I grew up in middle Tennessee. We always called everything a "coke." Now I live in Louisville KY and I tend to call it a soda or just by it's name. Dr. Pepper, Coke, Sprite, etc. I do remember my grandmother calling it a "cold drink" or "soft drink." :)
I've relocated to Kansas from Houston, and I hate having to explain to midwesterners that its coke, regardless of what kind of carbonated beverage it is. "Pop" just sounds silly, like I've gone back in time.
Im from Idaho and people i talk to from Cali make fun of me cuz i call it pop. They try to correct me and say its soda. I dont care either way. I guess call it whatever you want to call it!
Neat, they don't have commercials for the off brand sodas(carbonated drinks) here. Unless its an advertisement for Aldi's or Save-A-Lot. It probably does better where you are from than where I live
It depends on where you are from. I'm originally from South Dakota but now live in Florida (for obvious reasons!). In Florida I call it Soda but if I go to South Dakota and call it soda they look at you like you have three heads. They know it as Pop. So I say both depending on where I am at the time.
As a southerner from Geoergia, anything you drink we called "a drink". When it came to a cola we called it "a coke". My favorite name for a coke is "co-cola" very few people from my age group from Georgia called it " a coka-cola.
Nice to see some other Southerners on the board! I grew up in middle Georgia, and we always called it Co-cola. I understand it's a regionalism peculiar to that area (I heard Lewis Grizzard use the same term when he was alive). I live in Seattle now, and tend to use "soda" or ask for a specific flavor when I'm out, but "pop" still sounds weird.
I'm from Michigan/Indiana...we call it 'Pop.' Of course, now that I live in Atlanta, if you call it 'pop,' everyone makes fun of you. That's what it's called! LOL
See, Pepsi is this cloyingly sweet kiddie drink whose formula they could change hourly and no one would give a rat's putootie. Coke changes theirs once and it's, like, this national trauma or something.
You call the drink what it is coke, diet coke, pepsi, diet pepsi, sprite, diet sprite, ect.. I hate it when people generically call a drink soda or pop, what the heck do you really mean. Order what you want. You don't go to a steak house and place an order by saying I want steak(unless its peter lugers) you order a particular cut usually ribeye, filet, ny strip.
Pepsi may now be headquartered in Purchase, NY, but it was developed in a small soda shop in New Bern, North Carolina.
BTW, in eastern NC, near where Pepsi was born (and where I grew up), we called it a drink. Not a soft drink, just a drink. Actually, for us, a drink would be any cola or other carbonated soft drink, for example, 7-UP, Sprite or Orange Crush. We also called those little orange crackers with peanut butter Nabs. The words might come together as follows:
"I'm goin' to the store to get a drink and a pack a' nabs."
I went to school in western NY, Rochester specifically, and it was Pop there.
The strangest terms I heard though, were from a buddy of mine from Binghampton NY. He called pizza "Hot Pie", and in the bars in Binghampton they served a dish of skewered meat that I would call a kabob. In Binghampton they call it a "speedie"
Strange.
I'm from Missouri and we call them 'pop' here. I suppose it's a regional thing. I mean, if I say 'coke' at a resturant they don't ask what kind, I would get a coka-cola.
I'm from Texas and I call it all COKE!!! I spent a year in Chicago with family and cracked up every time my neices called it Pop. Being a military spouse, I have heard it called almost everything. My grandfather still calls it Soda Water!
Oh fer cry-eye. It's a "soft drink". A nice, impersonal, highly-corporatized generic bit of nomenclature for our shiny plastic modern age. All those other quaint regionalisms are for useless people from earlier, backward generations who still use "telephones" instead of iPhone 4Gs and watch "movies" instead of playing MMORPGs.
Has anyone ever heard of Moxie? Its a carbonated beverage from Maine that tastes slightly like oil mixed with coke. When my grandfather used to live between Maine and FL, he would have to bring cases of it down to his FL friends who used to live in Maine!
In Houston, Texas many, if not most, call all sodas 'Coke' and either expect an actual Coca-Cola or that the waiter clarify the available choices (i.e. Coke, Pepsi, etc.). It's a regional 'thang'. Around home and family, we call everything a 'Coke' (meaning whatever type we have in the frig. When offering to a guest at home, I usually think to say 'Soda' and then clarify what we have on hand. Also incorrectly, we use 'Soda' to refer to any sweet carbonated drink- brown or not. When growing up, we called them 'soft drinks'- emcompassing all carbonated drinks. Haven't heard anyone around here say 'soft drink' since the 80's. Never hear the word 'pop' around here except in books or from Canadians. My Dad, 'Pop' is a native Texas and calls them all 'soda waters'. What are you going to do? When away from home, ask for specifics!
Growing up in the 60's in E. Texas everything was a coke. Dad would say "Lets go get a coke" and when we got to the store or the Dairy Queen he would ask us kids what kind of coke we wanted, like a Dr. Pepper, 7-Up, Root Beer etc., etc.. By the late 70's and into the 80's that changed and soft drinks were called more by thier actual name rather than using "Coke" as a generic term for any carbonated soft drink. When visiting Belize as an adult, I encountered the same kind of thing when all the locals called any kind of beer a "Belikin", since that was the name of the local brew.
It really depends on what mood I'm in... I usually ask for a coke. But sometimes I will just say soda. I grew up in Maryland(take your pick if it north or South) drinking Coca Cola and can't stand pepsi, so when i ask for coke I MEAN COCA COLA! They ask if Pepsi is O.K, I get me a Sweet Tea. Only way I drink Pepsi is if there is nothing else or I just want a coke and they dont have it. As for the rest of the flavors of soda, I call them by their appropriate names ie: sprite, root beer or RC (which is my SECOND choice for sodas)
We did this same survey in one of my college stat classes, but added questions about hometowns, and found that what it's called is extremely geographical. We could almost draw a definite line from east to west and south between for the different names.
Where I grew (Michigan 40 years ago) up the generic name for any sweet carbonated beverage was "pop." We had no generic name for colas, they were Coke, Pepsi, RC, or whatever. The only thing that would be called a cola was a store brand cola or someone indicating they don't know or care if it is Coke or Pepsi.
Where I live now (North Texas) the generic name for any sweet carbonated beverage can be soda or coke. Since coke can mean a specific brand or any sweet carbonated beverage there can be a lot of confusion. I also hear people say they want a "Coke coke" when they want a Coke brand beverage.
The other thing I'd add is Southerners drink far more sweet carbonated beverages than Northerners. Northerners drink more coffee and generally get their caffeine here. Fewer Southerners drink coffee often preferring to get their caffeine from carbonated beverages.
Do you think it might have something to do with the average regional temperature where one lives?
Draw a line east and west across the country located at say Oklahoma's northern border. North of that line coffee, south of that line soft drinks.
If I have to hear another hick call any carbonated beverage coke, I’m going to sterilize each of their states one by one. It’s not brown coke. It’s not white or clear coke. And, orange coke sounds even more confusing. They all have names; only one of them is called coke. Learn their other names. All vehicles are not a Ford. Doesn’t “what kind of Ford, a Chevy Ford, a Dodge Ford or a Toyota Ford sound” sound stupid? Call it pop, soda, sodie pop, po, p, I don’t care. Just don’t call everything coke, it just sounds ridiculous.
I'm from WI, and I use both pop and soda, but never soda pop. I was in the military, so I met people from all over the country, and everybody called it something different. Still couldn't get over southeners calling everything 'coke'. I want a Mt. Dew, but I have to order a 'coke'? Doesn't make any sense...
I'm curious to know where some of you are from who keep saying so definitively that "Coke" is a universal term for soft drinks in the South and if you order a "Coke," you will be asked to specify the type or flavor. I'm from NC and everyone I know refers to these beverages as "Soda," if you asked for a "Coke," you'd either get a Coca-Cola or be asked if Pepsi is ok. In my region, Coke refers to cocaine or cola-flavored soft drinks, soda is used as a general term for carbonated soft drinks.
Home, for many years, was Bunn, North Carolina, although I grew up in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York (where "fizz" was the term at the time). City folk in Raleigh – especially the younger ones – used "soda", but the older folks and the folks in the rural areas simply used "coke" the same way we now "google" things on the internet.
We call it soda or soft drink. I can understand calling it 'pop' due to it being soda pop. If you were born before ummm1950 calling it tonic is acceptable since they were once marketed has tonics for various ailments. Coke is the short name for Coca-Cola its also the short name of cocaine. The idea of saying may I have a Sprite-Coke or Ginger ale Coke makes no sense
I grew up calling it "fizz"... nowadays it's just Coke if it's The Real Thing, otherwise it's RC co-cola, orange co-cola or whatever other descriptive applies. (And around my house there will NEVER, EVER be a Pepsi co-cola.) My wife calls it "pop", and for the past 32 years every time she asks me or one of our children to bring her a "pop" I reminder her that her Pop lives in Michigan and it's a bit too far to go to get him.
Wow you grew up calling it Fizz, even label something as "orange cola" despite their being no "Cola" in orange flavored sodas, yet you and your family harass your wife for calling it a pop. I'm sure she just loves you doing that to her every day. You're a swell husband, getting kicks harassing your wife like that.
It's been one of those "inside jokes" since before we were married (and that's coming up on 32 years now)... always said lovingly. We play a lot of word games around our house and this is just a logical extension of that.
I think some people are taking this whole discussion a little bit too seriously...! My dh is English. We have all kinds of different names for things and somehow we manage to get along! And yes sometimes we tease ea other about our differences too – wow.
Only idiots refer to them all as "Coke". I worked at a restaurant through college and nothing made me madder than someone ordering a "Coke" and then getting pissed when you didn't know they meant Sprite.
When I asked my 8 year old daughter, who has been living the military traveling life for her whole 8 years, she said it is PEPSI!! My Lord girl....what Mother are you from???? It is called a COKE.....unless it is Dr. Pepper or Root Beer. All clear drinks are called by name only after being asked, "What kind of coke do you want?" Yes, I was born and bread in the South, until the military took me to the rest of the world. As I am in Europe, they do ask if Pepsi is ok if they have that. Otherwise, they call it cola.
It's all Coke. From Sprite to orange drink. Just about anything with carbonation is coke. If I ask for a coke you hade better ask me what kind I"d like.
And Pepsi is gross.
When I was abuot 9 we got some new neighbors. I was playing with their daughter (my age) and she asked if I'd like a "pop," I had never had pop before and when she handed me a Coca-Cola I asked for a pop instead. I had never heard anyone call it pop.
So let me see if I understand you funny southerners. If you want a Sprite, you ask for a Coke. The waiter/waitress asks what kind of Coke you'd like, you respond "Sprite". Right?
I have always referred to it as soda... In GA I hear a lot of Coke, even if it is Pepsi or orange soda for that matter... It might be because here in metro ATL we are centered around Coca Cola, but maybe I am wrong. My family in Canada and northern states refer to it as Pop... I think that is silly
"Floats" are Iced Cream and Soda. As in a rootbeer float.
As for everyone in a state/region calling Coke. I frankly call it plain ol' laziness. Too lazy or stupid to know the difference, and then expecting someone else (i.e. the wait staff) to translate the "Coke" to something else.
Here's a blip, try calling something by it's actual name. Not something someone else made up.
But maybe they just want to keep calling it what they grew up calling it! But don't worry, all regional character and individuality still remaining in our country will get steamrollered out soon enough so you won't have to be irritated ... By the way, do you ever travel to other countries?? I mean where they dont' speak American English? How do you cope?
Depends: if you get it at Subway it's a sub ... but elsewhere it might be a po-boy. (Here in Texas, anyhoo.) However, the gooey ones with marinara sauce and spheres of meat? Those are invariably called "meatball subs," no matter where you go here.
But I prefer a Jimmy John's Beach Club any day! (Unless I'm in NO, where the sammie of choice is, of course, the muffuletta - pronounced "muffolotta"!)
See that's funny, I was raised in South Carolina & that's what me & everyone I knew called just "soft drinks" in general. If we wanted Coke we said Coke. And then some people called that Cocola juice. :)
This poll is fucking gay. On a lighter note, in news today some one ate a candy bar. Thanks CNN. I'm glad you could report the inportant things for us.
Just because people in the south CALL everything a coke, DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE THE SAME THING. No matter where you are Dr. Pepper is NOT Coke. Maybe they ask you to clarify when you order Coke in the south..But what happens in the south when someone asks for a Sprite or RootBeer?
Quit being lazy and ask for what you actually want to get. INstead of hoping someone will ask for your clarification later.
I wouldn't have a problem with the yanks calling it pop if they didn't make the "o" in pop sound like "aaaaa". It almost sounds like pap smear they way they drag it out.
It's called POP people! More people call it pop than anything else. If you look at the pop-soda-coke map, http://popvssoda.com:2998/countystats/total-county.html
As you can see, by area most of the country is pop. This poll is skewed b/c most ppl who come on here are from the coasts.
You're probably right about that. This is just one of those things that bugs me b/c having just moved to the coast from a strictly "pop" area where I lived for 23 years, it's a shock. I attempted to order a pop soon after I got here and the guy looked at me like I was crazy. He seriously had no clue what I was talking about. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone....
I'm from Canada but living in the US. In Canada, everyone I know calls it "pop". In the US, everyone I've heard here calls it "soda" or "coke" (regardless of whether its actually coke or not, often anything carbonized is called Coke in the New Orleans Metro area)
It depends where you are in the US, Melissa. Both coasts call it soda, the south calls it coke, and the rest of the country refers to it as pop. Pretty much exclusively.
Moli, out of curiosity where are you from? B/c I had never heard anyone call it "soda" to my face until I went east for a summer camp. Living on the coast now I still can't call it "soda". When I do I feel like I should be 90 years old and in a nursing home somewhere.....it feels very 1920s to me.
Wow very clever thanks. Why not turn a simple poll into your anti soda soapbox.
Oh wait, you did. No one asked about the sugar people. Get over it, just because you see something on the web doesn't mean it's your cue to try and preach to everyone.
Your question is a little ambiguous which may account for the bimodal distribution. If I wanted to know what kind of carbonated, sweet, non-alcoholic drinks one had available, I would ask "What kind of pop do you have?", if I wanted to order a specifically brown, cola flavored beverage, I would say "I'd like a coke, please".
No, it's b/c in the South everything is a coke. You want a pop? Ask for a coke. The server will ask what kind of coke you want. You say 7up, dr pepper, coca-cola, etc.
My aunt and uncle live in GA and whenever they come back up here they order a coke expecting the server to ask what kind....yeah, that never happens. You order a coke, you get a coke.
How does that makes sense though? If you want a Sprite you still say can I have a Coke or do you say may I have a clear Coke? What if you want a Pepsi or Orange soda
It is a type of pop.. Soda describes the pop..... Calling it a type of soda is like calling Orange juice just orange... No one would understand it. Never really understood why people refer to soda pop as soda... or coke for that matter. I always found that funny. What kind of coke would you like? I will take a pepsi! ha!
Why not call Soda Pop a soda? Sure calling them all Coke is stupid, but there were "Soda Fountains" for years. Because the drinks were made with soda water. Where did the Pop that you are so anxious about come from?
Yeah really, I don't think they were calling it all "Pop" right from the beginning! Pop must have come from "Soda Pop"...why, who knows. Surprise, you don't speak for all of us!
Interesting how the regional divisions are already coming to light!
Here in Central Illinois, you can tell when a waiter is not from around here. "Can I get you something to drink?" "Yeah, a Coke, please." "Pepsi OK?" If they were born and raised in Central Illinois, they'll just bring you the Pepsi without saying "Pepsi OK?" because they know that Pepsi, Coke, and RC are interchangeable. And EVERYBODY knows that the best "Cherry Coke" is actually made with RC Cola. It mixes better with the grenadine.
LOL@tiffini So true... in the south they do say that. But I'm glad they do because i don't like Pepsi. If they don't have Coke I will order something else. It was funny when i was in France and in a deli line, the French person behind the counter asked someone if Pepsi was okay and the guy said NO. LOL. Even across the world... there is a difference. hehehhe
Interesting. For me if they don't have Pepsi, I drink root beer or water. Won't have Coke on a bet.
As for those criticizing this poll as "not newsworthy" or something? For crying out loud! Lighten up! Why are you reading it? You had to click to get here and the subject was obvious on page one. Then you had to take precious "real" news reading time to make a comment. There is more to life than doom and gloom all the fricken' time. Sheesh!
Hoo boy, Aproudcitizen, know whut ya mean! when I moved to France in '94, I was hooked on Diet Dr Pepper [and try finding THAT in rural France -- hard enough in Paris, where if you COULD find it, it cost more than a buck/can]. I learned VERY quickly to live on Diet Coke - excuse me, "Coca Light" - which was widely available, even in my little town of Provins, at least in the liter bottles. So when I got back to Texas, I couldn't face DDP again ...
And now, if a restaurant offers me a "soft drink," I ALWAYS check and say, "Are y'all Coke or Pepsi?" If they answer "Pepsi," I'll just ask for "Water, please" - because there is an ENORMOUS difference.
Pepsi is swill. :)
(And now, because of insomnia and other health issues, I'm relegated to Caffeine-Free Diet Coke after 3 pm ... there is NOTHING of value in that brown fizzy water, believe me.)
It's a legal thing: I understand Coke sends out testers to see whether restaurants serving Pepsi will fill an order for "Coke" and, if so, there may be a trademark violation suit that follows.
So, if we unify and all refer to these beverages by a single term (I vote for "magic bubbly potion"), all of our problems with be solved? Sweet Jesus! I'm writing a letter to my Senator right now to spread the word. We'll have it on the ballot this November and by January, it'll be smooth sailing for the USA!
Because of this?! You can play this game with different names for all kinds of things in different parts of the country! It's not uncommon to have different regional names even within small countries (or our states). If you are thinking that soft drinks/soda/pop etc is so important to us we have to have so many names for it, one reason we're in the tank... I guess I get your meaning!
.
... there is a line somewhere in the Midwest, whereby when you cross over it, "Soda" becomes "Pop" (going West) and "Pop" becomes "Soda" (going East).
???
That is here in Wisconsin... Take a look at the link to the map someone posted. Our state is split right down the middle. I live on the east side of the state, my parents on the west. This has been a debate for quite a while :)
I use the term 'Coke' to refer to pepsi/coca-cola/and any generic form there of for that type of drink. I use 'rootbeer' or 'Dr Pepper' for those specific drinks.
Those of us who use the term "Coke" aren't saying all carbonated soft drinks are in any way related to "Coca-Cola". We're just using the brand name the same way some people call all tissues "Kleenex".
exactly. as kids, our family would call them all "cokes".. whether it was ginger ale, sprite, whatever... We used to get made fun of for it, and even my girlfriend a few years ago joked with me (she is from ohio) saying "there not all cokes, its pop/soda" but I would disagree haha. Its definitely a south thing I think..
Depends on what kind of soda it is. "Cola flavored" covers a range of things. Dr Pepper does not taste like Pepsi, and neither of them tastes like Coca Cola, nor do they taste like Jolt. I call them what's on the label, but collectively they are all brands of Cola, which is a subcategory of Pop. Pop includes ginger ale, root beer, lemon-lime, etc.
Dr. Pepper is not one of the "Cola's" A Cola drink (Pepsi, Coke, RC, etc) are all cola because they are made from the Cola Nut. Just because something is brownish, doesn't mean it's a cola.
That is just high powered sugar, that will aim at fat cells, over ride insulin pumps, create fat in blood, later clog arteries, cause obesity and diabetes, and the list goes on. High powered carbonated sugar, is a poison.
So what? I hate it when people feel like they have to down anything thing that other people may enjoy. YOU live without drinking soda, if that's YOUR choice!
Lovely thought, that. Are you aware the cost to our health care system (and Medicare/Medicaid) and the rising insurance costs that your 'choice' makes? Have you any grasp of how many millions of dollars our national rate of diabetes and insulin resistance costs us? Probably not, or you wouldn't say such silly things.
You ask and you shall receive. It is a bit outdated, but here is a 2003 map called "Generic Names for Soft Drinks By County" http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/popvssodamap.gif
Rachel, thank you so much for sharing the map URL. It confirms what I've intuitively known for years, Growing up in the south (NW Florida where our beaches are being spoiled by another brownish goo), everything was called a "coke". It wasn't until I started moving around that I heard Pop (midwest/Ohio), Tonic (Far NE), soda (majority of the midwest). The map you shared provides some validation to my experience. thanks!
I live in Wisconsin and there has always been a fierce debate on soda vs. pop. Now I know why. Interesting to see the state split like that. And I live in a county that's right on the division line. But I think all Wisconsinites can agree that it's a drinking fountain is a bubbler.
Rachel, this is so funny! I'm a Rachel from Wisconsin also, and I happened to be reading your post and laughing because I know just what you're talking about. And I live in Atlanta now and everyone obviously calls it coke... and no one has any clue what a bubbler is. Thought it was pretty crazy that I have an Internet doppelganger. Cool map by the way; I love researching rando facts as well. hahaha
no doubt! i can tell you though the regional distribution would pretty much break down to...
the south: they're all called Cokes & soft drink
the north: soda, pop & soda pop
In the seventies there used to be store called "The Pop Shoppe" where you could refill your bottles – so we definitely used the term "pop" in Alberta growing up.
I'm American live in Idaho and it's Pop, always has been Pop. Moved to Texas for awhile and had to call it Soda cause they weren't sure what Pop was!!!
Interesting. I grew up in western MA and never heard anyone use the term "tonic". Although once when I was visiting France as a teenager, I was offered an "Indian Tonic". My gracious host clearly assumed it was a popular American beverage, and wanted to make me feel at home. It turned out to be room temperature tonic water. Blah.
But these terms tend to be regional. It would be interesting to see how the responses break down by local.
I grew up in the Boston area and called carbonated beverages 'tonic', and people in eastern MA still use that term. I switched to using term "soda" when I was a teen and realized that no one outside of the Boston area knew what I meant if I said tonic. No matter what the local term might be, everyone seems to know what soda is.
In South Boston where I grew up, if you were going to have a sub sandwich and a coke for lunch, you'd tell your friends you were having a spukie and a tonic. In my neighborhood, that would mean a trip either to John's, or Phil's takeout. That was back in the 50's-60's when Whitey Bulger was still doing time at Alcatraz. After he got out of prison, he decided he liked that part of town and muscled in on some of the local storekeepers. Screwed up the area pretty good.
Whitey, if you are reading this, you suck!
Tonic was widely used as a boy in Eastern MA. I think the guy from Southie meant to write spuckie. I worked in Southie for a few years and some of the sandwich joints used to have them listed this way on their blackboard menus. Just a typo I'm sure, but makes it a lot less regurgatative.
Yeah, my wife is from the suburbs south of Boston, and her family refers to it as 'tonic' as well. From what I gather, this region once called all carbonated beverages 'tonic' going back to the turn of the last century, owing to the word's literal meaning ("makes a sound").
I'm originally from SE Massachusetts (Acushnet). Back in the 80s, while attending a regional high school (go, Old Colony Cougars!), I knew quite a few "tonic" drinkers... I, myself, always drank "soda." My family and I went on vacation to Laconia, NH one year. At a restaurant, I was asked what kind of "coke" I wanted; they had Coca-Cola, orange, Sprite, and root beer. I thought that was weird!!!!
I grew up in eastern MA near Boston, and knew a great many people who said "tonic" - all of them my grandmother's age or older. I think as a term, it's dying out.
here in kentucky and south, as kids we all called them "cokes"...I don't now. We would say, "wanna coke?" and they would ask "what kind?" and then offer them a dr. pepper, coca cola, etc. I have family in Michigan, and I believe they call them sodas, or pop if I remember correctly. Haven't been up there in forever.. interesting poll.. :)
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High Fructose Corn Syrup.
I call it High Fructose Corn Syrup
Pancreas Poison!
My friend has a t shirt that says "When soda beats pop...I'm moving to Canada" guess it's time for him to pack :)
I'm from New England. We all it tonic. These drinks started out as health drinks or tonics.
A glass of Gulf Coast oil.
POP POP POP POP POP
I grew up in middle Tennessee. We always called everything a "coke." Now I live in Louisville KY and I tend to call it a soda or just by it's name. Dr. Pepper, Coke, Sprite, etc. I do remember my grandmother calling it a "cold drink" or "soft drink." :)
I've relocated to Kansas from Houston, and I hate having to explain to midwesterners that its coke, regardless of what kind of carbonated beverage it is. "Pop" just sounds silly, like I've gone back in time.
In Boston they call it Tonic
I'm from the Midwest and always seem to have this conversation/arguement with relatives. For the record, it's called Pop!! haha
Stout or Porter!
TONIC
Depends are where I am. If I am visiting family in Illinois where I grew up, I call it pop. But when I am home in Texas, I call it soda.
I grew up calling it all Coke, but I think that's a southern thing. I've been trying to transition to soda now though.
To me a softdrink is a soda and, only a Coca Cola can be a Coke.
Im from Idaho and people i talk to from Cali make fun of me cuz i call it pop. They try to correct me and say its soda. I dont care either way. I guess call it whatever you want to call it!
I call it the thing i mix with whiskey or run
Delicious!
In Oklahoma... we, well, most people I associate with call it pop
A friend of mine always called it a Frosty Beverage. My kids call it Pop but I'll always call it Soda.
Liquid Candy
BP's FAULT
We call it soda pop up here. We also call drinking fountains "bubblers".
I remember the commercial by Shasta... "I want a POP POP POP; I want a Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhasta!"
Neat, they don't have commercials for the off brand sodas(carbonated drinks) here. Unless its an advertisement for Aldi's or Save-A-Lot. It probably does better where you are from than where I live
It depends on where you are from. I'm originally from South Dakota but now live in Florida (for obvious reasons!). In Florida I call it Soda but if I go to South Dakota and call it soda they look at you like you have three heads. They know it as Pop. So I say both depending on where I am at the time.
As a southerner from Geoergia, anything you drink we called "a drink". When it came to a cola we called it "a coke". My favorite name for a coke is "co-cola" very few people from my age group from Georgia called it " a coka-cola.
Nice to see some other Southerners on the board! I grew up in middle Georgia, and we always called it Co-cola. I understand it's a regionalism peculiar to that area (I heard Lewis Grizzard use the same term when he was alive). I live in Seattle now, and tend to use "soda" or ask for a specific flavor when I'm out, but "pop" still sounds weird.
Or, as Ray Stevens said, an R-O-C CoCola.
In my part of NC, we called it a "drink". From there you specified any preference.
I'm from Michigan/Indiana...we call it 'Pop.' Of course, now that I live in Atlanta, if you call it 'pop,' everyone makes fun of you. That's what it's called! LOL
See, Pepsi is this cloyingly sweet kiddie drink whose formula they could change hourly and no one would give a rat's putootie. Coke changes theirs once and it's, like, this national trauma or something.
I'm from the deep south and it's all Coke!
high fructose corn syrup, when they put regular sugar in it we call it pop – chicago
You call the drink what it is coke, diet coke, pepsi, diet pepsi, sprite, diet sprite, ect.. I hate it when people generically call a drink soda or pop, what the heck do you really mean. Order what you want. You don't go to a steak house and place an order by saying I want steak(unless its peter lugers) you order a particular cut usually ribeye, filet, ny strip.
Coca Cola is made in Atlanta where folks know what a soft drink is supposed to taste like.
This stuff (Pepsi) is made in New York City.
NEW YORK CITY!?
Get a rope.
Pepsi may now be headquartered in Purchase, NY, but it was developed in a small soda shop in New Bern, North Carolina.
BTW, in eastern NC, near where Pepsi was born (and where I grew up), we called it a drink. Not a soft drink, just a drink. Actually, for us, a drink would be any cola or other carbonated soft drink, for example, 7-UP, Sprite or Orange Crush. We also called those little orange crackers with peanut butter Nabs. The words might come together as follows:
"I'm goin' to the store to get a drink and a pack a' nabs."
we in the black community (thats the ghetto for you white folks) we like our grape nehi.
nehi? That is what soda/pop/carbonated drinks are called.........how interesting. I'm a brown person as well but from the NorthEast
May I call you "Coke"?
I went to school in western NY, Rochester specifically, and it was Pop there.
The strangest terms I heard though, were from a buddy of mine from Binghampton NY. He called pizza "Hot Pie", and in the bars in Binghampton they served a dish of skewered meat that I would call a kabob. In Binghampton they call it a "speedie"
Strange.
It is Binghamton . . . the only "p" is running down your leg from drinking too much pop!
Well my buddy from there simply called it Bingo.
I'm from Missouri and we call them 'pop' here. I suppose it's a regional thing. I mean, if I say 'coke' at a resturant they don't ask what kind, I would get a coka-cola.
I call it toxic.
I'm from Texas and I call it all COKE!!! I spent a year in Chicago with family and cracked up every time my neices called it Pop. Being a military spouse, I have heard it called almost everything. My grandfather still calls it Soda Water!
Flavored Corn Syrup (aka poison)
Tonic.
Oh fer cry-eye. It's a "soft drink". A nice, impersonal, highly-corporatized generic bit of nomenclature for our shiny plastic modern age. All those other quaint regionalisms are for useless people from earlier, backward generations who still use "telephones" instead of iPhone 4Gs and watch "movies" instead of playing MMORPGs.
Has anyone ever heard of Moxie? Its a carbonated beverage from Maine that tastes slightly like oil mixed with coke. When my grandfather used to live between Maine and FL, he would have to bring cases of it down to his FL friends who used to live in Maine!
Fart Juice
I am from the South. We call it "a PEPSI".
If it's not Coca-Cola, I call it crap.
In de bronx it's purple.
In Houston, Texas many, if not most, call all sodas 'Coke' and either expect an actual Coca-Cola or that the waiter clarify the available choices (i.e. Coke, Pepsi, etc.). It's a regional 'thang'. Around home and family, we call everything a 'Coke' (meaning whatever type we have in the frig. When offering to a guest at home, I usually think to say 'Soda' and then clarify what we have on hand. Also incorrectly, we use 'Soda' to refer to any sweet carbonated drink- brown or not. When growing up, we called them 'soft drinks'- emcompassing all carbonated drinks. Haven't heard anyone around here say 'soft drink' since the 80's. Never hear the word 'pop' around here except in books or from Canadians. My Dad, 'Pop' is a native Texas and calls them all 'soda waters'. What are you going to do? When away from home, ask for specifics!
Jenkem
In some areas back up in the hills of Appalachia they are called "Dark Brown Dopes" or "Soda Dopes"
Yeah! Soda wins! Now everyone has to start calling it "soda". I'm glad we've finally settled it.
Growing up in the 60's in E. Texas everything was a coke. Dad would say "Lets go get a coke" and when we got to the store or the Dairy Queen he would ask us kids what kind of coke we wanted, like a Dr. Pepper, 7-Up, Root Beer etc., etc.. By the late 70's and into the 80's that changed and soft drinks were called more by thier actual name rather than using "Coke" as a generic term for any carbonated soft drink. When visiting Belize as an adult, I encountered the same kind of thing when all the locals called any kind of beer a "Belikin", since that was the name of the local brew.
Detroit = Pop
Here in the south (Tennessee), we still refer to them as a "dope".... No kidding !!!
Huh! That must be a Tennessee thing then (??). Interesting name though!
"Dopes" . . . heard that around Asheville or Bryson City, NC, and Sevierville/Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN; mostly from older country folks.
It really depends on what mood I'm in... I usually ask for a coke. But sometimes I will just say soda. I grew up in Maryland(take your pick if it north or South) drinking Coca Cola and can't stand pepsi, so when i ask for coke I MEAN COCA COLA! They ask if Pepsi is O.K, I get me a Sweet Tea. Only way I drink Pepsi is if there is nothing else or I just want a coke and they dont have it. As for the rest of the flavors of soda, I call them by their appropriate names ie: sprite, root beer or RC (which is my SECOND choice for sodas)
Delicious!
looks like a stout to me. Guiness?
A Coke – whether it's a Coke, RC, Pepsi, or Double Cola – it's always been "a Coke" to me, my family, and friends.
We did this same survey in one of my college stat classes, but added questions about hometowns, and found that what it's called is extremely geographical. We could almost draw a definite line from east to west and south between for the different names.
This is not news. This is a topic in freshman dorms and not worthy of coverage on any proper news outlet.
Lighten up
Tonic...
Where I grew (Michigan 40 years ago) up the generic name for any sweet carbonated beverage was "pop." We had no generic name for colas, they were Coke, Pepsi, RC, or whatever. The only thing that would be called a cola was a store brand cola or someone indicating they don't know or care if it is Coke or Pepsi.
Where I live now (North Texas) the generic name for any sweet carbonated beverage can be soda or coke. Since coke can mean a specific brand or any sweet carbonated beverage there can be a lot of confusion. I also hear people say they want a "Coke coke" when they want a Coke brand beverage.
The other thing I'd add is Southerners drink far more sweet carbonated beverages than Northerners. Northerners drink more coffee and generally get their caffeine here. Fewer Southerners drink coffee often preferring to get their caffeine from carbonated beverages.
Or Sweet Tea. :)
Al,
Do you think it might have something to do with the average regional temperature where one lives?
Draw a line east and west across the country located at say Oklahoma's northern border. North of that line coffee, south of that line soft drinks.
What do you think?
I call it a belly popper!
If I have to hear another hick call any carbonated beverage coke, I’m going to sterilize each of their states one by one. It’s not brown coke. It’s not white or clear coke. And, orange coke sounds even more confusing. They all have names; only one of them is called coke. Learn their other names. All vehicles are not a Ford. Doesn’t “what kind of Ford, a Chevy Ford, a Dodge Ford or a Toyota Ford sound” sound stupid? Call it pop, soda, sodie pop, po, p, I don’t care. Just don’t call everything coke, it just sounds ridiculous.
Can't we all just get along??
If there was any doubt, I think this little blog has answered that.
Pepsi!
not beer so it sucks.
Every time I read this blog, I lose three IQ points.
Tainted Water, is what it is.
Corn syrup water.
The Coke pictured has no ice, so I'd call it gross. Coke must have ice, and lots of it! :)
From Boston, grew up calling it Tonic!
really badly poured Guinness. I won't touch it unless it's done right!
eh, color was right, flavor wasn't, ouch.
I'm from WI, and I use both pop and soda, but never soda pop. I was in the military, so I met people from all over the country, and everybody called it something different. Still couldn't get over southeners calling everything 'coke'. I want a Mt. Dew, but I have to order a 'coke'? Doesn't make any sense...
I'm curious to know where some of you are from who keep saying so definitively that "Coke" is a universal term for soft drinks in the South and if you order a "Coke," you will be asked to specify the type or flavor. I'm from NC and everyone I know refers to these beverages as "Soda," if you asked for a "Coke," you'd either get a Coca-Cola or be asked if Pepsi is ok. In my region, Coke refers to cocaine or cola-flavored soft drinks, soda is used as a general term for carbonated soft drinks.
Home, for many years, was Bunn, North Carolina, although I grew up in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York (where "fizz" was the term at the time). City folk in Raleigh – especially the younger ones – used "soda", but the older folks and the folks in the rural areas simply used "coke" the same way we now "google" things on the internet.
We call it soda or soft drink. I can understand calling it 'pop' due to it being soda pop. If you were born before ummm1950 calling it tonic is acceptable since they were once marketed has tonics for various ailments. Coke is the short name for Coca-Cola its also the short name of cocaine. The idea of saying may I have a Sprite-Coke or Ginger ale Coke makes no sense
I grew up calling it "fizz"... nowadays it's just Coke if it's The Real Thing, otherwise it's RC co-cola, orange co-cola or whatever other descriptive applies. (And around my house there will NEVER, EVER be a Pepsi co-cola.) My wife calls it "pop", and for the past 32 years every time she asks me or one of our children to bring her a "pop" I reminder her that her Pop lives in Michigan and it's a bit too far to go to get him.
Wow you grew up calling it Fizz, even label something as "orange cola" despite their being no "Cola" in orange flavored sodas, yet you and your family harass your wife for calling it a pop. I'm sure she just loves you doing that to her every day. You're a swell husband, getting kicks harassing your wife like that.
It's been one of those "inside jokes" since before we were married (and that's coming up on 32 years now)... always said lovingly. We play a lot of word games around our house and this is just a logical extension of that.
I think some people are taking this whole discussion a little bit too seriously...! My dh is English. We have all kinds of different names for things and somehow we manage to get along! And yes sometimes we tease ea other about our differences too – wow.
Only idiots refer to them all as "Coke". I worked at a restaurant through college and nothing made me madder than someone ordering a "Coke" and then getting pissed when you didn't know they meant Sprite.
"coke" if it's Coca-Cola, "Dr. Pepper" if it's Dr. Pepper. if in general, "soft drink" or "soda".
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
When I asked my 8 year old daughter, who has been living the military traveling life for her whole 8 years, she said it is PEPSI!! My Lord girl....what Mother are you from???? It is called a COKE.....unless it is Dr. Pepper or Root Beer. All clear drinks are called by name only after being asked, "What kind of coke do you want?" Yes, I was born and bread in the South, until the military took me to the rest of the world. As I am in Europe, they do ask if Pepsi is ok if they have that. Otherwise, they call it cola.
poison
It's all Coke. From Sprite to orange drink. Just about anything with carbonation is coke. If I ask for a coke you hade better ask me what kind I"d like.
And Pepsi is gross.
When I was abuot 9 we got some new neighbors. I was playing with their daughter (my age) and she asked if I'd like a "pop," I had never had pop before and when she handed me a Coca-Cola I asked for a pop instead. I had never heard anyone call it pop.
So you order an orange Coke? Clear Coke? Root beer flavored Coke? Pepsi flavored Coke? Ginger Ale Coke?
So let me see if I understand you funny southerners. If you want a Sprite, you ask for a Coke. The waiter/waitress asks what kind of Coke you'd like, you respond "Sprite". Right?
Why not just say "I'll have a Sprite?"
*starting slow clap*
I have always referred to it as soda... In GA I hear a lot of Coke, even if it is Pepsi or orange soda for that matter... It might be because here in metro ATL we are centered around Coca Cola, but maybe I am wrong. My family in Canada and northern states refer to it as Pop... I think that is silly
In Italy, "American Wine".
When I lived up north, they were pop. Sodas involved pop and ice cream. When I moved to Texas, everything became "Coke" and still remains that way.
"Floats" are Iced Cream and Soda. As in a rootbeer float.
As for everyone in a state/region calling Coke. I frankly call it plain ol' laziness. Too lazy or stupid to know the difference, and then expecting someone else (i.e. the wait staff) to translate the "Coke" to something else.
Here's a blip, try calling something by it's actual name. Not something someone else made up.
I think everyone can admit that makes sense.
But maybe they just want to keep calling it what they grew up calling it! But don't worry, all regional character and individuality still remaining in our country will get steamrollered out soon enough so you won't have to be irritated ... By the way, do you ever travel to other countries?? I mean where they dont' speak American English? How do you cope?
Here's a similar question: What do you call a sandwhich that is served in a large, oblong roll:
Grinder, Hero, Sub(marine), Hoagie, Po-Boy, Other
Only name for it is a hoagie and it is cut sideways! You do not put the lettuce tomato etc on the bottom, they are on top of your meats
Depends: if you get it at Subway it's a sub ... but elsewhere it might be a po-boy. (Here in Texas, anyhoo.) However, the gooey ones with marinara sauce and spheres of meat? Those are invariably called "meatball subs," no matter where you go here.
But I prefer a Jimmy John's Beach Club any day! (Unless I'm in NO, where the sammie of choice is, of course, the muffuletta - pronounced "muffolotta"!)
It would be interesting to see the results broke down geographically like ESPN does with it's polls!
"sodie water", that's just what we sometimes called all bottled soft drinks here in the Mid-South in the 50'/60's
Soft Drinks.
See that's funny, I was raised in South Carolina & that's what me & everyone I knew called just "soft drinks" in general. If we wanted Coke we said Coke. And then some people called that Cocola juice. :)
Ahem. I mean, *I* and everyone I knew...
This poll is fucking gay. On a lighter note, in news today some one ate a candy bar. Thanks CNN. I'm glad you could report the inportant things for us.
I think it was supposed to be just some harmless fun ... it's getting ugly though!
In New Orleans we call 'em "cold drinks". Some pronounce it "cold drank".
Yessss Indeed!
My addiction
>Coke is one drink, Dr. Pepper is not Coke, neither is Root Beer.
Looks like someone has never lived in the south.
Just because people in the south CALL everything a coke, DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE THE SAME THING. No matter where you are Dr. Pepper is NOT Coke. Maybe they ask you to clarify when you order Coke in the south..But what happens in the south when someone asks for a Sprite or RootBeer?
Quit being lazy and ask for what you actually want to get. INstead of hoping someone will ask for your clarification later.
Amen!
LOL ...I think they partly hang onto it to mess with the Yankees!
It cracks me up how "heated" this is getting!
Brown-flavored Soda.
Who takes a casual poll like this and thinks it's their time to tell us about fat cells and insulin? Get a life...or better yet grab an ice cold COKE.
I wouldn't have a problem with the yanks calling it pop if they didn't make the "o" in pop sound like "aaaaa". It almost sounds like pap smear they way they drag it out.
I'm a 'Yank' and I call it soda, pop is a sound
It's called POP people! More people call it pop than anything else. If you look at the pop-soda-coke map, http://popvssoda.com:2998/countystats/total-county.html
As you can see, by area most of the country is pop. This poll is skewed b/c most ppl who come on here are from the coasts.
What makes you think that only "people from the coasts" come here? How ridiculous is that? Is it because that's the only way your logic makes sense?
b/c the people in the red states go to Fox, ala my parents.
Are you speaking of larger area geographically or demographically. The coasts may be a smaller geographic area but are more populous.
You're probably right about that. This is just one of those things that bugs me b/c having just moved to the coast from a strictly "pop" area where I lived for 23 years, it's a shock. I attempted to order a pop soon after I got here and the guy looked at me like I was crazy. He seriously had no clue what I was talking about. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone....
That doesn't make it right! ;-)
I'm from Canada but living in the US. In Canada, everyone I know calls it "pop". In the US, everyone I've heard here calls it "soda" or "coke" (regardless of whether its actually coke or not, often anything carbonized is called Coke in the New Orleans Metro area)
It depends where you are in the US, Melissa. Both coasts call it soda, the south calls it coke, and the rest of the country refers to it as pop. Pretty much exclusively.
Heh, I called it "pop" once at work, and they looked at me like I grew a new head. I had to explain what I meant.
Melissa, I have never heard anyone face to face call soda...'pop'. I have heard it called that on television.
Moli, out of curiosity where are you from? B/c I had never heard anyone call it "soda" to my face until I went east for a summer camp. Living on the coast now I still can't call it "soda". When I do I feel like I should be 90 years old and in a nursing home somewhere.....it feels very 1920s to me.
Oh, I'm from western-PA, born and raised.
I'm in Philadelphia.....Frank's Soda's !!!!!!!!
I grew up in the "New Orleans metro area" and most people called it "Col' drink" as in a cold drink.
This further shows how racist america is, why do we have to point out the color of the drink?
Liquid candy, type 2 diabetes kit, FatMaker....
Wow very clever thanks. Why not turn a simple poll into your anti soda soapbox.
Oh wait, you did. No one asked about the sugar people. Get over it, just because you see something on the web doesn't mean it's your cue to try and preach to everyone.
I call it Diabetes
Diabetes
Your question is a little ambiguous which may account for the bimodal distribution. If I wanted to know what kind of carbonated, sweet, non-alcoholic drinks one had available, I would ask "What kind of pop do you have?", if I wanted to order a specifically brown, cola flavored beverage, I would say "I'd like a coke, please".
No, it's b/c in the South everything is a coke. You want a pop? Ask for a coke. The server will ask what kind of coke you want. You say 7up, dr pepper, coca-cola, etc.
My aunt and uncle live in GA and whenever they come back up here they order a coke expecting the server to ask what kind....yeah, that never happens. You order a coke, you get a coke.
Depends where in the South too ... sometimes "Soft Drink" is used if you are just talking about them in general.
I agree! I am from Westen NY, and that is EXACTLY how we would say it here!
Cavities.
But seriously, soda.
But SERIOUSLY, cavities. And belly-fat.
Liquid death
Growing up in rural Tennessee they were called "cold drinks."
Tonic
Coke is a Southern thing. Everything that is carbonated is a coke! At a restaurant, you order a coke and the waitress will ask what kind your want.
it is a Southern thing! raised in Texas, everything is a coke!
same here in Kentucky!
How does that makes sense though? If you want a Sprite you still say can I have a Coke or do you say may I have a clear Coke? What if you want a Pepsi or Orange soda
It's all called coke. At a restaurant they will ask, "What kind of coke do you want?" Reply: "A Dr. Pepper"
How does that make sense....please I'm so lost with WHY all carbonated drinks who be refereed to one BRAND of carbonated beverage.
Do you think that might have something to do with a certain soft drink behemoth based in Atlanta?
I agree but it's not all over the whole South.
I grew up in southeast VA, but never heard of this until I moved away to college in TN...everything there is a coke! Never understood it!
It is a type of pop.. Soda describes the pop..... Calling it a type of soda is like calling Orange juice just orange... No one would understand it. Never really understood why people refer to soda pop as soda... or coke for that matter. I always found that funny. What kind of coke would you like? I will take a pepsi! ha!
Why not call Soda Pop a soda? Sure calling them all Coke is stupid, but there were "Soda Fountains" for years. Because the drinks were made with soda water. Where did the Pop that you are so anxious about come from?
Thank you so much for your post. You go to the soda fountain or get a fountain soda! I have never heard 'pop' used with the word 'fountain'
Yeah really, I don't think they were calling it all "Pop" right from the beginning! Pop must have come from "Soda Pop"...why, who knows. Surprise, you don't speak for all of us!
Interesting how the regional divisions are already coming to light!
soda describes the carbonation part of the drink, right? so why would calling a carbonated beverage 'soda' be wrong?
pop doesn't describe anything, does it?
The question specifically asks about COLA flavored soft drinks. Not other flavors: Root beer, lemon lime, etc. It's asking about friggin COLA!
Thank you for pointing that out! You're correct.
I agree, unscientific!!
Here in Central Illinois, you can tell when a waiter is not from around here. "Can I get you something to drink?" "Yeah, a Coke, please." "Pepsi OK?" If they were born and raised in Central Illinois, they'll just bring you the Pepsi without saying "Pepsi OK?" because they know that Pepsi, Coke, and RC are interchangeable. And EVERYBODY knows that the best "Cherry Coke" is actually made with RC Cola. It mixes better with the grenadine.
LOL@tiffini So true... in the south they do say that. But I'm glad they do because i don't like Pepsi. If they don't have Coke I will order something else. It was funny when i was in France and in a deli line, the French person behind the counter asked someone if Pepsi was okay and the guy said NO. LOL. Even across the world... there is a difference. hehehhe
Interesting. For me if they don't have Pepsi, I drink root beer or water. Won't have Coke on a bet.
As for those criticizing this poll as "not newsworthy" or something? For crying out loud! Lighten up! Why are you reading it? You had to click to get here and the subject was obvious on page one. Then you had to take precious "real" news reading time to make a comment. There is more to life than doom and gloom all the fricken' time. Sheesh!
[Rant mode off.]
Hoo boy, Aproudcitizen, know whut ya mean! when I moved to France in '94, I was hooked on Diet Dr Pepper [and try finding THAT in rural France -- hard enough in Paris, where if you COULD find it, it cost more than a buck/can]. I learned VERY quickly to live on Diet Coke - excuse me, "Coca Light" - which was widely available, even in my little town of Provins, at least in the liter bottles. So when I got back to Texas, I couldn't face DDP again ...
And now, if a restaurant offers me a "soft drink," I ALWAYS check and say, "Are y'all Coke or Pepsi?" If they answer "Pepsi," I'll just ask for "Water, please" - because there is an ENORMOUS difference.
Pepsi is swill. :)
(And now, because of insomnia and other health issues, I'm relegated to Caffeine-Free Diet Coke after 3 pm ... there is NOTHING of value in that brown fizzy water, believe me.)
I'm from the south and every thing is better with RC and that is what I call it RC because that's it's name.
Suzi - do you pronounce it "Ar-uh see" like my old boss did? :)
Pepsi, Coke and RC are not interchangeable. I certainly don't want wait staff deciding to bring a drink that I didn't ask for.
There is a definite difference in the taste of Pepsi and Coke. RC and any generic cola is crap.
Really!!!!1 Coke is too sweet and RC is plain nasty. If I ask for a Pepsi I want a Pepsi
Coke is sweeter than Pepsi?
Mike to me it is, but all colas are nasty to me.
Grenadine? For a 'cherry' coke? Grenadine isn't cherry- it's pomegranate.
It's a legal thing: I understand Coke sends out testers to see whether restaurants serving Pepsi will fill an order for "Coke" and, if so, there may be a trademark violation suit that follows.
good grief, no wonder this country is in the tank.
Wow country in the tank, huh. I notice you had so many interesting and enlightening things to say. Thank you for showing us the error of our ways.
So, if we unify and all refer to these beverages by a single term (I vote for "magic bubbly potion"), all of our problems with be solved? Sweet Jesus! I'm writing a letter to my Senator right now to spread the word. We'll have it on the ballot this November and by January, it'll be smooth sailing for the USA!
Hoping you're being sarcastic. Otherwise, someone needs to lightn up...
...and before anyone feels the need to correct my spelling..it's a typo. "lighten"
Because of this?! You can play this game with different names for all kinds of things in different parts of the country! It's not uncommon to have different regional names even within small countries (or our states). If you are thinking that soft drinks/soda/pop etc is so important to us we have to have so many names for it, one reason we're in the tank... I guess I get your meaning!
.
... there is a line somewhere in the Midwest, whereby when you cross over it, "Soda" becomes "Pop" (going West) and "Pop" becomes "Soda" (going East).
???
That is here in Wisconsin... Take a look at the link to the map someone posted. Our state is split right down the middle. I live on the east side of the state, my parents on the west. This has been a debate for quite a while :)
In my experienc, that line hits somewhere near Rochester NY. I lived out that way for a time, and some called it soda, some pop.
I grew up in CT where everyone called it soda. Now I am in IL where everyone calls it pop. I still say soda though, but I drink water.
LOL at the amount of people calling anything brown "Cokes". Coke is one drink, Dr. Pepper is not Coke, neither is Root Beer.
I use the term 'Coke' to refer to pepsi/coca-cola/and any generic form there of for that type of drink. I use 'rootbeer' or 'Dr Pepper' for those specific drinks.
FOr the people who use the word, "Coke" isn't just for the brown stuff. Ex:
"You want a Coke?"
"Yeah."
"What kind?"
"Sprite"
Those of us who use the term "Coke" aren't saying all carbonated soft drinks are in any way related to "Coca-Cola". We're just using the brand name the same way some people call all tissues "Kleenex".
exactly. as kids, our family would call them all "cokes".. whether it was ginger ale, sprite, whatever... We used to get made fun of for it, and even my girlfriend a few years ago joked with me (she is from ohio) saying "there not all cokes, its pop/soda" but I would disagree haha. Its definitely a south thing I think..
Call it the un-cola :)
http://www.hybridhondas.com
Could you please stop spamming your typosite in all the cnn comments??
Depends on what kind of soda it is. "Cola flavored" covers a range of things. Dr Pepper does not taste like Pepsi, and neither of them tastes like Coca Cola, nor do they taste like Jolt. I call them what's on the label, but collectively they are all brands of Cola, which is a subcategory of Pop. Pop includes ginger ale, root beer, lemon-lime, etc.
Dr. Pepper is not one of the "Cola's" A Cola drink (Pepsi, Coke, RC, etc) are all cola because they are made from the Cola Nut. Just because something is brownish, doesn't mean it's a cola.
And I would say they are a sub-category of Soft Drink. :-)
That is just high powered sugar, that will aim at fat cells, over ride insulin pumps, create fat in blood, later clog arteries, cause obesity and diabetes, and the list goes on. High powered carbonated sugar, is a poison.
Amen!!! The medical and dental industries are making milllions off Cokes, Sodas and Pop!
These (insert blank) carbonated drinks in excess are also linked to kidney cancer.
So what? I hate it when people feel like they have to down anything thing that other people may enjoy. YOU live without drinking soda, if that's YOUR choice!
Lovely thought, that. Are you aware the cost to our health care system (and Medicare/Medicaid) and the rising insurance costs that your 'choice' makes? Have you any grasp of how many millions of dollars our national rate of diabetes and insulin resistance costs us? Probably not, or you wouldn't say such silly things.
Hey Debbie Downer, I pay for my insurance, even when I don't use it, so I will be drinking my soda and sweet tea as much as I like.
That's why they created Diet Soda!!!
It would have been nice to have a button to identify where you're from – it would make the poll a little more meaningful
You ask and you shall receive. It is a bit outdated, but here is a 2003 map called "Generic Names for Soft Drinks By County" http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/popvssodamap.gif
Great map Rachel. Looks like the folks in Alaska need to make up their mind on the subject.
Rachel, thank you so much for sharing the map URL. It confirms what I've intuitively known for years, Growing up in the south (NW Florida where our beaches are being spoiled by another brownish goo), everything was called a "coke". It wasn't until I started moving around that I heard Pop (midwest/Ohio), Tonic (Far NE), soda (majority of the midwest). The map you shared provides some validation to my experience. thanks!
WhenI first came to Texas many years ago, I heard called as, "sodie water".
IMO they kind of spoiled it by saying this was cola-flavored. Soft drink is generic to me, but not just for cola.
I live in Wisconsin and there has always been a fierce debate on soda vs. pop. Now I know why. Interesting to see the state split like that. And I live in a county that's right on the division line. But I think all Wisconsinites can agree that it's a drinking fountain is a bubbler.
Rachel, this is so funny! I'm a Rachel from Wisconsin also, and I happened to be reading your post and laughing because I know just what you're talking about. And I live in Atlanta now and everyone obviously calls it coke... and no one has any clue what a bubbler is. Thought it was pretty crazy that I have an Internet doppelganger. Cool map by the way; I love researching rando facts as well. hahaha
Interesting...What's with the big Green areas in New Mexico for "other". What do they call it?
Grew up in Toronto and it was definitely "Pop", which seems to correspond well with your map.
no doubt! i can tell you though the regional distribution would pretty much break down to...
the south: they're all called Cokes & soft drink
the north: soda, pop & soda pop
Wah, there you go John... Thanks Rachel!! Like John I do believe a demographic of the poll would have been more insightful...
For sure...Canadians = pop......Americans = Soda
I'm Canadian and it's SODA!
Pop is not just Canadian – it's been a Midwestern U.S. term for decades. IL-WI-MI – we say "Pop"
In the seventies there used to be store called "The Pop Shoppe" where you could refill your bottles – so we definitely used the term "pop" in Alberta growing up.
I'm American live in Idaho and it's Pop, always has been Pop. Moved to Texas for awhile and had to call it Soda cause they weren't sure what Pop was!!!
East = soda
Midwest = pop
East = rubber band
Midwest = binder
Here's the Pop-Soda map. It's very split as you can see, based on geography.
http://popvssoda.com:2998/countystats/total-county.html
I'm from New England and I've heard people refer to carbonated soft drinks as "Tonics".
Interesting. I grew up in western MA and never heard anyone use the term "tonic". Although once when I was visiting France as a teenager, I was offered an "Indian Tonic". My gracious host clearly assumed it was a popular American beverage, and wanted to make me feel at home. It turned out to be room temperature tonic water. Blah.
But these terms tend to be regional. It would be interesting to see how the responses break down by local.
Mid-eighties in eastern Ma, everything was tonic. Soda machines would read tonic instead, but I haven't heard it used in a very long time.
I grew up in the Boston area and called carbonated beverages 'tonic', and people in eastern MA still use that term. I switched to using term "soda" when I was a teen and realized that no one outside of the Boston area knew what I meant if I said tonic. No matter what the local term might be, everyone seems to know what soda is.
In South Boston where I grew up, if you were going to have a sub sandwich and a coke for lunch, you'd tell your friends you were having a spukie and a tonic. In my neighborhood, that would mean a trip either to John's, or Phil's takeout. That was back in the 50's-60's when Whitey Bulger was still doing time at Alcatraz. After he got out of prison, he decided he liked that part of town and muscled in on some of the local storekeepers. Screwed up the area pretty good.
Whitey, if you are reading this, you suck!
Tonic was widely used as a boy in Eastern MA. I think the guy from Southie meant to write spuckie. I worked in Southie for a few years and some of the sandwich joints used to have them listed this way on their blackboard menus. Just a typo I'm sure, but makes it a lot less regurgatative.
I think tonic is an eastern mass thing...i grew up there but now live in western mass (thankfully)...its a whole different world :)
I live in western Massachusetts as well, and many of my college friends from the eastern part of the state referred to soda as tonic.
Yeah, my wife is from the suburbs south of Boston, and her family refers to it as 'tonic' as well. From what I gather, this region once called all carbonated beverages 'tonic' going back to the turn of the last century, owing to the word's literal meaning ("makes a sound").
I'm originally from SE Massachusetts (Acushnet). Back in the 80s, while attending a regional high school (go, Old Colony Cougars!), I knew quite a few "tonic" drinkers... I, myself, always drank "soda." My family and I went on vacation to Laconia, NH one year. At a restaurant, I was asked what kind of "coke" I wanted; they had Coca-Cola, orange, Sprite, and root beer. I thought that was weird!!!!
I grew up in eastern MA near Boston, and knew a great many people who said "tonic" - all of them my grandmother's age or older. I think as a term, it's dying out.
LET'S BRING IT BACK.
I grew up just calling them all "Cokes" but as I got older I just refer to them by name, Coke, Dr.Pepper, Pepsi, etc.
here in kentucky and south, as kids we all called them "cokes"...I don't now. We would say, "wanna coke?" and they would ask "what kind?" and then offer them a dr. pepper, coca cola, etc. I have family in Michigan, and I believe they call them sodas, or pop if I remember correctly. Haven't been up there in forever.. interesting poll.. :)
SUGAR.
Diabetes juice!
Sugar Grenades...
In Canada we call it Rye and coke ..speaking of it lunch time
"bountiful liquid essence of Satan"
Awesome Jimbo!
Delicious diabetes nectar