Comments on: A soda by any other name…

By: SteveH

SteveH — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:51:01 +0000

“”North Carolina looks like a battleground state. If the Civil War ever breaks out again, it’ll probably start there.””
rickl

Yea we’ve almost lost NC as a southern state. I figure it’s Maryland and DC yankees escaping the ridiculous taxes they themselves caused.

The only thing halting the slide is the God fearing folks in the mountain areas where you might see the occasional kid walking down the road with a 22 rifle and possum on his shoulder and no shoes on.

By: rickl

rickl — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 02:42:07 +0000

I was born in Ohio, and during my childhood I lived briefly in western New York and western Pennsylvania. All of those places are solid “pop” territory.

My family moved to southeastern Pennsylvania when I was 11. I don’t remember calling it anything other than “soda”. Maybe I might have called it “soda pop”, but I don’t think I ever called it “pop”.

I thought the fact that both of my parents came from Maryland might have been a factor, but it turns out that they came from a “coke” part of MD. So it’s a mystery.

North Carolina looks like a battleground state. If the Civil War ever breaks out again, it’ll probably start there.

By: kolnai

kolnai — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 02:11:49 +0000

I’m from the South (that is, Florida), and everyone I know and knew growing up said “Coke.” I still remember talking to my cousin from Washington state, and hearing her say “pop.” I thought it was hilarious, like she was from the 1950’s or something. She, of course, thought “Coke” was hilarious too – “It’s not Coke, it’s Mountain Dew.”

I spent most of my pre-teen childhood in California, however, and even there I can’t remember anyone saying anything other than “Coke.”

re: gcotharn – I’ve always said “Kleenex.”

By: Roy

Roy — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:03:58 +0000

“Also there were plenty of folks back in the day that would pour a bag of salted peanuts into the coke for an odd but not untasty treat.”

I used to do that myself, Steve. It’s been a very long time since I’ve done it (I’m 57 now) but I remember it was a very tasty treat. The salt would cause the Coke to fizz pretty good, kind of like the head on a good beer. However, the practice wasn’t limited to just Coke, It would work just as well in a Pepsi, RC Cola or Check Cola. Unfortunately, when I was that young it was a rare day when I could get a bag of peanuts and a Coke at the same time.

By: Rickbert

Rickbert — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 23:46:04 +0000

I lived in the Boston area for about 20 years and never once heard tonic instead of soda. I would on occasion come across frappe (for milkshake) on a menu, but even that seemed to be an affectation for tourist purposes.

Gotta say though, when I saw the title for this post, all I could think of was Mangled Baby Ducks. That’s right, Mangled Baby Ducks. Imagine a … soda so delicious we’d dare call it Mangled Baby Ducks. (hat tip, Dan Aykroyd?)

By: Bagley

Bagley — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 23:38:10 +0000

For me, it is always “soda pop.”

By: PA Cat

PA Cat — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:21:35 +0000

It was always “soft drink” in my part of Pennsylvania (southeastern “flyover country” between Philly and Harrisburg).

FWIW, I also went to college in Massachusetts and never heard the stuff in soft drink bottles referred to as “tonic.” Now the Red Sawx, that was another story.

By: Promethea

Promethea — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:10:14 +0000

1. Does anybody remember Green River?

2. I used to drink Coke and Pepsi interchangeably, but then Pepsi decided to go all Obama and changed their logo to “Obamacola.” No more Pepsi for me, ever.

By: Gray

Gray — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:40:52 +0000

Stumbley is correct. Here in New Mexico, it is the generic “coke”.

Here it is entirely unremarkable to hear an exchange like:

“Gimme a coke.”

“What kind?”

“Mountain Dew.”

By: Mrs Whatsit

Mrs Whatsit — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:29:53 +0000

New York State is divided down the middle, more or less along the line where Interstate 81 bisects the state, as to “soda” (east) v. “pop” (west). (Also, “pop” should be pronounced “paahnp”, with the n half-swallowed.)

Another division is “aunt” pronounced to rhyme with “want” in New England, vs. “aunt” pronounced as if spelled “ant” elsewhere. My children have aunts from both places and have learned to seamlessly adjust their pronunciation, depending which family they’re visiting.