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When you go out to dinner, a bar, movies, wherever. When you order your drink what do you call it? A LOT of people say pop, or soda, and others just say "give me a coke." But why don't we call it what we are ordering? I found the history of what people call their drinks, and it's interesting.
The regional divide is clear: people in the midwest prefer pop, while soda is popular in the North and far West. What do people in the South call it? Southerners ask for coke, with specific preferences for root beer or Coca-Cola.I've lived pretty much everywhere, and I call it soda, but I was raised saying pop. So where does this come from?
In the 1800s, when carbonated water was marketed as a health drink (can you imagine a time lol). Pharmacists sold soda water at soda fountains, leading to the creation of flavored carbonated beverages, like fountain coke and drinks. The term “soft drink” emerged to distinguish nonalcoholic drinks from hard drinks, with the average American consuming nearly 40 gallons per year. Now we consume 40 gallons of booze with a splash of coke lol.
No matter what you call it, what do you order to get you through your day?