# Pop vs. Soda: The Map **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 10, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683 "2009-04-10T20:45:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mattomic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@mattomic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattomic)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/1 "2009-04-10T20:45:51Z")
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](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? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/2 "2009-04-10T20:49:15Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/3 "2009-04-10T20:49:19Z")
> [@mattomic](#): > > 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? 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!!!” ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/4 "2009-04-10T20:51:40Z")
I’ve always lived in “Pop” regions. I’d like to know what the “other terms” are too! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/5 "2009-04-10T20:54:30Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I’ve always lived in “Pop” regions. I’d like to know what the “other terms” are too! It’s tawnic! Tawnic!!! ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/6 "2009-04-10T20:56:12Z")
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”. 🙂 For the “others”, I’ve only heard tonic, as **tdn** posted. ETA: twice ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/7 "2009-04-10T20:59:01Z")
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. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/8 "2009-04-10T21:01:38Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![mattomic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@mattomic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattomic)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/9 "2009-04-10T21:02:09Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/10 "2009-04-10T21:05:06Z")
> [@mattomic](#): > > 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? I figure they got small sample sizes there. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/11 "2009-04-10T21:05:16Z")
That confirms my suspicions that Arizona is simply a territory of California. 😃 I love how _definite_ the regions are. Sure, there’s rogue counties here and there, but the lines are very clear. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/12 "2009-04-10T21:23:54Z")
They should have “soda pop” as a category. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/13 "2009-04-10T21:28:26Z")
It’s coke you heathens! ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/14 "2009-04-10T21:58:18Z")
They didn’t get any of the Louisiana “cold drink” contingent. It is strange how eastern Wisconsin kind of went rogue, there. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/15 "2009-04-10T22:02:48Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/16 "2009-04-10T22:22:48Z")
Phoenix, with a large number of Midwestern transplants is more ‘pop’ than you would think. Still, I think the California ‘soda’ influence is stronger. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/17 "2009-04-11T00:12:42Z")
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](http://www.wvhotdogs.com/slawmap.html). ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/18 "2009-04-11T00:20:10Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/19 "2009-04-11T00:23:30Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > Soda. Pop. Coke. Who cares? I want to know the important stuff, the stuff that can affect the quality of my life. Like [this](http://www.wvhotdogs.com/slawmap.html). Or [this](http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/246-southern-sauce-sources/)? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683/20 "2009-04-11T00:26:57Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I figure they got small sample sizes there. The most densely populated area (Anchorage) contains more than half the population of the state. And we call it ‘soda’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-vs-soda-the-map/492683.md?page=2)