Location dictates what caffeinated beverages are called

What do you call that sweet, syrupy goodness in the aluminum can or plastic bottle? When you see it squirting out of the fountain and splashing into your cup as it coats the ice cubes, do think, “I can’t wait to drink this pop.” Or do you think, “Man, this soda looks good.”

Well, calling a sugary, caffeinated drink either a pop, soda or a Coke depends on where you live.

Research has been done, and as the chart below shows, the part of the country you grew up in is most likely to indicate the term you use based upon the regional dialect of your area.

This chart shows data from October 2002 that shows what parts of the country refer to sugary, caffeinated drinks as one of three different options: Coke, pop or soda (via http://popvssoda.com/).

This is really fascinating stuff, and it seems the research is continuing. Over at popvssoda.com, they are accepting submissions to a survey.

What do you call it?

Personally, I grew up referring to it as pop, but I am more fond of the term soda or soda-pop. To each his own, I guess.

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About toddvogts 833 Articles
Todd R. Vogts, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of media at Sterling College in Kansas. Previously, he taught yearbook, newspaper, newsmagazine, and online journalism in various Kansas high schools, and he ran a weekly newspaper in rural Kansas. He continues to freelance as a professional journalist from time to time. Also, Vogts is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Journalism Education Association (JEA), and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), among others. He earned his Master Journalism Educator (MJE) certification from JEA in 2022. When he’s not teaching or writing, he runs his mobile disk jockey service and takes part in other entrepreneurial ventures. He can be reached at twitter.com/toddvogts or via his website at www.toddvogts.com.