http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=289979

Vote on this poll

Soda
 [bar] 236/36%
Pop
 [bar] 114/17%
Soda Pop
 [bar] 6/1%
Soft Drink
 [bar] 89/14%
Coke
 [bar] 78/12%
Tonic
 [bar] 6/1%
Fizzy Drink
 [bar] 46/7%
Carbonated Beverage
 [bar] 28/4%
Other
 [bar] 53/8%
656 total votes
  • Comment on I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Etymologies and Dialects
by jonadab (Parson) on Sep 09, 2003 at 13:01 UTC

    The terms 'soda' and 'pop' are both shortened forms of 'soda-pop', a moniker given to this type of beverage by a confused person who believed the popping bubbles were due to the presense of soda (sodium bicarbonate), as with certain popular bathtub toys. This is of course wrong, as if you put enough soda in the beverage to make it fizzle and pop, you wouldn't be able to stand to drink it. Soda tastes pretty nasty. Since the popping actually comes from carbonation, the correct term would have been 'carbo-pop', but for some reason that never caught on. (Go figure.)

    What people call such beverages is highly regional. Most of the midwestern US[1] calls them 'pop', but 'soda' is more prevalent in the south. Other regions have their own preferences. I believe the term 'coke' is used mostly in areas where Coca-Cola has a much stronger influence than Pepsico -- near Atlanta, and in southern California, for example, and in many countries outside the US. (Coke is more international than Pepsi.) 'fizzy' is I believe used almost exclusively outside the US. I've never heard it called 'tonic', so I imagine that comes from outside the US as well. (To me, tonic is anything zealously marketed as the solution to all problems, and 'fizzy' would be champaign, which I've only actually ever seen on television.)

    Due to the highly regional nature of these terms, the advertising industry in the US has adopted the neutral term 'soft drink' for almost all national advertising; hence, people who call it a 'soft drink' probably watch too much television in lieu of interacting with real people. The trouble is, the term 'soft drink' can also be used of non-carbonated beverages, including Hi-C and Kool-Aid.

    The term 'carbonated beverage' is used primarily by people who are aware of these issues.

    [1] Which is actually a bit east of the middle, but that etymology is another discussion.

    $;=sub{$/};@;=map{my($a,$b)=($_,$;);$;=sub{$a.$b->()}}
split//,".rekcah lreP rehtona tsuJ";$\=$ ;->();print$/

    [download]
[reply]
[d/l]
[select]

      You must see this :)

[reply]
        Awesome link.++

        I don't care for calling it a "coke" as often times that is what I get.. and not to start a debate, but it is not my drink of choice, when wanting a soda.

        Anyhow, I believe I ended up calling it a "soda" because of the proximity of where I grew up to here. (which surprisingly your link has both types of folks in that region, as there aren't that many people there, and most of the ones I knew FWIR called it "soda" as well).

        The adult folk used to drive out to Hooper Springs and mix Kool-Aid™ with the water and call force it on the children as "soda" (or "glorified Kool-Aid™").

        (please excuse my reminiscing)

        -enlil

[reply]

        Yeah. Since I'm from Ohio, you can probably guess what I call the stuff. Though, to be honest, I usually refer to a specific type ("root beer", "cola", or cetera), or if I'm including various types of things to drink there are almost certainly some included that are not carbonated (water, Kool-Aid, milk, ..., so I just call them "beverages".

        Oh, a fun thing to do: next time somebody asks you what you want to drink (especially if it's somebody taking your order at a restaurant), matter-of-factly ask for "room-temperature tapwater", and watch the reaction. You get some weird looks. I didn't think anything about it (I drink quarts of the stuff a day) until I saw how someone else reacted. Apparently, it's not high on everyone's list of things to drink. So if I don't want to elicit a reaction I just order the root beer. 

        $;=sub{$/};@;=map{my($a,$b)=($_,$;);$;=sub{$a.$b->()}}
split//,".rekcah lreP rehtona tsuJ";$\=$ ;->();print$/

        [download]
[reply]
[d/l]

      Tonic is a Boston term. I'm not sure how far it extends regionally - it may be another odd New England term like frappe. It always throws me for a loop because I tend to think of tonic as having the words "gin and" preceding it.

      I don't know if it's used elsewhere.

[reply]
        it may be another odd New England term like frappe

        That really made me laugh. Frappe is used all over europe and america (west coast at least).

[reply]

      Wisconsin actually provides an intersting split in the "pop" and "soda" usage in the Midwest. Most of the state of Wisconsin would call a carbonated beverage "pop". A local carbonated beverage company used a jingle with the lyrics "I want a pop. I want a Shasta" However, the metropolitan Milwaukee area uses "soda" much more often than "pop". There are actually several differences in dialects between Milwaukee and the rest of the state of Wisconsin that amuse college Freshman for at least one evening.

      Also, if anyone else uses the word "bubbler" for water fountain, please respond to help me trace the Milwaukee dialect.

[reply]
      In scotland the generic name for a fizzy soft drink is JUICE.. confusing to the English but then that is the way we like it. TK Edinburgh
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by jdtoronto (Prior) on Sep 09, 2003 at 16:02 UTC
    Inside the US the situation is pretty clearly understood.

    Outside the US (I have lived in many parts of Europe, the UK, Canada and Australia as well as the US) this possibly applies:

  • Soda: Soda Water similar to club soda.
  • Tonic: Tonic Water - as in Gin and Tonic.
  • Pop: rarely heard
  • Soft Drink: Pretty universal where English is spoken
  • Fizzy Drink: Never heard it anywhere!
  • Pop: common in parts of Eastern Canada - used interchangeably with soft-drink.

    jdtoronto - gee, guess where I live now :)

[reply]
      South Africa uses "fizzy drink"!

      Beverages in general are either "hot drinks" or "cool drinks".
      Carbonated cool drinks are called "fizzy drinks" or "coke".

      So Long
      blackstarr

[reply]
      Tonic is Cola here in Boston. It confuses the hell out of people who aren't from around these parts. I ask "You want some tonic?" and they don't know what to think.

      -Lee

      "To be civilized is to deny one's nature."
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by JSchmitz (Canon) on Sep 09, 2003 at 12:30 UTC
    I have lived in the north and the south - In the south they say everything is a Coke - In the north they say "pop" It's a regional thing. I never hear anyone say "soft drink" = )
[reply]
      Which north? In New England (that's considered north, right?), it is usually either soda or soft drink... "soda" is conversational, "soft drink" - for the menus...
[reply]
      Yes yes..exactly. I noticed the same thing. I think the word 'pop' is ridiculous, though. I can accept calling everything coke more than I can accept the word 'pop'. Oth, I live on the west coast again. They do it right here. Everything here is a 'soda' which makes more sense, imo.

      _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
      - Jim
      Insert clever comment here...

[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by talexb (Chancellor) on Sep 09, 2003 at 18:15 UTC

    Hmph. As someone already said, these definitions are highly regional. Here are mine:

    • Soda: makes me think of soda bicarbonate, used occasionally in cooking and sometimes in cleaning.
    • Pop: Yeah, the drink that comes in a bottle. If it has a cap on it, it goes 'pop' when you open it.
    • Soda pop: Somewhat archaic and redundant.
    • Soft drink: Any non-alcoholic (ie not hard) drink that's served in a bar; could therefore also include milk, a drink that is not (normally) carbonated (and beer too, I guess, since that's not 'hard liquor' either). A fellow chorus member orders milk when we go to the bar. Really.
    • Coke (tm): That's really a specific beverage, like Mountain Dew, Sprite/7-Up, root beer (ugh) and Pepsi.
    • Tonic: Mmmmmm .. like some quinine with your gin? This is also a specific beverage. Sometimes called Tonic Water.
    • Fizzy Drink: Does 'oo want fizzy drink before bedtime? I think not.
    • Carbonated Beverage: On of my university roomates and I would use a phrase like that back in 1978 when we first met. We made everything way longer and more complicated than it had to be -- it was quite hilarious. Graham and I also originated the "NOT!!!" bit that Mike Myers used to great effect in his comedic career. Funny to see it enter maintream culture.
    --t. alex
    Life is short: get busy!
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by bronto (Priest) on Sep 09, 2003 at 13:21 UTC

    Chinotto: a soft drink you really should try!

    Ciao!
    --bronto

    PS: Ah, I forgot: I voted for soft drink:-)

    The very nature of Perl to be like natural language--inconsistant and full of dwim and special cases--makes it impossible to know it all without simply memorizing the documentation (which is not complete or totally correct anyway).
    --John M. Dlugosz
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by Caillte (Friar) on Sep 09, 2003 at 14:35 UTC

    You missed 'elixir of life' ;)

    Well, I suppose this applies to anything with caffiene in ;)

    This page is intentionally left justified.

[reply]
in Scotchland :
by zuqif (Hermit) on Sep 09, 2003 at 12:01 UTC
    I'd say 'ginger' or 'brew' :
    a bottle o' ginger

    the 'qif;
[reply]

      Brew (or probably Bru from Irn Bru) is likely to work anywhere in Scotland, but you'll probably only get Irn Bru using that phrase.

      Irn Bru outsells Coca-Cola in Scotland. IIRC, it's the only country in the World where Coca-Cola isn't the number one soft drink.

      Ginger (which I originally thought would mean Irn Bru only - due to it's recognisible colour) actually applies to any carbonated beverage and seems to be a phrase local to Glasgow.

      If the information in this post is inaccurate, or just plain wrong, don't just downvote - please post explaining what's wrong.
      That way everyone learns.

[reply]
        nope - in peru, Inca Kola is the most popular "soft drink", which at least used to be independant from coca cola when i lived there - but roumor has it that the coca-cola company bought them a while back...
        really worth a try, btw...once you get used to the taste, it can be quite nice...
[reply]
        Well ++BazB,
        I had to vote "Other" because in the UK we don't use terms like that, but Irn Bru is the wickedest {ahem} 'soft drink' in the known universe. For hang overs it is the best cure known to man, tastes good (if you're a Celt) and is Scotlands "Other national drink".
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by blue_cowdawg (Monsignor) on Sep 09, 2003 at 15:00 UTC

    Actually, since my choices in drink are somewhat limited to diet I just tell a waiter or waitress "whatever you got that's diet.."

    I have over my lifetime lived in so many parts of the USA that what I generically call a carbonated beverage is quite random. I've been heard to say "soda", "pop" or whatever sometimes in the same sentance! ;-)

    Peter L. Berghold -- Unix Professional
    Peter at Berghold dot Net
       Dog trainer, dog agility exhibitor, brewer of fine Belgian style ales. Happiness is a warm, tired, contented dog curled up at your side and a good Belgian ale in your chalice.
[reply]
Re: I refer to a carbonated beverage as a:
by gjb (Vicar) on Sep 09, 2003 at 11:40 UTC

    Okay, you got me, I'm a Coke addict.

    Best, coke abuser anonymous

[reply]

      Until recently I was a Diet Coke and Diet Vanilla Coke addict and would have agreed with you 100%. While I still like Diet Vanilla Coke, I now happen to think that plain Diet Coke Is Evil.

      -- vek --
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by mildside (Friar) on Sep 10, 2003 at 00:08 UTC
    I voted "soft drink" as I'm from Australia. Usually mine is a Coke. My wife enjoys a "spider", which is a carbonated drink (often Coke) with ice-cream in it. The other day she had a blue one - I don't know how she does it!

    Cheers!

[reply]
      Hey, Mildside.

      Carbonated drink with ice cream in it? In the states, those're called "floats", and they're delicious! A scoop of vanilla ice cream with cold Coca Cola or, better yet, root beer (Barq's or A&W Root Beer are best) poored on top, and you have a party.

      "Spider," eh? I'll add that to my dictionary. Where do you suppose the term comes from?

      (Ph) Phaysis (Shawn)
      If idle hands are the tools of the devil, are idol tools the hands of god?

[reply]
        From the OED:
        spider, n. 4. Austr. slang. A drink consisting of lemonade and brandy or similar ingredients, mixed; a soft drink with ice-cream floating in it.

        From the quotations following:

        1859 K. CORNWALLIS New World I. 300 Shandy-gaff, or spiders -- the latter to clear their throats of flies as they said.
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by TacoVendor (Pilgrim) on Sep 09, 2003 at 14:47 UTC
    I grew up in the South and have lived in various places in the US. Coke is most common in the South. In the Mid-West I was told a 'soda' was an ice cream float.
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by bradcathey (Prior) on Sep 09, 2003 at 16:20 UTC
    I am a Chicagoan, and there is nothing worse than a Chicagoan saying "pahp," so I'm training myself to say the more eastern "soda."
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by tcf22 (Priest) on Sep 09, 2003 at 18:12 UTC
    Maybe "Nectar of the Gods"

    - Tom
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by hagen (Friar) on Sep 10, 2003 at 02:38 UTC

    I'm from Australia too - I usually say "cool drink".

    However I agree with mildside. I'd interpret "soft drink" as a more correct and formal expression you'd see in written language. "Cool drink" is more likely to be spoken e.g. "Hey, you wanna cool drink?"

    hagen
[reply]
      I'd usually interpret "cold drink" as a beer, but I wouldn't be suprised if you handed me a soft drink. Actually, if you made any reference to a drink that I didn't understand, I'd interpret it as a beer.

      Saying 'pop' in Canberra will get ridicule rather than a drink, and I always think of 'soda' as 'soda water' - carbonated water.

      ____________________
      Jeremy
      I didn't believe in evil until I dated it.

[reply]

        Yeah jepri, I agree about the soda water. IIRC the alcoholic Police Captain in Hill Street Blues way back used to drink soda water with his girlfriend (Veronica Hamil - can't remember his name) and he'd order a "club soda".

        England and North America, divided by a common language 8-)

        hagen

[reply]
      what part of Australia? I'm from WA, ind I call it "cool drink" as well, so does most of my family, but all my mates call it different things I've always wondered if the term regional or just in some areas?
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by Mago (Parson) on Sep 09, 2003 at 22:21 UTC

    Inside the Brazil:

    Água com Gás: Water similar to Soda.

[reply]

      In south Brazil we ask for a "refri", "lata", or "coca". It varies a lot around the country.

[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by ccarden (Monk) on Sep 11, 2003 at 19:04 UTC
    When my daughter was just starting to talk, a bit younger than 2 years old, she put together two words that she understood, "bubble" and "juice," and called any carbonated sweet drink "bubble juice." I thought that this was very clever and remarked how smart kids are to make their limited tool set work extra hard for them.

    Shortly after that, I heard someone else's two-year-old call it bubble juice, and I realized that obviously the same thing had happened ... the kids love juice, love bubble baths, and take those words to describe a new experience. I now keep an ear open whenever I'm around kids, to hear what they call things that are new to them.

    Btw, I'm from Michigan, and it seems that anyone born here calls it "pop," but we have a lot of transplants from a bit further south, and they all call it "soda."

    Also, when I lived in New Bern, North Carolina, the birth place of Pepsi, everyone there called any carbonated sweet beverage "Pepsi."

    After seeing from this thread how Scots and Peruvians call it the dominant selling brand from their area, I remember that in Germany everyone called it a "limonade," or a "lemonaid" in English.

    It seems to me that this is the same as calling an adhesive bandage a "band-aid," or a paper tissue "kleenex." When I lived in England I was very confused at first when someone asked me to "hoover" the carpet, but I quickly realized that Hoover must have been the leading brand of vacuum cleaner in the U.K. for a time, and the noun had become a verb.

    Well, I've got to go back to "Delling" my application.

[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by BigLug (Chaplain) on Sep 10, 2003 at 05:37 UTC
    In most of Australia it's a softdrink. Reading above, some of you would also class Milk as a softdrink, but that makes me think it's carbonated milk. And that tastes foul (we have a Soda Stream when we were kids and I had to try ....).

    Some years back I was in Tasmania (Australia's southern-most state) and they call it 'Cordial'. Which to me is the non-carbonated version of the same thing. I'm not sure if they still do that .. any two-headers around?

    Classes of drinks as I see them:

    • Water
    • Milk (includes flavored)
    • Juice
    • Cordial (includes Gatorade)
    • Hot Drinks (tea, coffee, hot chocolate)
    • Softdrink (includes Guarana 'fizzy' drinks)
    • Beer
    • Wine (includes mixers)
    • Spirits (includes some Cocktails)
    • Liquers
    These classes are the generics that I would use in the phrase "Anyone here want a $class"? (And it's Hot Chocolate, not Cocoa .. my wife accidently made herself mug of cocoa once and nearly threw up!)
[reply]
      Technically, milk *is* a soft drink. There are two classes of drink, hard (alcoholic) and soft (everything else). Hence hard cider. But then, way back when, you didn't exactly used to pay for water and you weren't likely to find milk on tap anywhere.

      --
      I'm not belgian but I play one on TV.

[reply]

        Cider is cider and cider is an alcoholic apple-based product, at leat it is to an Englishman. This once caused some confusion when I got quite irate with an American friend when he told me he was giving his seven-year-old a bottle of cider to drink ;)

        The same American got angry with me when I once told him I had a bag of chips for dinner ;)

        Wonderful thing, language!

        This page is intentionally left justified.

[reply]
      I don't know where in Tasmania BigLug was, but cordial here has always referred to the noncarbonated syrupy drinks. 'Fizzy drink' or 'fizzy cordial' is probably the most common in domestic situations, but still 'soft drink' is just as frequently used in more formal senses.

      BTW the two-header reference goes to show Australian mainlanders are still just as naive as they always were

[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by CodeJunkie (Monk) on Sep 10, 2003 at 11:35 UTC

    I'm from the UK and I voted for fizzy drink, that's only because using a process of elimination it's the only one I would vagely consider using.

    The way I see it:

    Pop - Something you might say if you were about 5
    Soda - Something you would say if you were American
    Carbonated Beverage - Something you would say if you were a maths geek or a scientist or something.
    Tonic - Something you mix with Vodka
    Coke - That's a bit specific, you can hardly call a Sprite a coke now can u! That's just stupid!
    Soft Drink - Well yes that is ok, although it doesn't specify if the drink is fizzy or not. You can have still soft drinks.

    Therefore I am only left with fizzy drink (really only because it clearly describes what we are talking about)!:-)

[reply]
      For me it's just a "drink" -- other drinks must be specified, carbonated is default.

      So I picked "other", which is honest. Often I wave my empty glass or bottle and say "I'll have an Other."...

[reply]
      Coke - That's a bit specific, you can hardly call a Sprite a coke now can u! That's just stupid!

      Go to Atlanta and ask for a Coke at a diner. I'll give 3-1 odds the waitress says something like "OK, sugar, what kind of coke would you like?" -- they really do use it as a generic term (think xerox or kleenex) in that part of the country. It's a bit bizarre if you aren't used to it.

[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by vek (Prior) on Sep 09, 2003 at 18:25 UTC

    I say 'soft drink' probably because I'm from England I suppose. Now that I live in the US, I've gotten used to people calling it 'soda' and I've heard 'pop' a couple of times.

    -- vek --
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by Rex(Wrecks) (Curate) on Sep 09, 2003 at 18:55 UTC
    I vote Other, how about:
  • Crap (It's nasty stuff)
  • OMG, 8:00am meeting and no Coffee (see Nectar meaning #2 and #3) brewed!!
  • Serem for foosball twitch and jitter.
    Those are about all I ever call the crap :)

    "Nothing is sure but death and taxes" I say combine the two and its death to all taxes!
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by JPaul (Hermit) on Sep 10, 2003 at 16:41 UTC
    In New Zealand, I've never heard anyone (barring immigrants) use any term other than Fizzy Drink. It's what I've always grown up hearing.
    I always thought 'Pop' or 'Soda' sounded daft, but when you actually think about it, "Fizzy Drink" is pretty daffy sounding too.

    Just what you grow up with, I guess :)
    Was pleased to see it listed though. Hoorah for multicultural PerlMonks.

    JP,
    -- Alexander Widdlemouse undid his bellybutton and his bum dropped off --

[reply]
(wil) Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by wil (Priest) on Sep 11, 2003 at 08:23 UTC
    Beer.

    - wil
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by xaphod (Monk) on Sep 12, 2003 at 19:48 UTC

    Hmm, in the UK the way I've heard and use such terms, a soft-drink is a non-alcoholic bevarage, not necissarily fizzy. Whereas a non-specified carbonated beverage is a fizzy-drink, fizzy-pop, or simply pop.

    But, as we are on the subject... What's the best way to keep an opened bottle fizzy-pop fizzy?

    --
    TTFN, FNORD

    xaphod
[reply]
      You can get screw top pumps. They screw onto the bottle and you pump air into the bottle until the bottle is firm.

      They work ok but in our house a bottle never stays open for long enough to find out!

      *Burp*

      SP
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a: [Dutch]
by liz (Monsignor) on Sep 10, 2003 at 11:50 UTC
    I guess the official Dutch word is "frisdrank". This can be taken apart as:
    fris
    Which translates to "fresh" , "refreshing" or "cool" depending on context.

    drank
    Which translates to "beverage".

    However, it is commonly just referred to as "fris", as in: 

    Q: What would you like to drink?
A: Ah... something "fris" please.

    This concludes the submission from the Dutch participants

    Liz

[reply]
      In Afrikaans (South Africa again!), which derives largely from Dutch, "vris" means "strong" or "vigorous"

      So if an Afrikaaner (my wife) asked me for a "vris drankie" (drank = drink) I'd give her alcohol!

      Go figure!

      So Long
      blackstarr

      PS. She wouldn't ask, because we're both teetotal.

[reply]
      Apparently not, posted my reply around the same time as yours ;-)
[reply]
      I guess the official Dutch word is "frisdrank".

      I don't think so, as it can refer to a non-carbonated drink as well. Perhaps a better word is "prik", although its usage in the context is very seventies.

      Abigail

[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by Ryszard (Priest) on Sep 10, 2003 at 14:37 UTC
    I'm australian, and i normally say "soft drink". I'm also an ex-pat country australian where my parents say "fizzy drink".

    I should point out this refers to the class of drink. we would refer to a propduct to identify specifically what a person would like.

    "Would you like a fizzy drink? Coke(tm) ok?"

[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by shadox (Priest) on Sep 10, 2003 at 21:35 UTC
    Here in Costa Rica, we say REFRESCO for a non-specific. And personally i am addict to Pepsi Blue
    ___________________________________________
     Optimus magister, bonus liber
[reply]
      As shadox said we at Costa Rica say "REFRESCO" for the drinks without carbonate .

      But a traditional way to say it here is with a diminutive like almost everything here.

      Then if someone came around Costa Rica, can ask for a "FRESCO".

      But this just here in Costa Rica because in other parts of the world could means other things.

      God help me always to see the other face of the coin. And prevent me from accusing of betrayal those who don't think just as I do.
[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by Drgan (Beadle) on Sep 09, 2003 at 22:25 UTC
    I'm a soda person. I've always found that saying soda rolled off of the lips easier than saying pop for anything other than pop the balloon. Grew up in the South, with a father born in the North. My mom never really cared. She just says whatever the name of the soda is.
    "I have said, Ye [are] gods; and all of you [are] children of the most High." - Psalms 82:6
[reply]
[d/l]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by BrentDax (Hermit) on Sep 12, 2003 at 03:56 UTC
    Wirewater and programming fluid are my favorites.

    =cut
    --Brent Dax
    There is no sig.

[reply]
Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by kutsu (Priest) on Sep 12, 2003 at 21:31 UTC

    I just call it "that good stuff that keeps me awake" or my addiction.

    knew someone who had withdrawal from lack of pop (won't mention name of pop to avoid backlash, from companies), this guy would drink about eight 2-liters of pop a day

    "Pain is weakness leaving the body, I find myself in pain everyday" -me

[reply]
      I know a guy who used to be really overweight and he drank about 16 cans of C*ke a day.
      Then the doctor made him switch to the diet version and now he is skinnier than me lol.
[reply]
      this guy would drink about eight 2-liters of pop a day

      I'm surprised he's still alive. The average sugar content for most soft drinks is 120 grams/litre so he's at 1.920kg of sugar a day (just from the soft drink). The average person consumes about 1kg of sugar/week. One hundred years ago the average person would have consumed that in a year.

      As for the caffeine content 1L of cola (cola's a good moderate ground) contains ~100mg of caffeine. So he's consuming 1.6 Grams a day. The deadly dose (as in you will die) for the average person is somewhere around 10 Grams. Consuming this on a regular basis will lead to all sorts of troubles from heart problems to severely decreased bone density (oops, I stood up, there go my legs).

      Now 86.4% of stats are made up (including that one), and I'm not a doctor (or anything resembling one) and everything I've stated could be completely false, and I assume no responsibility for anything (especially that incident back in the 70's). I encourage anyone interested to research this further on their own.

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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by karisma (Scribe) on Sep 10, 2003 at 07:55 UTC
    I think since I'm from the pacific north west I would generally say 'pop', but after living in Germany for more than a year where they try to put carbonation in everything, pop is just too restrictive, hence carbonated beverage.
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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by flow (Monk) on Sep 10, 2003 at 12:22 UTC
    Definately "soda", even though the native expression ("frisdrank" or just plain "fris") would better translate as "fresh drink".

    It's quite rare though that I drink any soda, most of the ones sold overe here contain way too little caffeine for someone working in IT. I prefer to stick to coffee and lemonade - often referred to as saft, which is a bit thinner than your average American lemonade.
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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by perlsage (Scribe) on Sep 10, 2003 at 07:16 UTC

    Beer and sauna, that's what makes me tick (but actually I consume more juice&milk)

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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by AcidHawk (Vicar) on Sep 11, 2003 at 14:13 UTC

    What about alco-pop.
    I.e. Bicardi Breezer, Smirnoff Spin/Ice, Brutal Fruit, Hooch. All of which are sweet(ish) almost cooldrink type drinks with about 6% alcohol volumn.

    Most Tasty - but has a side affect - They Kick like a mule!

    -----
    Of all the things I've lost in my life, its my mind I miss the most.
[reply]
      Where I live all alco-pops are called Tartfuel...
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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by antirice (Priest) on Sep 10, 2003 at 17:49 UTC

    I've always referred to it as a drink. Of course if someone asks me what I want, I'll usually be very specific as I have somewhat refined tastes. I understand that I can't ask, "can I have something to drink," as most people I know are quite literal at times and as such I could end up with water, milk, antifreeze or something worse.

    antirice    
    The first rule of Perl club is - use Perl
    The     ith rule of Perl club is - follow rule i - 1 for i > 1

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Re: non-specified carbonated beverage (Coke == polymorphic term)
by Russ (Deacon) on Sep 15, 2003 at 18:42 UTC
    Being a native Okie (now transplanted to Phoenix), I've inherited the South's generic "coke" with the rest of the nation's interpretation of "Coke specifically means Coca-cola."

    In Oklahoma, when one makes a suggestion to retire to a soft drink establishment, one says, "Let's go get a coke." When ordering a "coke," Coca-Cola is served. Sort of a polymorphic, context-sensitive usage of the word... :-)

    "Soda" invokes images of the canadian border and "pop" just sounds weird to me...

    Russ

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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by Acolyte (Hermit) on Sep 15, 2003 at 21:06 UTC

    I'd always understood the "soda" vs. "pop" controversy to be a West Coast vs. East Coast thing here in the states. Has anyone else had that experience?

    Acolyte
    Studying at the feet of the masters
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I call it "a beer"
by Dog and Pony (Priest) on Sep 13, 2003 at 14:39 UTC
    You mean there exists some alternative? ;~)
    You have moved into a dark place.
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by xorl (Deacon) on Sep 15, 2003 at 16:14 UTC
    Before college I never heard the other options actually used by a person. It was always Coke or Soda Pop.
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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by gregor42 (Parson) on Sep 17, 2003 at 20:55 UTC

    I think I undertstand the purpose of this poll, as I have noted that there seems to be different American dialects across the USA where the word soda transmogrifies to Pop (poppe) right around the same place where a paper receptacle in grocery stores changes from 'bag' to 'sack'.

    However, since the word CAFFENATED was ommitted I voted for 'soda'... Anything WITH the magical tasteless substance included falls more under the category of 'FUEL'

    Am I the only one who's noticed though that the average carbonated beverage goes for around $.99 while bottled water is about $1.50? I find it interesting to note that people are willing to pay more to have someone's product NOT included in their beverage...



    - Gregor42

    Wait! This isn't a Parachute, this is a Backpack!
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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by yosefm (Friar) on Sep 12, 2003 at 05:59 UTC
    As so many people said already, this survey is culturally biased...

    Hebrew: either

    • Mashke Mugaz (a drink with gas), or
    • Mashke Kal (soft drink)
    But we usually just say the name of the drink, no generic words.
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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by Ella (Acolyte) on Sep 19, 2003 at 20:51 UTC

    Did you know that diet coke along with other 'diet' items containing aspartame can cause multiple sclerosis-like symptoms and other neurological damage? Fortunately most of the ill effects are reversed once the aspartame is gone from your system. Long live sugar!!

    (brought to you by the campaign for real food)

    'share and enjoy'

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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by ambrus (Abbot) on Feb 23, 2009 at 21:09 UTC
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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by Anonymous Monk on Jan 11, 2004 at 13:28 UTC
    Only idiots refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as *insert brand name here like Coke*.

    I prefer to say Cola, cause i'm nuts 

    Cola
     n 1: large genus of African trees bearing kola nuts [syn: {genus
          Cola}]
     2: carbonated drink flavored with extract from Kola nuts
        (`dope' is a southernism in the United States) [syn: {dope}]

    [download]
[reply]
[d/l]
      I grew up in Massachusetts, and carbonated drinks were generically referred to as "tonic", though if you said "soda", people usually (though not always) knew what you meant. Somehow we managed not to confuse this with "tonic water", the quinine-derived stuff commonly mixed with gin (talk about marrying two vile flavors together... blech!).
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Re: I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
by wazoox (Prior) on Feb 24, 2009 at 10:58 UTC
    I drink sparkling water, still water, fresh fruit juices and alcohols only. I dislike all sodas.
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