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Soda vs. Pop

Started by DaBigE, January 13, 2013, 08:35:17 PM

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What do you call that carbonated refreshment?

Soda
41 (52.6%)
Pop
23 (29.5%)
Coke
5 (6.4%)
Soda-pop
1 (1.3%)
Cola
1 (1.3%)
Fizzy Drink
1 (1.3%)
Other
6 (7.7%)

Total Members Voted: 78

DaBigE

Since the cola wars thread was heading this way, what term is preferred by the roadgeeking world?

Follow-up: anyone else referred to regular cola as "leaded" and diet as "unleaded"? I heard that one quite a few years ago at a Pizza Hut...haven't heard it since.




My personal preference is soda, with Coke and soda-pop being acceptable alternatives. My philosophy is soda is something you drink; you don't drink a sound (pop).
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister


Ian

"Soda" is what I usually call it. I personally have not heard people call soft drinks anything other than "soda's" in person being that I'm from the Northeast.
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
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cjk374

It's just how I grew up....everyone else called them cokes, & Coca-cola CLASSIC was my favorite.  Everything else was just a different flavored coke.

About the name "pop"....isn't that what the fizzy bubbles in the cokes do when they float to the top of the glass?  They pop!  :-P
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

1995hoo

Soda.

But if you buy it from a machine, you're buying a soda from a Coke machine, regardless of whose logo is on the machine (or even whether there is a logo at all). It's always a Coke machine.

If I were from Brooklyn I guess I'd call it "soder."
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

cpzilliacus

"Soda" or "Coke."

And I rarely consume "real" Coke.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

Duke87

I remember when I was maybe about 8 years old and I heard a friend of mine who's originally from Washington (state) say "mom, can I have a pop?" I had never heard the term before and it took me a few seconds to figure out what he was talking about.

I've always called it "soda", as does everyone else from around here. And yeah, some people in my family pronounce it "soder". That's a Bronx thing as well as a Brooklyn thing.
Corrolary to this: there is no such thing as "ginger ale" here - it's pronounced "jinja rail".

I was at least able to figure out what my friend had said since I had heard it referred to on TV and such as "soda pop" (I suppose the makers of mass media choose a compromise).
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

Kacie Jane

Since moving to from New Jersey ("soda" land) to Washington ("pop" land), I've slowly transitioned primarily to "soda pop", occasionally slipping and calling it "pop" and hating myself for it later.

nexus73

Down South the term I heard was "cold drink".  "Soft drink" is another term I hear.  As for me, I just buy Barq's Root Beer and call it Barq's!

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

amh424

I first learned the term "pop" at a young age, so that's what I generally prefer.  For some reason, I get irritated by the four letter "s" word.  Though often, when I go to a restaurant, I ask what kind of "soft drinks" they have, using a more neutral term.

Sykotyk

Western PA/Eastern OH is quite strongly "pop" land. Soda is the clear bubbly stuff in mixed drinks.

CentralCAroadgeek

I'm more used to saying "soda," which I think is the term most Californians use.

I'm also used to soda being referred to as "soft drinks" as that's what they call soda in the Philippines. (I'm Filipino)

empirestate

Although I grew up firmly in pop-land (Rochester, NY), I never took to using the term and I tend to eschew it even today. I'm not even sure I can cite any specific term as my personal preference, since I'm not sure it's a topic I discuss often enough to have a go-to term. I do sometimes flippantly use the term "sody-pop", probably more often than any serious usage. :-)

Oh, and this thread is definitely in the wrong board, since the soda/pop line through NYS is pretty well defined by I-81.   :biggrin:

Hot Rod Hootenanny

When I'm feeling snarky, I'll ask what 'flavored carbonated sugar water' the establishment has to offer.  :sombrero:
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

drummer_evans_aki

I'm originally from Hawaii and now living in Portland, OR. Where I'm from, the word "pop" was always used as a threat.

"What? You like me pop you one?"

Now I come here, I ask for a soda, people look at me like I'm speaking a foreign language.

Kinda like going to a coffee shop and asking for a cup of coffee praying they don't ask you what flavor.
Could you imagine getting directions from a guy with tourettes?

kphoger

As I posted in the cola wars thread, I grew up "pop" but have been converted to "soda" by my wife.

When we lived in southern Illinois, some people called it "sodie" or "sodie pop".  But, then, they also said "terlet paper", so there goes any credibility.

I had a classmate in college who, upon moving from "soda" country to Chicago, was once asked if he would like a pop.  He answered:  No thanks, I don't do drugs.  He honestly had no idea that "pop" referred to soda.

On a tangent.....
Do you call it a soda machine, a pop machine, or a coke machine?
Do you call it a soda fountain, a pop fountain, or a coke fountain?
Do you call it a soda distributor, a pop distributor, or a code distributor?
Are any of your answers different than what you call soda/pop/coke?
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

1995hoo

Quote from: Duke87 on January 13, 2013, 10:04:58 PM
....

I've always called it "soda", as does everyone else from around here. And yeah, some people in my family pronounce it "soder". That's a Bronx thing as well as a Brooklyn thing.
Corrolary to this: there is no such thing as "ginger ale" here - it's pronounced "jinja rail".

....

Indeed as a kid I was quite surprised the first time I saw the label with the words "ginger ale" because I thought it was something along the lines of what you cite. Both my parents are from Brooklyn, though it was only my mother who added the "r" on the ends of words.

You know the red plants people buy at Christmas time? When I was a kid I thought those were called "point setters."

Anyway, back to "soda" versus "pop"–the first time I remember hearing the word "pop" was in the fifth or sixth grade from another kid's parent at school. There was some kind of class party and I was told to bring "red pop" and when I asked what "pop" is I was told not to be a smart-aleck. I meant the question seriously!
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

DaBigE

Do you call it a soda machine, a pop machine, or a coke machine?
soda or vending machine

Do you call it a soda fountain, a pop fountain, or a coke fountain?
None of the above. I usually just say "the machines" or a more generic "over there", referring to the self-serve machines found in many fast food chains. Fountain is reserved for a decoration in a public space or something drinking water comes out of (although the latter is usually referred to as a "bubbler" around here)

Do you call it a soda distributor, a pop distributor, or a coke distributor?
Soda or xyz distributor (replace xyz with the brand in question.
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister

kphoger

Quote from: DaBigE on January 14, 2013, 01:29:31 PM
Do you call it a soda fountain, a pop fountain, or a coke fountain?
None of the above. I usually just say "the machines" or a more generic "over there", referring to the self-serve machines found in many fast food chains. Fountain is reserved for a decoration in a public space or something drinking water comes out of (although the latter is usually referred to as a "bubbler" around here)

How do refer to the kind of pop/soda/coke/seltzer/tonic/soft drink that comes from the tap behind the counter?  Draught Mountain Dew?
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

DaBigE

Quote from: kphoger on January 14, 2013, 01:45:18 PM
Quote from: DaBigE on January 14, 2013, 01:29:31 PM
Do you call it a soda fountain, a pop fountain, or a coke fountain?
None of the above. I usually just say "the machines" or a more generic "over there", referring to the self-serve machines found in many fast food chains. Fountain is reserved for a decoration in a public space or something drinking water comes out of (although the latter is usually referred to as a "bubbler" around here)

How do refer to the kind of pop/soda/coke/seltzer/tonic/soft drink that comes from the tap behind the counter?  Draught Mountain Dew?

I just call it out by the brand. "Gimme a Coke...etc." On second thought, I may have referred to it as "whatever you/they have on-tap". I think the term "soda fountain" has been mainly lost amongst my generation, at least around here. Unless it was at a bar, the places I've been all have the self-serve type of machines.
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister

agentsteel53

Quote from: kphoger on January 14, 2013, 01:45:18 PM

How do refer to the kind of pop/soda/coke/seltzer/tonic/soft drink that comes from the tap behind the counter?  Draught Mountain Dew?

if the store sells both packaged and fountain, then I will refer to it as "and I'd like a [size] cup of [brand] from the fountain".

also: around here, beer taps are spelled "draft".  is "draught" found somewhere in the US?  I thought it was solely a British spelling.
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empirestate

Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 14, 2013, 02:10:15 PM
also: around here, beer taps are spelled "draft".  is "draught" found somewhere in the US?  I thought it was solely a British spelling.

In my experience the British spelling is used to evoke Britain. Or Ireland. Otherwise, the "draft" spelling predominates in the States.

corco

QuoteDo you call it a soda machine, a pop machine, or a coke machine?

Heh, even though I do call it soda, I call the machine a coke machine

US71

Kum & Go ran a promotion a few Summers ago: soda vs pop. You "voted" by buying a blue cup for "soda" or a red cup for "pop".

When the promotion ended, they sold purple cups saying "soda pop".
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

TheHighwayMan3561

I call it pop. Always have.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

1995hoo

Quote from: corco on January 14, 2013, 02:49:21 PM
QuoteDo you call it a soda machine, a pop machine, or a coke machine?

Heh, even though I do call it soda, I call the machine a coke machine

I said the same back at the beginning of this thread.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.