The Ultimate Flame War Question: Is It "SODA" Or Is It "POP?"

[Perrie Juran]

Link goes to an article and a one question survey.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/01/140110133/soda-or-pop-which-do-you-drink

So is it SODA or is it POP?

[Jesica Dragovar]

I say "soft drink"

 

be glad you're not from Texas, they call it all "coke" as in "what would you like to drink" "a coke" "ok what kind?" "pepsi"

[Storm Clarence]

Soda.  A coke and a NYC slice of pizza! 

[Orabelle]

I don't call it either, I refer to it by the proper name, like "Pepsi" or "Mountain Dew" or whatever.

I stay away from carbonated drinks either way.

[Keli Kyrie]

Funny thing is I have always called it "Sodapop."

[Chelsea Malibu]

Soft drink for me too.

[Suella Ember]

Pop, but them I'm English. I always though pop was what we Brits say and soda was what American's say.

According to that map though 'coke' as a generic term is in quite common usage across the states which, as Jessica aluded to, is a bit random!

"Hello! What would you like to drink?"

"Coke please"

"What type of coke would you like?"

"Ummm ... coke type?!"

"Yes, but what type of coke?"

"Coke!!"

"Yes ok! But what coke would you like?"

"COKE! I WANT A BLOODY COKE!"

:smileyvery-happy:

P.S. First time I've been on the forums in weeks and can I just say I was delighted to find this important philosophical debate rather than the usual tired, old debates about SL! :smileytongue:

ETA: Actually, am I right in thinking that in America you'd generally ask for either "Coca Cola" or "Pepsi" if you wanted a coke? Interestingly, over here we generally just ask for "coke" and get whichever brand the place happens to be selling!

[Ishtara Rothschild]

I prefer soft drink too. Or lemonade (does anybody still use that word?) Soda is the German word for natron or baking soda, so it always looks quite strange to me when someone refers to a drink as soda. And pop is short for pop music I didn't know it was used for carbonated drinks.

[Storm Clarence]

A classic

[Suella Ember]

mmmmmmm .... cheeseburger

[Venus Petrov]

I grew up in an area where all soft drinks were referred to as 'pop'.  I moved some 95 miles to another city in the same state where soft drinks were 'soda'.  I moved again, this time westward to the edge of the lower 48, and called it 'soft drink'.

Now, I drink mostly water.  No confusion.

ETA:  I neglected to mention that where I now live, it is all 'Coke'.  Ugh.

[Bree Giffen]

I use soda. I saw a map once that had the US divided on who uses what name. I think coke is used all over the south.

[Kylie Jaxxon]

Born on the east coast, moved down south to Florida, now in the midwest...always been pop to us

[Melita Magic]

I say soda. I hear others call it pop but not for a while. And a few have called it sodie pop.

[Void Singer]

it's whatever it says on the can/bottle.... if I need a generic term it's "soda".

but I'm very used to hearing both "soda", and "coke", and currently live in an area where the generic term is 50/50 "pop", or "soda", but I don't here either often.

 

ETA:
@Suella:
the answer to end that discussion is "classic"

[Cinnamon Mistwood]

I am not sure what people from other countries call a generic carbonated drink, but it depends on where you're from if you live in the US.  I've lived on every side of the United States and it is different depending on where you are.  I ask for a  "cola" if I want a dark carbonated beverage and a "soda" for a light one.  I ask for rootbeer by name.

Oh...  This was suppose to be a flame war.  How dare you guys call it sodapop!  What is wrong with you?  Have you completely lost your mind?  Jeez!!!!  Get it right...

Cinn

[Dillon Levenque]

I'd seen 'soda pop' in print and sometimes heard it spoken, maybe on TV shows or in movies, but had never heard anyone actually say that. Where I grew up—West Coast—the common expression was either 'coke' or if you didn't want that brand, you named the one you wanted.  On a short term contract in the upper Midwest I heard everyone saying 'pop', and that was the first time I'd ever actually heard it called that.

Cinn, you're right. We've let the OP down. No flames. Are we allowed to compare RL brand names? I know it's off limits to talk about SL merchants; what are the rules for RL merchants? I shall boldly go where no idiot (to the best of my knowledge) has gone before:

Coca Cola bores me. If I want a cola drink I'll fill a glass with ice cubes, pour in a can or bottle of Pepsi, and wait for the crackling to stop.

 

[ChloeRenee]

Its Pop around these parts ...Soda if you're a tourist. lol!

[Dagmar Heideman]

Carbonated corn syrup flavored beverage. :smileytongue:

[Perrie Juran]

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Ishtara Rothschild wrote:

I prefer soft drink too. Or lemonade (does anybody still use that word?) Soda is the German word for natron or baking soda, so it always looks quite strange to me when someone refers to a drink as soda. And pop is short for pop music

I didn't know it was used for carbonated drinks.

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Which reminded me that there used to be I believe now an obsolete variation referred to as a "Phosphate Soda" 

So you would order a "Phosphate."  Generally were orange or lemon flavored.

[Perrie Juran]

And any one that dare corrupts Jack Daniel's by mixing it with Coke should be shot.

Only a low life would dare dilute that sweet nectar.

 

[Anaiya Arnold]

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Ishtara Rothschild wrote:

Soda is the German word for natron or baking soda, so it always looks quite strange to me when someone refers to a drink as soda.

Baking soda is bicarbonate soda, which is commonly used to carbonate water.  All soft drinks (or soda pops, sodas, pops, cokes....lol) are carbonated. 

Soda water was an early popular carbonated drink, so it makes sense the soda might be used to refer to flavoured variations.  The pop no doubt refers to the action of the carbon bubbles (the bubbles form and pop).  Older references I have seen in print refer to "soda pop" so both soda and pop are probably localized derivatives of soda pop.

I believe I heard somewhere that soft drink references the absence of alcohol.

Another name I do not recall being mentioned in this thread yet is "fizzy drink" which again refers to action of the carbon.

[Void Singer]

good spiced rum and (the no longer made*) cherry vanilla coke...

 

(*probably because that's all it was really good for)

[Mayalily]

It's mostly soda or soft drink where I come from.  I don't drink soda, so when offered a choice of soda's, I say "I don't drink soda" and drink water instead. 

Sodapop was one word at one time though.  I've seen that on retro tin pan alley type signs from the 40's and 50's.  I used to work in the antiques and collectibles business.  

ETA:  Now waits for a flamewar about my incorrect useage of the word "antiques", or "tin pan alley", or an out of place comma or period, etc, etc.... ad infant naseum. 

[Storm Clarence]

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Mayalily wrote:

 ...

ad infant naseum

. 

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ad infant nauseam   :matte-motes-bored: