# Question About Soda or Pop for Older Folks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 24, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249 "2010-12-24T03:02:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/41 "2010-12-24T22:04:48Z")
I was a 70s child. Pop was a treat that you had with pizza. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/42 "2010-12-24T22:31:34Z")
I didn’t generally have soda. Lemonade was common, but growing up my favorite was milk. My brothers did drink Coke, which I couldn’t stand. I also didn’t care much for any other soda except orange soda, ginger ale, or Bitter Lemon. I didn’t care for carbonation . ---
**Author:** ![MobiusStripes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@MobiusStripes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MobiusStripes)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/43 "2010-12-24T22:44:55Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > …Mom made “Summer Water”. Summer Water was awesome, just a little bit sweet but not sticky like pop, and \*so \*refreshing. > > My pop drinking friends loved Summer Water at our house, and begged their moms for Summer Water at home. My mom got several desperate phone calls from their parents, begging her for the recipe for Summer Water, because their formerly content pop drinking sprog refused to drink pop, asking for Summer Water instead. That is too cool! I’m absolutely going to try that with my daughter (currently 5 yr old) this summer when it gets warm out. (I thought the recipe was going to be something like adding 3 grains of sugar to a gallon of water.) ---
**Author:** ![taffygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@taffygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taffygirl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/44 "2010-12-24T23:54:41Z")
Born in late 1950’s…Mom or Dad bought pop once in a while, but like most others here, our usual tipple was milk or, sometimes, Kool-Aid. But one piece of evidence for pop being a treat is that in the 1940’s and 1950’s people would “go out for a Coke,” either on a date or just with friends. People don’t do that much any longer. And the portions WERE smaller. But let’s face it, lower national obesity rates weren’t due to nutrition-vigilant parents or lack of money for soft drinks. The whole culture was different: no microwave ovens, no drive-through restaurants, less packaged food. And a big factor in kids getting more exercise was that most moms didn’t work. (Mine was an exception.) That meant not only were most families unable to afford a second car (let alone a third when Junior got his license) and kids therefore had to walk or bike more, it meant Mom was home when kids got home from school, so they were able to walk or bike the neighborhood or run to the playground. Today, kids are in after school programs or daycare, or they’re latchkey kids who are supposed to stay in the house, where the Wii and the computer are. And when both parents are working, there are more nights when they’re too stressed-out or tired to do more than order piza. Not longing for the not-so-good ol’ days (I’d have gone nuts as a housewife.), just saying that progress always comes with a price tag. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/45 "2010-12-25T02:39:48Z")
Mr. Sali has drunk at least a liter of Diet Coke when at home every single day that I’ve known him. And he drank it all through growing up, too, in the 60’s (cause his mommy catered to his every whim). But since I started keeping my aluminum water bottle in the refrigerator so that it’s icy cold, he is now a Changed Man. He has started drinking that cold water. Summer water! I never would have believed it, but it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/46 "2010-12-25T04:06:32Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > What if you just drink diet? Back in the 50s, there was no such thing as diet-anything, with the possible exception of margarine (which was actually worse for us than butter). ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/47 "2010-12-25T15:02:21Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Back in the 50s, there was no such thing as diet-anything, with the possible exception of margarine (which was actually worse for us than butter). Yeah, you’re mostly right. I think there was a ginger ale called “No Calorie” or something like that in the 50’s. And Diet Rite came out in the late 50’s. But those are pretty isolated. Heavy marketing for diet drinks didn’t take off until the 70’s. They advertised the living hell out of Diet Pepsi in the late 70’s even though it actually came out in the 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![roxie\_monoxide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6bbea6/32.png) [@roxie\_monoxide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roxie_monoxide)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/48 "2010-12-26T21:41:52Z")
I think what has changed is the perception of serving size. I was born in the sixties and although pop was not a staple in our house and water was the usual beverage, milk, pop and juice were served in small juice glasses and a bottle or can of pop was considered a decent serving. Or it was the serving size until my brothers got into their teens and could chug a litre or two of milk or juice and not even pause! Today, all restaurants have small sizes that would have been a large in previous years. People also tended not to include drinks when they look at a meal and consider the amount of calories. Take a look at McDonalds, medium fries - 360 calories, large coke 320 calories and most people look at these as sides and tend to minimize the calories when trying to gauge them. So your Quarter Pounder (430 calories) with the addition of sides is now 1110 calories. I often look at little kids walking around with their super mega gulps and wonder if their parents would serve them a 2 litre bottle of pop with dinner. It puts it in perspective rather than thinking " oh, junior just wants a drink while we are out shopping. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/49 "2010-12-26T22:21:36Z")
> [@roxie\_monoxide](#): > > I think what has changed is the perception of serving size. I agree with this. Back when vending machines still dispensed [glass bottles](http://wyomingvalley.ebayclassifieds.com/collectibles/warrior-run/vendo-coca-cola-bottle-vending-machine-between-1959-1966/?ad=2730901) they were 10 ounces. The eight packs at the store had 16 ounce bottles. But it was well into the 80’s before I recall seeing 20 or 24 ounce bottles. 2 liter bottles were something people would buy for parties with a pack of 8 ounce cups. At fast food places small-medium-large actually meant something like 12-16-20 ounces at the most.. The large being considered really big. “Big Gulps” at 7-11 were (IIRC) 32 ounces and were considered freaking huge. They are now less than the 1 liter bottles I see people chugging from. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/50 "2010-12-27T02:54:53Z")
> [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > …Even after I grew up, never really cared for Coke, etc. Maybe due to not having it when young, or just because I don’t care for sweet drinks when good old water is available… I’m 25 and Mom never fed me much soda growing up. I hated it growing up, and I’m still not a big fan except stuff like Jones Soda and other cane sugar sodas. > [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > In the 60’s and 70’s we got one bottle of pop or less a week. We mostly drank water all day and had milk with every meal. We drank a lot of milk. Punch was for parties or special meals. We got a glass of pop on the rare meals eaten out and that was always a small glass loaded with ice with no refills so then you drank a lot of free water. At most those glasses had 8 ounces of pop in them. That’s basically how Mom grew up (she was born in the '50s) except that for really special meals (Sunday and holidays) they were allowed some of Grandpa’s homemade wine or cider. Eating out was an extremely rare event so was fast food (basically only on vacations or at fairs). My grandmother did work “outside the home”, but that was at the general store she and my grandfather owned. They lived upstairs then had a house built close by so it wasn’t really all that hard for get to get a homecooked meal on the table everyday. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Last\_of\_the\_Puritans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Last\_of\_the\_Puritans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Last_of_the_Puritans)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/51 "2010-12-29T01:57:31Z")
Born in 1960. My parents were teachers who only got paid once a month and had to support three kids. Weeknight we drank what my mom called “Cumberland Punch” (tap water from the Cumberland river in Nashville); Saturday night we got Big K (Kroger brand) soda with our hamburgers. Sunday dinner mom made ice tea from scratch. To this day I still don’t like the taste of soda and Pepsi tastes like a liquid bag of sugar to me. My sister hates Big K today and would sooner drink canal water. I tried to drink Diet Canada Dry these past three days, but was put off by the inevitable laxative effect. Back to sparking water. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/52 "2010-12-29T18:06:52Z")
Diet ginger ale has a laxative effect? Really? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/53 "2010-12-30T18:08:55Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > Diet ginger ale has a laxative effect? Really? There are some artificial sweeteners that cause this. On some sugar free candies they’ll be a waning about it. I didn’t realize they use that same kind of sweetener in soda, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/54 "2010-12-30T18:44:12Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > There are some artificial sweeteners that cause this. On some sugar free candies they’ll be a waning about it. I didn’t realize they use that same kind of sweetener in soda, though. Those are sugar alcohols like maltitol and erithritol. I’ve never seen them in soda either. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Last\_of\_the\_Puritans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Last\_of\_the\_Puritans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Last_of_the_Puritans)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/55 "2010-12-30T23:40:00Z")
Hi! Puritan here! It could be just me, but I’ve found if I eat/drink too much of anything with Aspartame, which is what’s in Diet CD, it has that effect. A couple of years ago, I was enthralled with the taste of Sprite Zero and was guzzling it like water. It put me down for a day with the “trots”. Like I said, could be just me, but I’ve just shyed away from soda altogether. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/56 "2010-12-31T07:01:49Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Those are sugar alcohols like maltitol and erithritol. I’ve never seen them in soda either. I ate a box of sugar free “Jots” once (Brachs version of M&M’s). I don’t recall what the sweetener was, but I do remember the warning label which I ignored. Bad move. Gave me the runs for 2 days afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/57 "2011-01-02T03:02:12Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Diet soda came along later. When I was a kid, there were essentially two diet sodas - Tab and Fresca. And neither was popular. People who didn’t want to drink regular soda generally drank water instead. Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, my parents never laid down any rules or prohibitions with regard to soda; in fact they bought it for us. If it was there we could have it, but living miles away from the nearest store meant that there could often be times when it wasn’t there. ---
**Author:** ![Mornac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mornac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mornac)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/58 "2011-01-02T03:32:28Z")
I was born in 1958 and we only had pop when we were at other people’s homes. I’m from a rather large family though and I think it was more “cost-related” than anything. I remember my parents drinking coffee with all meals (and I mean during the meal – not afterwards). I seem to remember a lot of other adults doing the same thing. It came back to me recently while watching re-runs of the Dick VanDyke show. Rob and Laura are often seen drinking coffee during meals (above and beyond breakfast). ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/59 "2011-01-02T04:53:08Z")
Born in 1947. In our house there was a bottle of water in the refrigerator, iced tea, and milk. Ice trays which I never used, because they were a pain in the butt to empty and refill, which was required. Water from the hose outdoors was much more common. Spending a whole dime on a seven ounce Coke was a splurge, although my mom or dad would generally allow it as a choice if we were “out shopping” or such. My neighbor’s mom would fix lemonade almost any time in the summer. We liked her a whole lot. He was a dick, though. The lemonade was real lemon juice, with simple syrup, poured over ice, and then diluted with tap water. You got a big (12 ounce, maybe?) glass, and a refill was possible. She made it up right in front of you, in a pitcher. Then you had to go outside to drink it. When you are 10, that’s a big treat. Gas station down at the “bad part of town” where I wasn’t supposed to go had a nickle coke machine. It was only worth the trip once or twice a summer. (About three miles, I guess.) By the time I was in High School, there was a McDonalds next to the school, and Coke was a daily drink, still only a dime until later in my school career when it went to 15 cents and we were outraged. I always hated Koolaid. Don’t know how often others drank it but I wouldn’t touch the stuff. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249/60 "2011-01-05T18:19:58Z")
There was certainly enough sugar – lemonade, Kool-Aid, Popsicles and iced tea (which I didn’t like) with three or four teaspoons of sugar. But we tended to drink smaller servings. Also, I just checked this out – my school was 1/4 mile from my house, and I walked there every day. The park was 2/3 mile away, and I’d ride my bike there, play all morning, ride home for lunch, and then head back to the park for the afternoon. When I got a little older, school was a little farther away, and baseball and soccer replaced playing in the park, but I still walked or ride a bike everywhere. I don’t think my memory is playing tricks on me. We really were more active back then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-soda-or-pop-for-older-folks/565249.md?page=4)