No, it's not religion. Or politics. What, then?
It's how you refer to your carbonated beverage.
Ever wanted some real data on how it breaks down? Curious about the percentage of people in your county who say "pop," "soda," or "coke"? Wonder no more: you can find it all right here.
For instance, in Johnson County, IA, from 98 responses, 74 said "pop," 1 said "coke," 20 said "soda" and 3 reported "other."
I didn't see anything reported regarding their methodology, but just looking at the distribution, it looks about right: the "soda" folks on the coasts, "cokes" in the south, "pop" in the midwest (with the smattering of "sodas" in Missouri and Illinois, and "cokes" in Indiana; I don't know what's up with those Wisconsin "soda" folks, though). One county in Iowa--Iowa county, as it turns out--also seems largely made up of "soda" folks, but that appears to be due to small sample size: only 5 total for the county, and 3 reported "soda."
So anyway, if you're preparing for your next trip and want to impress the locals, be sure to look up the most common usage at your destination--you'll fit right in. Well, except that funny accent...
Comments
OK...I'll bear that in mind.
Also, I'll need to know...are the three main meals of the day breakfast/lunch/dinner, breakfast/dinner/supper or breakfast/lunch/supper?
Posted by: Dave S. | June 27, 2006 8:48 AM
The third is not really ever correct. Dinner is the main meal of the day, whether it occurs midday or evening. Lunch is a light midday meal and supper is a light evening meal. Due to modern life, most people in the US probably eat breakfast/lunch/dinner, at least on weekdays. My father grew up in rural Texas, and usually ate breakfast/dinner/supper (as did I when I visited my grandparents.)
And it's soda.
Posted by: Craig Pennington | June 27, 2006 9:03 AM
"I didn't see anything reported regarding their methodology,"
Well, you need to go to the main page for that ;)
It's an internet poll, vote here: http://www.popvssoda.com/
It seems to be somewhat defunct, though, since one map hasn't been updated since 2002 and the other hasn't been updated since 2003 (whihc means my 2004 vote still hasn'r influenced either).
Posted by: Colst | June 27, 2006 9:16 AM
I've travelled too much. The Canadianism is "pop", but I have gotten some funny looks ordering an orange pop in Maine and California. It's gotten to the point where I use the Sesame Street version: "Soda Pop". They'll recognize one of 'em!
Posted by: Left_Wing_Fox | June 27, 2006 9:46 AM
Serviette (=napkin) is another word that seems to flummox our friends to the south.
Posted by: Dave S. | June 27, 2006 10:24 AM
Hey, we said "soft drink" a lot in
washington, D.C. and suburbs. And when I was a kid in Atlanta, home of Coca-Cola, we called it "Co-Cola."
Posted by: biosparite | June 27, 2006 10:41 AM
Hey, we said "soft drink" a lot in
Washington, D.C. and suburbs. And when I was a kid in Atlanta, home of Coca-Cola, we called it "Co-Cola."
Posted by: biosparite | June 27, 2006 10:43 AM
In Oklahoma you are likely to hear this conversation:
"Do you want a coke?"
"Sure."
"What kind?"
"Dr. Pepper."
I did that all the time at lunch in high school.
Posted by: Zach | June 27, 2006 12:07 PM
Breakfast/lunch/supper is what I grew up with, so don't be knocking it! We understood supper and dinner to be interchangeable, though. My mother's parents, just to be odd, did breakfast/dinner/supper with lunch as a late-night snack. But I do agree, it's soda.
Posted by: skywalkthisway | June 27, 2006 2:40 PM
In parts of Boston, it is pronounced 'tonic'. It isn't a big enough area to be the most popular name for a whole patch, though.
Posted by: Stephen Uitti | June 27, 2006 3:26 PM
Yet more evidence that Indiana is the northernmost southern state.
Posted by: Qoheleth
| June 27, 2006 3:30 PM
I grew up in the NYC area saying soda. After living in Wyoming and Kentucky for almost 30 years, I now say pop.
How about these two:
(1) What do you call a submarine sandwich, a sub, hoagie, grinder, po'boy, or what?
(2) When you ask for tea in a restaurant, do you get hot tea or iced tea? And if it's iced, is it sweetened?
Posted by: wheatdogg | June 27, 2006 9:03 PM
The first time I ever traveled south of the Mason-Dixon, I stopped in a town called Clanton, Alabama. When I went to the restaurant, I told the the waitress I wanted tea.
She asked, "Sweetie?"
I said, "Uh?"
She asked, "Suh-weet tuh-ee?"
"Yes, please," I replied.
She brought it and I took a drink. Every tooth in my head turned into a cavity and my blood sugar level rose over 400 points. I wonder how they manage to put 1 pound of sugar into an 8 ounce glass?
Posted by: Spike | June 27, 2006 11:19 PM
I often joke that Southern sweet tea has so much sugar, you could use it to spin down nuclei.
Posted by: Abel Pharmboy | June 28, 2006 8:07 AM
From wheatdogg:
(1) A sub. We also have Middle eastern option called a 'donair', which is apparently virtually unknown in the rest of the world.
(2) You get a little metal teapot filled with hot water and in that you can steep the tea of your choosing. If you want iced-tea, then you have to specifically request it. It's not often requested though. If people want a cold, sweet drink they'll usually order a soda (pop).
Posted by: Dave S. | June 28, 2006 8:54 AM
Are you familiar with the Harvard Dialect Survey? http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_105.html
The sweetened carbonated beverage map is unsurprisingly very similar to the one Tara links to: http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_105.html
Posted by: Ginger Yellow
| June 28, 2006 11:23 AM
Methinks Dave S. must be from Nova Scotia. That's the only place I've seen it. For the uninitiated, donair meat -- at least the kind I've had -- is just like gyro meat except it's made with beef instead of lamb. Good stuff.
Posted by: Algerine | June 30, 2006 11:50 AM
Stephen Uitti,
No, tell them the truth. It is pronounced "tawnic".
Posted by: Chiefley | July 5, 2006 12:00 AM