Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Pop or Soda?

When speaking of carbonated soft drinks, do you say "Pop" or "Soda?" Growing up in British Columbia, Canada it was Pop. As in the phrases "fountain pop" or "non-stop pop." Judging from consuming much television, I thought Americans called it "Soda." This is only partly correct. The Pop/Soda demarcation lines are much more nuanced than the 49th parallel.

Pop vs Soda.com, is the result of a several year informal study that has given us much insight into this cultural differance. We see that "Pop" (blue) does dominate the Pacific Northwest and much of the mid-west. Soda's stronghold (tan) is the more denser populated areas of California, New England, New York and New Jersey. "Coke" (red) is the generic term for cola through most of the south. Given that Coca-cola was invented in Atlanta, Georgia, and first bottled in Mississippi, this really shouldn't be much of a surprise.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I've always said 'Pop' myself, but ever since I was a teenager I've felt slightly awkward about it. It feels silly, or immature. It also makes me think of 'going down to the drugstore to have the soda jerk pour me a soda pop', and assorted other Americana bizareness.

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