Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, I've always called all soft drinks "pop." When I was little we used to visit my aunts who lived in Cleveland and Toledo and the people there called it "pop" too.But then I moved East. First to a farm on the Mason-Dixon line in Franklin County, PA to take a job in Hagerstown, MD. Then later I moved to my present home in a rural area outside Baltimore. And people in all those places call it "soda." I laughed my ass off the first time I heard someone order a soda. I was thinking either a straight Club Soda, Creme Soda, or Arm & Hammer Baking Soda.
Then today I chanced across this map (click on the photo above to enlarge) that lists what folks commonly call soft drinks by county in the USA. Soda ain't the half of the story! Most of the South apparently calls all soft drinks "Coke." From Texas and Oklahoma all the way to the South Carolina and Georgia coastline "Coke" means just about any soft drink you can order! I'm sure the Coca-Cola company loves that!!
I remember that for graduating to second grade my dad bought me a case of pop with 48 8oz returnable bottles in it. It was Regent pop made over in Westmoreland County, PA. It had a variety of flavors, orange, cherry, cola, root beer, creme soda, grape, and lemon-lime (this was before Sprite ever came out). I had to make it last all summer. I just can't imagine wanting a root beer and ordering "Coke." Cannot get my head around that concept.
Anyway I found the map intriguing and I thought somebody else might too. As for me I still call it "Pop" even though I don't drink soft drinks of any sort anymore. Too much high fructose syrup. That shit'll kill you... slowly.
6 comments:
Found this very interesting.....wanted to know what other people were calling it and went to the website. Found some comments from people in PA like this one : "IN EASTERN PA ITS CALLED SODA. THAT GOES FOR ALL YOU MONGLOIDS THAT LIVE ANYWHERE WEST OF PHILLY AND THE POCONOS. FLIPPIN REDNECKS." and then there is this one (my favorite) "Its Pop, you dumb philly clowns....GO PENS! FLYERS SUCK!
you cant explain to me how alaska is so divided? what, was it settle in different areas by different parts of the US?
@ Fan: I can't explain Alaska. I thought it would be just like Texas. All I've ever seen is them Polar Bears drinking "Coke."
Minnesota cracks me up too. The entire state calls it pop except for that one county way up north where I think International Falls, MN is. And there, 50-80% call it something other than soda, pop, or Coke. It's so fucking cold up there they must just call it pop-sicle!
Hmmm...this is interesting. I've noticed the states that tend to be blue states in political thinking (New England, California), seem to prefer soda, while the political red states tend to lean toward pop and coke. There must be some connection there....
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