So is it "soda", "pop", "cola", or something else

[Godhumor]

Where you're from?

Rochester is definitely "pop" country.

I forget where it was, but I know some place just called everything Coke. That was rather confusing actually ("I'd like a Coke." "What Kind?" "Um, Coke." "Yeah, but what kind?").

[racaulk]

1. Here in Atlanta, everything is a "Coke."

We're the home of Coca-Cola, after all. :)

Seriously, I call all of them soda. I don't think I ever use "pop" or "cola" to describe soft drinks.

[SCantiGOP]

45. coke in the south

All natives order coke. Most places don't even point out if the 'coke' they are serving happens to Pepsi. The only other term you'll hear on occasion is soda, but that is usually from transplants.

[mitchum]

55. "Dope" was really common as the generic term for soda among older southerners...

when I was a kid

[Lyric]

2. Pop here in north-central WV

We've always called it "pop". ThinkBlue1966 was a "soda" or "Coke" girl until I lured her into moving up here. Now she calls it pop too, lol.

[AllegroRondo]

3. Just visited Michigan

where everything is "pop" - we call it "soda" down here.

[Godhumor]

14. We actually have a Pop vs. Soda rivalry in parts of NY

People get very ornery about their soft drinks, and I have heard some major confrontations about the correct lingo. This is true, When I was in college we had two guys go at it to the point that dictionaries came out and various definitions were read. I'm pretty certain that ended with some book throwing.

I'm also ashamed to admit that I once took a Central New Yorker to a Wegmans and showed him the aisle labeled pop.

[supernova]

4. Everything's Coke in the South

until you actually get to choosing your drink. Then you can say the brand.

[Heidi]

12. Yep.

When you order a Coke, don't be surprised if you're asked, "What kind?" :rofl:

:hi: supernova!

[supernova]

13. Oh so true!

:hi: backatcha Heidi! :D

[Heidi]

16. How 'bout some curly fries with that? Yer lookin' a lil bit peak-ed.

:rofl: :spray:

[supernova]

24. You are a true Southerner!

:D :rofl:

[Art_from_Ark]

22. You, too?

And here I had thought that that was just restricted to Arkansas in the '60s... :toast: (raising glasses of "Coke" made by the RC Company)

[Heidi]

28. Ha! But you _knew_ that about me, smarty pants!

So nice to see you, my friend! :hug:

[Art_from_Ark]

49. Here, have a "Koken-saft" on me!

:toast:

Here in Japan, they just call everything "juice". It keeps things simple :rofl:

[1gobluedem]

5. Pop here in Michigan

Always has been.

[Marrah_G]

6. Soda

[trof]

7. 'Cold drink'

"You wanna drink? Beer? Glass of wine? Or a cold drink?"
In the parts of Alabama I've lived in a 'drink' always meant 'mixed drink', a bourbon & branch or whatever.

And a 'cold drink' is a soft drink.

[AllegroRondo]

8. and the iced tea is either sweet or unsweet

I always liked that about the south - pre-sweetened iced tea. here, its just unsweeted, add your own sugar, which never tastes as good.

[trof]

9. Yep. "You want sweetea, honey?"

[bigwillq]

10. I call it soda

I live in CT

[Heidi]

11. Where I grew up, it was "Coke," even if it was Nehi, Sprite, Dr Pepper

or any other brand. :rofl:

I generally call it "soda" now, though. :hi:

[grace0418]

15. Pop, soda, soda-pop or soft drink here in Chicago. I've heard (and probably said)

them all. Soda is the one I use the most.

[Katina]

17. Soda in the NY/NJ area but

it's just bubbly sugar water that does nothing for you but rot your teeth & your stomach lining. :puke: (sorry to offend, but I don't like soda, pop, cola whatever you want to call it)

[SarahB]

18. carbonated beverage

:P

[PRETZEL]

19. Growing up in Western PA it was always pop

but having lived on the other end of the state the last 20 years or so, it's become soda.

[ghostsofgiants]

20. Soda.

Using "Coke" or "cola" as a generic annoys the hell out of me. I don't care where you're from, they are a very specific type of soda.

[AlCzervik]

21. tonic.

[Strawman]

23. Pop

[SoxFan]

25. Tonic

It's pretty much limited to eastern Mass and southern NH.

[TZ]

26. soda here in MD, in Ohio (Cleveland) its always pop..

which confused the hell out of me as a little girl who lived in Maryland and visited Cleveland relatives every summer.:)

[Taverner]

27. Drink

[SacredCow]

29. It's Coke if it's Coca-Cola....

It's Sprite if it's Sprite; It's Pepsi if it's Pepsi; It's 7-Up if it's 7-Up, etc.....

In Louisiana, there's not really a generic term. "Soft Drinks" is used sometimes as a catch-all (As in "Soft Drinks will be provided, but bring your own booze") but for actually ordering your drink you use the specific name of the beverage- It's the only thing that really makes sense. What if the same thing applied to beer, after all? You'd order a beer, perhaps in your mind expecting Guiness, Bass, Warsteiner (whatever floats your boat) and end up with Pabst. Specificity is a good thing!

[TheProphetess]

30. Growing up in Northeast Ohio, it was always pop

But after traveling a bit, I've changed my ways and now I say soda. I did meet someone from Missouri who called everything Coke. I found that to be quite funny.

[Adsos Letter]

31. Soda...

here in California its Soda...like "I'll have a soda"...unless you specifically want a cola product, in which case everything seems to be "Coke", much to the frustration of the fast-food drive-up window folks...

:D

[jobycom]

32. Coke coke coke coke coke coke coke. Keep your pop sodi-waters.

It's Coke.

[EstimatedProphet]

33. Soda. Any other term is incorrect.

[BarenakedLady]

34. Actually I hear it both ways

around here (pop and soda).

[WritingIsMyReligion]

35. Soda. Just plain ole soda.

Anything else is friggin' weird. :P

:hi:

[Shell Beau]

36. Yeah, it is coke down here in MS!

[fizzgig]

37. i've always said soda

don't know if it has anything to do with region (i'm in colorado), it's just my preference.

[MsKandice01]

38. It's SODA...

I'm quite passionate about this. I've had many of a soda v. pop debate.

[philosophie_en_rose]

58. That is correct.

Soda is the correct term. Pop is a verb, not a noun. :)

[Jimbo S]

39. Mixed results in Wisconsin

Here in Milwaukee/Waukesha it's "soda".

My hometown of Madison 60 miles away it's "pop".

Similar situation with other words. It's like being in two countries, I sometimes have to think twice when I'm engaged in conversation so I use the correct word.

Somewhere out on the web graphics exists breaking this down by region, the issue of soda/sneakers/etc. but I'm not saavy or energenic enough to search for it.

[hedgehog]

40. The pop-soda line runs somewhere between Rochester and Syracuse.

Add to that - my cousins from Youngstown thought that our Buffalo accents were hilarious when we said "pop".

[Godhumor]

43. Oh my students in Syracuse gave me hell...

Born in Ohio, raised in Rochester, went to school in Buffalo--for me, every step of live was pop. Teaching in Syracuse now, my little smart alec 9th graders all laugh at me anytime I say pop. I finally had to institute a no-soda rule in my classroom, and said we were doing things the proper Western NY way (Syracuse is considered Central NY).

The 9th graders found that to be even funnier. Little SOBs started including words that sounded like soda into almost every answer they gave me.

[CottonBear]

41. In the South everything is a Coke.

That's just the way it is!

I'd never heard anyone say soda or pop until a family from Michigan moved to my Southern small town neighborhood.

[LadyoftheRabbits]

42. I'm a Southerner born and bred, living in the North...

and it's still "Coke" or "soda." :P

[eyepaddle]

44. Pop here in MN

I personally like to overcomplicate EVERYTHING so I often say soda pop. But, if push comes to shove, it's "pop" baby!

[Tektonik]

46. soda

only heathens say 'pop'

[CatholicEdHead]

47. It is Pop

And Water Fountains, no Bubblers for me.

[patricia92243]

48. Soft drink - here in NC

[S n o w b a l l]

50. soft drink

and then the specific kind. Pop sounds especially weird around here.

[I Have A Dream]

51. The area where I grew up said soft drink. The area where I live now says pop.

Regardless of how long I live here, I can't bring myself to say pop.

[conscious evolution]

52. CoCola

The local CocaCola bottler where I grew up used bottles that said this.
I still call t by that name.
They branded me young.

[blondeatlast]

53. Soda; but I grew up in KS, CO, and MT before settling in AZ.

My KS relatives call it "pop," though.

[mitchum]

54. Soda, unless I'm pretending to be from Brooklyn, then it's pop...

as in "Hey Frankie, ya wanna pop?"

[baldguy]

56. This debate has it's own web page

http://popvssoda.com:2998/countystats/total-county.gif

http://popvssoda.com:2998/

[Roon]

57. I was working in texas

when I asked the girl at the front counter of the hotel i was at.."can i have change for the pop machine?" she then asked me where i was from...pretty wild