually surprise you. (Who would have thought a certain iced tea would be worse than Red Bull?)

Han Solo: Dastardly rogue, charming swindler, cocky pilot, self-assured prick. We've known this much since Star Wars first flew into view in 1977. Now, Star Wars has wound the clock all the way back to tell the story of how Han Solo came to be all those adjectives with Solo: A Star Wars Story.

This is definitely a Star Wars film - and while that will give the legions of disgruntled Last Jedi fans something to hold on to - it works to Solo's detriment.

Dear Lifehacker, Everyone is saying artificial sweeteners like aspartame are bad for you, and now Diet Pepsi is removing it. Should I worry about how much diet soft drink I've been drinking? What health hazard have I been exposing myself to all these years? And should I worry about the new sweetener that's replacing it?

Today, Coca-Cola launched Coca-Cola No Sugar in Australia - a new diet version of its popular soft drink that purports to taste much better than Coke Zero. We'll be the judge of that.

In a bid to entice sugar spurning customers back into the soft drink fold, Coca-Cola is replacing Coke Zero with a completely new formula. The rebranded 'Coca-Cola No Sugar' purports to have a taste profile that's nearly indistinguishable from the "real thing". Here are the details.

Sugar-laden soft drinks are one of the biggest causes of obesity in the western world. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australians drink a whopping 100 litres of soft drink per head each year and we're getting fatter as a result. If you've grown a (ginger) beer belly in recent years, it's probably time to cut soft drinks from your diet for good. This infographic provides 12 proven weaning tactics to help you quit.

It's no secret that soft drink is bad for your teeth, but some are a lot worse than others. Turns out, citrus-flavoured soft drinks like Mountain Dew can have more teeth-rotting power than most colas.

Pepsi Max will soon be dead. In a bid to reverse tanking sales, PepsiCo has made the unusual decision to re-brand the diet soft drink as "Pepsi Zero Sugar". Apparently, a significant segment of the population didn't realise is was sugar-free so they're spelling it out on the label. (With any luck, this will mean an end to those stupid "live life to the max" adverts. Hurrah!)

Video: You probably know that soft drink isn't the best thing for your body, but have you ever wondered what would happen if you didn't drink anything else? These are the health hazards you might run into if you down too many cans of Coke.

Dear Lifehacker, I drink one can of Coke Zero each day and close to two litres of water. I drink the Coke for the caffeine as I do not like coffee. Could you supply some nutritional info on the differences between coffee and Coke Zero? The benefit for me is the caffeine.

Today, Coca-Cola's iconic Contour bottle turned the ripe old age of 100. To celebrate, we've hand-picked 25 Coke articles from the Lifehacker archives, including taste tests, cleaning hacks and instructions on how to brew your own. Cheers!

Dear Lifehacker, I recently cut sugar from my diet and swapped to stevia-based sweeteners in a bid to lose weight. So far it's working (2kg in one week!) However, one thing that isn't clear to me is how stevia affects tooth decay. Is it safe to swish this stuff around in my mouth, or should I still be using a straw?

I've been drinking soft drinks since I was a kid and can't get enough of the stuff -- Coke, Fanta, Pepsi, Sprite, RC Cola, Bisleri Chinotto, you name it. As I hit my mid-20s I'm beginning to wonder what all that sugar and caffeine is doing to my insides. Are there any healthy alternatives I can try? (And DON'T say water!)

The makers of V energy drink have unveiled a new flavour to kick off the spring. It's called V Carnival and it's an unmitigated disaster. Read on for our shell-shocked verdict.

Slow Cow is a "relaxation beverage" that purportedly provides the opposite effect of an energy drink. Instead of revving the imbiber up on a cocktail of caffeine, sugar, taurine and guarana, it attempts to wind them down via a tonic of natural relaxatives. As Lifehacker's chief energy drink addict, I cracked open a can of this so-called "mind coolant" to see what would happen.

In the land down under, colas are king. But which brand of cola?