Pop vs. Soda

[Planderella]

What do you call your soft drinks? :B

This is an interesting website. It shows the regional distribution of survey respondents' soda preference name. "Pop" is heavily used in the Midwest whereas "Coke" is predominant in the South. Although the survey isn't random, I think it's pretty accurate. As a lifelong southerner, I can't even fathom asking for a pop as opposed to a coke or rootbeer.

 

[Repo Man]

I live in the midwest and use the term soda. Most people in the Milwaukee area seem to use the word soda. I rarely hear people say Pop.

 

[Jeff]

I remember when I was in the Marines half the guys wanted pop, the other half wanted soda. Definitly a MidWest thing.

Me, I'll take a Vanilla Coke please.

 

[El Feo]

Coke. It's all Coke.

Much like those disposable tissues are "kleenex," regardless or the manufacturer. I'm with you, I can't imagine ordering a "pop" or "soda."

I wonder if the distribution can be correlated with "water fountain v. bubbler" as well.

By the way, Planderella - what are y'all doing in New Orleans to deserve two big storms in two weeks? Hope you dodge a big bullet this time as well - take care AGAIN.

 

[mike gurnee]

"What do you call your soft drinks?"

--mixers.

 

[NHPlanner]

We've been here before...

http://cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1330

 

[Tranplanner]

Toronto is definitely "pop" country.

 

[Tom R]

Lili

Look out Planderella, Lili's a Cat 3!

 

[Planderella]

Vanilla Cokes are quite yummy!


I hate to wish a Category 3 hurricane on anyone else, but as long as Lili stays west of New Orleans, we won't get hurt too much by it. We're still trying to clean up the mess tropical storm Isidore left behind last week. It looks likely that southwest Louisiana will bear the brunt of it.

http://cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1330

That's what I thought but I was too lazy to look for the old link.

 

[Tom R]

Lili

Make that a category 4.

 

[kms]

I call it coke, from KY origins. My kids call it pop.

We had this question at work. We were working on a project for kids that would be available statewide. Some of my coworkers were concerned that if we called it pop, or called it soda, kids from the opposite end of the state wouldn't know what we meant. We settled on soft drink for text, and the graphic bottle label red "rootbeer".

 

[smarty]

A-hoy Mateys!!!!!!!!!!!!

I be hijackin' this 'ere thread............aaarrrggghhhhhh

Here in this office we're on a tack of 'taste testing' all the new 'energy drinks', all the Red Bull knockoffs. So pop or soda has taken a definite backseat to this little cans. So far we've lined up Red Bull (when mixed with vodka called Liquid Crack by the 'just turned 21' crowd), Venom, KMX, Whoop A$$, Crazy Larry's, Adrenaline, Dark Dog, 180, Monster and RockStar.

Any other suggetions on ones to try?? I had a Red Rooster in Edinburgh and that one was nuts. Amped me up all night even after a full belly at YoYo Sushi...............

 

[Planderella]

I just tried my first energy drink - KMX. I'm sitting under the a.c. sweating my butt off bouncing around full of nervous energy. Mix that with all this anticipation about the impending storm and you've got one helluva combination.

 

[Jeff]

I think Red Bull is by far the best of all of them. They sponsor alot of bike races so I usually get a chance to get all amped up on them before getting on the bike. Definitly good stuff.

Red Bull and Kettle One is also good stuff.

 

[jmf]

Soda vs Pop

I think we have done this one before but an acquaintance has a blog which lists map related websites and today he included a link to the following site .

I just thought it was kind of cool.

 

[Chet]

It's soda. The rest of you are freaks.

edit: (sorry, freaks!)

 

[Zoning Goddess]

The poll does not include the Southern redneck "co-cola".

I'm with Chet. It's soda.

 

[biscuit]

All of us right thinking people of the world know that it's Coke. Where the rest of you came up with, "Pop" or "Soda" is a mystery to me.

 

[michaelskis]

I got ripped on when I moved here… I said pop, they called it soda. So to piss everyone off, I called it Carbonated Caffeinated Carmel Colored Beverage, but it got long, so I now call it Cola.

 

[Seabishop]

Soda - I would be beaten if I said "pop."

 

[Suburb Repairman]

I say soda since I've lived in Texas my whole life. I love giving my girlfriend crap about saying pop since she's from Ohio.

 

[NHPlanner]

Soda....though my dad and several of the older generation of New Englanders call it Tonic.

 

[Planderella]

We definitely did this before, but it's always cool to revisit fun topics. I either call the drink by it's given name or call it a "cold drink."

The link I provided in this thread provides an interesting distribution of what people call the drinks by region.

 

[Cardinal]

Damn. Once again my city, which lies on the borders of three counties is bisected by a region. My Illinois roots pull me in the direction of saying... pop. In Canada they would simply say 'beer.'

 

[moose]

Soda (or Sody, when I am in a silly mood). I don't know anyone in California that calls it "pop", but nearly everyone in Oregon does, which makes me snicker every time I hear it.

OT: even though some topics have been covered before, not all of us were around at the time, so I for one, appreciate the revisited topics.

 

[Wannaplan?]

Depending on my mood, I'll usually ask for a soda pop, the politically correct request in this age of regionalisms, or a carbonated beverage, if I'm feeling a bit silly.

Of course, if I know they serve Pepsi, then I'll ask for a Pepsi, or a Coke if they have Coke. But if you are in San Francisco, then you'll have to ask for an RC.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

everyone around here calls it pop. but then again if its pepsi its just called poop. anyone here ever drink aunt rosie's loganberry? i think its just a regional drink here but it goes mighty good with vodka.

 

[Tranplanner]

In Canada they would simply say 'beer.'

Otherwise known as "brown pop"

 

[otterpop]

Soda vs Pop

It is Coke. No matter what it is, if it is a soft drink it is a Coke, unless of course it is a 7up. At least that is how we Deep Southerners have always said it. On a camping trip once we made friends with a school teacher from Boston, who had a conniption every time us Southern boys called our various soft drinks "cokes". Finally we just started doing it to get a rise out of her. Soda is that stuff you put in the back of the fridge so your food doesn't smell funky. Pop is my best friend's dad, may he rest in peace. Yes, and I do know that coke is what Yuppies put up their noses in the Eighties. Still it is a coke, unless it is a 7up.

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

It's pop. The rest of you are Chets

edit: (sorry Chet!)

I grew up in the midwest and so the map is correct from my standpoint.

 

[donk]

Beer = wobbly pop
Carbonated Beverage = pop

I like that someone has thought this topic important enough to map and examine the linguistic implications of teh word used to describe pop.

I have to assume that the "others" category in Quebec are for Pepsi.

Even though we have done this before, it does follow the rule of reposting when new information is to be added or a suitable length of time has passed.

 

[nerudite]

My California roots lead me to say either 'soda' or occasionally 'coke'. Up here they say pop, and I go along with it from time to time.

 

[Big Easy King]

Let's face it...it's that refreshing cold drink that makes you belch with a vengeance - Coca Cola!

 

[biscuit]

The poll does not include the Southern redneck "co-cola".

I'm a little bit rusty but if I remember my Southern redneck properly, "Coke," means any carbonated beverage, excluding the fruity ones like Cher-Wine and Sunkist. While "Co-cola" is brand specific.

 

[SkeLeton]

Soda...
[ot]
I remember having problems adapting to the british English that my school taught here... god damned "lorries"

The US Northeastern accent still prevails [/ot]

 

[kms]

Coke it is. I've always called it that, so has my family. I only drink Coca Cola products, anyway, so that eliminates any confusion.

 

[BiteMeElmo]

Pop has always been the word for me, unless referring to a specific brand or flavor thereof (coke, orange, etc.)

 

[H]

Growing up in ATL., Coke is it! I didn’t even realize there were other soft drinks until I went to college out of state. :-S

 

[Mud Princess]

Always "soda" to me.

I remember the first time I met someone from the midwest, and she asked if I wanted to get some "pop." I thought she said POT!

 

[Dan]

Pop. Fortunately, I don't say it in a Buffalo accent, like "paaahp"

People who call it "soda" are pretentious New York City wannabes. I won't even get into the New Englanders that call it "tonic", "bubbly" or "phosphate".

 

[Howard Roark]

In my corner of the Midwest it has always been soda, I realized this was not universal when I went away to college and my townie roomate asked me if I wanted a pop, I thought he was joking, it sounded pretty corny to me at the time.

 

[steveanne]

I use both pop and soda. And I get hassled either way. I think I'm going to drink water from now on... That is until the debate on whether it's called water or H2O starts.

 

[pete-rock]

It's pop, and pop only. Like Faygo's Red Pop in Detroit.

I looked at the linguistic map. Why is central and southern Illinois and the eastern third of Wisconsin (where they apparently say soda) different from the rest of the Midwest?

 

[JNL]

Over here, it ain't soda, it ain't pop, it's soft drink! Or referred to by the product name: Coke, Sprite, Pepsi etc

 

[Greenescapist]

Having just moved to Wisconsin, I expected hear people call soda "pop" - at least that's what I thought the Midwestern reputation was.. I think I see soda here more, just like the East Coast.

Old timers around Boston actually call all soda "tonic."

 

[Nemesis]

To the Aunt Rosie Drinker. I import the Syrup from family to Maryland in Gallon Jugs. I mix it at home, barbeque a few white hots or Sahlens and yum.

Sometimes I use Aunt Rosies mix on Vanilla Ice cream as well as Mixing it with Vodka. I think this is how Mad Dog is made.

 

[ilikefish0]

I either call the drink by it's given name or call it a "cold drink."

I really had a problem with this back when I worked in the concession stand and in the restaurant. Someone would ask for a "cold drink." This, unfortunately, would make me want to scream "Which one do you want! They're all cold!"

Then again, I'm all about "soft drink" or product name.

 

[Markitect]

I think I'm going to drink water from now on... That is until the debate on whether it's called water or H2O starts.

Ah, but are you going to drink your water from a bubbler, a drinking fountain, or a water fountain, or something else (when not getting it from the water cooler or at the sink)?

In my corner of Wisconsin, we almost always say "soda," when making a generic reference to carbonated beverages. I oftentimes go the extra distance and specify brand names when necessary. I have also heard it called "soda water," mainly by some elderly people. "Pop" is out of the question.

As for water, my part of Wisconsin drinks from a "bubbler," as that's where the term and the water dispensing device to which it refers was invented (originally manufactured by the Kohler Company). From what I've read on the subject, "bubbler" appears primarly in eastern Wisconsin and the upper penninsula of Michigan; with some isolated patches in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and way down in parts of Australia.

 

[Otis]

It's always been "coke" for me.

I thought in the deep south it was "RC"

 

[Jen]

rum and Pop, or rum and soda?

I grew up saying soda, remember ordering a soda and whiskey on my 18th birthday and the barkeep, not a native Floridian obviously gave me a tonic and whiskey instead!

Here in Michigan everyone says Pop, the lil bottle of pop is more prevalent here, than say water or starbucks, you see 'pop bottles in the hands of everyone, even kids from age 3 and up. Folks even send the kids to school with a canteen size mountain dew, in elementary school! blech!