Pop vs. Soda: The Map

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m sure some of you have seen this classic, but it’s a fascinating bit of pointlessness nonetheless:

http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/popvssodamap.gif

A county-by-county breakdown of the Pop vs. Soda vs. Coke debate. (Frankly I think people who call generic soft drinks “Coke” are a bit loopy, but I’ll be damned, look at that horrid mass of redness.)

Where does your city/region stand on this important and divisive issue? Do you live in one of the freak spots on the map, the odd little islands of unique terms surrounded by a sea of a different color? And what the hell are the “other terms” in green?

2

It fits my experience growing up in eastern New York State with parents from eastern Pennsylvania – Soda, baby!

In fact it’s so ingrained that when I was a kid and heard “Scotch and soda”, I wondered what flavor. What does it mean – club soda?

3

By gum, these days we’re a soda area.

When I first moved here, I went into a convenience store and asked the clerks where the pop was.

“Pop?!? Pop?!? What a farm boy! Must be from the midwest. It’s tawnic! Tawnic!!!”

4

I’ve always lived in “Pop” regions. I’d like to know what the “other terms” are too!

5

It’s tawnic! Tawnic!!!

6

Oh dear god, I live in a “coke” area, it’s freaking soda damn it. I suppose it fits because I’m from a state that is 100% “soda”. :slight_smile:

For the “others”, I’ve only heard tonic, as tdn posted.

ETA: twice

7

I moved from a 80-100% “soda” county to one that’s 80-100% “pop”. However, I did influence my husband - he grew up saying “pop” but now thinks that “soda” sounds better and says that. :smiley:

8

I don’t really have much to add, but that is the coolest thing I’ve seen today. Thanks for posting that. The islands of “soda” in Eastern WI and Eastern MO/Southern IL are really interesting. I wonder how the heck that happened. I never knew anyone called it anything besides “soda” until I moved to Kansas City for college (from St. Louis). Until that point, I assumed I was in the majority.

ETA: The map calls Hamilton County (Cincinnati area) a “Coke” area, but I mostly hear “pop” around here.

9

Alaska is the most confused state on this matter. You’ve got a 80-100% Pop region, a 50-80% Soda region, an 80-100% Coke region and an 80-100% Other region all beside each other. How do they even communicate with those kinds of differences?

10

I figure they got small sample sizes there.

11

That confirms my suspicions that Arizona is simply a territory of California. :smiley:

I love how definite the regions are. Sure, there’s rogue counties here and there, but the lines are very clear.

12

They should have “soda pop” as a category.

13

It’s coke you heathens!

14

They didn’t get any of the Louisiana “cold drink” contingent.

It is strange how eastern Wisconsin kind of went rogue, there.

15

As a kid it was always “Coke.” “What kind of Coke do you want?”

As an adult I tend to say soda–probably because I bartend–although at home I’ll still say “There’s Cokes in the fridge so help yourself!”

And the “Cokes” could be orange soda, Sprite, Diet Coke, etc…

I don’t think my fridge has ever had real Coke in it now that I think about it…

I grew up in Corpus Christi so the map seems accurate to me.

“Pop” is the only word that sounds truly jarring to me.

16

Phoenix, with a large number of Midwestern transplants is more ‘pop’ than you would think. Still, I think the California ‘soda’ influence is stronger.

17

Total hijack. I admit it.

Soda. Pop. Coke. Who cares? I want to know the important stuff, the stuff that can affect the quality of my life. Like this.

18

What’s up with Trinity County California? It’s a heavy Coke county among a sea of Soda counties. It’s the only non-Soda county in the entire state (where data is available).

19

Or this?

20

The most densely populated area (Anchorage) contains more than half the population of the state. And we call it ‘soda’.