Pop wins!
From the Strange Maps blog, comes this map
and the associated article discussing the use of "pop", "soda", "Coke", or other terms to refer to soft drinks in various parts of the U.S. From the map, not only does it look like (to me, at any rate) that "pop" is the clear winner, since most of the country is shown in blue on this map, but that "Coke" is second, being the regional term in much of the South, and as far north as central Indiana (I think that explains something about Indiana), even when they're referring to Pepsi! Me, I call it "pop" even though 90% of the time the kind of pop I drink is Coke.
The line that really interested me in the article was "the term ‘pop’ is considered unsophisticated by some, because it is onomatopaeic." Heck, I've always thought that was its best quality. (To me, "soda" sounds like pop that's gone flat. Not enough fizz.)
and the associated article discussing the use of "pop", "soda", "Coke", or other terms to refer to soft drinks in various parts of the U.S. From the map, not only does it look like (to me, at any rate) that "pop" is the clear winner, since most of the country is shown in blue on this map, but that "Coke" is second, being the regional term in much of the South, and as far north as central Indiana (I think that explains something about Indiana), even when they're referring to Pepsi! Me, I call it "pop" even though 90% of the time the kind of pop I drink is Coke.
The line that really interested me in the article was "the term ‘pop’ is considered unsophisticated by some, because it is onomatopaeic." Heck, I've always thought that was its best quality. (To me, "soda" sounds like pop that's gone flat. Not enough fizz.)