VERY interesting

[winterbadger]

soft-drink reference map of the US, as mentioned by a number of people

Comments

[wolfette]

whereas you can divide Scotland in two - it's either "juice" or "ginger".

[winterbadger]

A piece of Scots usage knowledge I had not encountered yet--thank you!

[wolfette]

West - especially Glasgow - it's "ginger", sort of pronounced "jinjah" - probably because the first commercially available carbonated soft drink was ginger beer. (dad talks about "sugar olly water" when he was young, which seems to have been a home made drink of water, sugar and liquorice) It was a shock to move through here in the East when I was 11 and suddenly everyone was talking about "juice". "what kind of juice do you want? coke?"

[winterbadger]

Referring to carbonated sugary drinks as juice is just...weird.

Of course, I am still working my head 'round the idea that a "hauf and hauf" means a beer and a chaser, not weak cream. ;-)

[ticktockmary.livejournal.com]

Most interesting is that inexplicable island of "soda" in eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois.

I grew up a "coke" person, but changed to "soda" when I moved here.

[winterbadger]

I've heard some people suggest carpetbagging a s acause of the MO thing, but given what little I know of MO, that seems unlikely. :-)

What would be equally interesting would be a more complicated map of when people drink...whatever you call it. I was brought up (by my New England-raised mother) to think of it as a treat, akin to a dessert, it being sweet. I can't express the combination of astonishment and almost-horror that occurred the first time I went to someone's house where it was served instead of water at the table during the main course of a meal.

[soshesays.livejournal.com]

I'm a soda person married to a pop person, and I've lived in pop territory for most of my adult life, but I'll never call it pop. I might be disowned by my soda family. :P

[winterbadger]

Could the two of you compromise and call it "soda pop"? :-)

[soshesays.livejournal.com]

NO! I've actually heard him utter 'soda' a few times. That means that I'm winning and I can't compromise now. :P

(Actually, it seems that most people around here call it by its brand name, e.g. Mountain Dew or Pepsi or whatever. It's pretty rare that I hear a 'pop' even though our county is dark blue on that map. I wonder if that's the case in more places.)

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I've always kinda liked "belly washer."

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

I think if I was talking about it I would probably ask if they wanted a cold drink or something fizzy, but generally I would be offering fruit squash or cordial

interesting stuff