The Great Cola Debate

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Everyone has a side. Where do you land?


Thanks to Zach for sending in this age old question.
The second one is mine. I want to hear your funny words for soda.

 

[Wren Louise]

I can't drink anything except soda water and lemonade, which is probably a good thing because having soft drink all the time is not conducive to functioning teeth (or a functioning pancreas).

Having said that ... if I could just replace those body parts completely without great expense, I'd just hook myself up to a vanilla coke iv, because that s*** is baller.​

 

[Eduardo Orbon]

I'm surprised I'm the only one (so far) to call soft drinks pop. I thought that was super common. As far as coke vs pepsi debate it also depends on the country because I swear it tastes different country to country but at home I'll have coke.

 

[Samuel Phillips]

Answered the last question with 'soft drinks' but thought I would clarify that soft drinks are referred to as 'soft drinks' technically here, but people just tend to call the drinks by their actual names most of the time and no one casually says they will have a soft drink

Whereas in my experience people from other places use a blanket term for the drinks in the sense of saying 'I will have a soda' (if they refer to soft drinks as soda) and don't tend to specify the names of each drink as often as they do here. Not sure if this makes sense but figured it was worth explaining

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

I grew up calling them fizzy drinks or fizz, and the majority of people I know did so, though Anna's on the money that we do tend to use the specific name of a specific drink rather than any generic terms. If I was going to use a generic term though, I'd say fizzy drink. I've heard soft drink occasionally, but never heard anyone from NZ say soda or pop.

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

My entire family calls sodas pop. Naturally, either I do, or call it directly by the name.
And apparently, so far, I'm the only one that prefers pepsi.
​

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

As far as coke vs pepsi debate it also depends on the country because I swear it tastes different country to country but at home I'll have coke.

Yes! If you ever have the opportunity to buy a Coca-Cola from Mexico, do so. It comes in glass bottles and is the best.

 

[Justin Cliffeton]

I'm so glad you did this!

I went with Coke & Soft Drink. I've heard people say Soda & Pop & Soda Pop but like they're all really weird names

---

I grew up calling them fizzy drinks or fizz

My parents & most of their friends call it this!

 

[Stefan Archer]

I don't like either pespi or cola, I drink primarily Irn Bru because that's what you find most commonly here.

That and in scotland we also just call it juice. A can of juice or bottle of juice, sometimes fizzy juice if you want to distinguish it from fruit juice. Like in a bar/restuarant it'll be written as soft drink but people just say juice more often. I've also literally never heard it be called Pop or soda, unless we're talking about specifically soda water.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

I know it's a soft drink, but if I'm going to the store and someone asks what I'm getting or if there are drink options and someone asks what I want, I'll say soda and then specify what kind.

 

[Katherine Alicastell]

I used to call them fizzy drinks/heard them be referred to as fizzy drinks when I was really young, but as I got older it changed to soft drinks, as a blanket term at least.

Are glass bottles of coke not a common thing?
​

 

[Elizabeth Chatwin]

We call it ''Prik'' but that is a whole different language =). But I normally just say the name of the brand which is easier.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

We call it ''Prik'' but that is a whole different language =). But I normally just say the name of the brand which is easier.

That's really funny Tamara because we're from the same country and I'd call it 'frisdrank' before 'prik', though I hear that too

 

[Jasmine Wolfe]

I actually really hate coke/Pepsi whatever, I never drink it!

I call them fizzy drinks though, or their branded names

 

[Charlotte Harper]

We call it ''Prik'' but that is a whole different language =). But I normally just say the name of the brand which is easier.

That's really funny Tamara because we're from the same country and I'd call it 'frisdrank' before 'prik', though I hear that too

Same haha!

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

I come from a very rare part of NY that will call it "Soda Pop" not one or the other. I think it's generally where I grew up and parts of Wisconsin, or another state that way that call it by soda pop.

I also prefer Pepsi.

Although I agree with Cyndi a good coke is a Mexican made coke as they use real sugar and glass bottles are always fun. You can find the Mexican coke in NY too in stores like Wegmans I'm pretty sure. But I've started to find as I get older coke leaves me teeth feeling like they are covered in the chemicals and just makes me think they are rotting so I always pick pepsi first. My husband likes Coke, so we often fight over what we might get though we haven't been having soda pop at the house recently. But I win him over saying we can get Cherry Pepsi.

Also just gonna mention that McDonalds has a nice deal with Coke where they get to control the amount of syrup and water ratio and because they know ice melts they use a higher syrup content for their cokes so if you're like my husband who doesn't get ice in his soft drinks, McDonalds is the place to go.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Okay I'm gonna sound really weird but I call all sodas "Coke."
I think it might be a thing that only my city does though and not a regional/state thing. My hometown is in an entirely different time zone than the rest of the state and we're right on the border so we joke that we're more Mexico than we are Texas lol, so we have a few unique idiosyncrasies that other cities in Texas definitely don't do. (For example saying "right now" means "in a little while" for us. It was a bit of an adjustment moving away from my hometown and wondering why my roommate would stare at me when she'd ask things like "Can you help me?" and I'd say "Yeah right now" and not immediately get up to help ) I think calling all sodas "coke" is one of those things.

A conversation would generally be like
"Do you want a coke?"
"Yeah sure."
"What kind?"
"Sprite."

Though if there was a "correct" alternative to use, soda is probably what we'd say.


And Coke over Pepsi all day every day. Pepsi just tastes like it'll go flat too soon and Coke burns down your throat so good
I once read that people generally choose Pepsi over Coke in a taste test because based on one sip Pepsi is sweeter, but if they had to drink the entire can they'd choose Coke because Pepsi was too sweet and Coke had a better flavor balance.
Also Mexican Coke is legit sooo much better than regular Coke! 100% facts

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

I had a Mexican Coke yesterday after writing about it here.

 

[Antonio Rey-Martinez]

I actually really hate coke/Pepsi whatever, I never drink it!

I call them fizzy drinks though, or their branded names

If anyone heard a noise its the sound of my heart breaking.

I either call them pop or by the name.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Haha I also have always called them fizzy drinks. And I prefer Cola

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Okay I'm gonna sound really weird but I call all sodas "Coke."
I think it might be a thing that only my city does though and not a regional/state thing.

I should ask my family near Dallas what they call it for you!

Although don't feel alone, I've heard coke being used as the general name in South Carolina and North Carolina when visiting family there. Maybe even Virginia, but I can't quite remember since I was a kid during those trips

 

[Sloane Halliwell]

I generally call it by its name. Cola/Fanta/Pepsi etc
​

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

I had a Mexican Coke yesterday after writing about it here.

I'm always noticing mexican coke in the international section of the supermarket now, because of this thread

Going to eventually cave and try one!

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

I had a Mexican Coke yesterday after writing about it here.

I'm always noticing mexican coke in the international section of the supermarket now, because of this thread

Going to eventually cave and try one!

You won't regret it.

 

[Lyra Potter]

I'm from Georgia. If I was looking for soft drinks in the store, I'd just ask where the coke is.

I have to say Coke. Pepsi is gross. Of course, I live so close to Atlanta that everything is coke. I'd rather have sweet tea than coke though. I mostly drink sweet tea and water.