pop, but my son calls it soda, as he hung around nefarious Texan youths when he grew up..... not bad for an Alberta boy
We either call it what it is Coke, but it's sometimes called soft drink to distinguish it from beer. Dr. Pepper or no coke products get called coke until someone whines there really not filled with coke. But we have had an influx of foreigners that call it soda, soda water and pop. Soda is baking soda or lye. And pop is the start of a fight.
In Michigan we call it pop, unless you're having a vernors, then you say vernors. And for those not aware vernors is the best ginger ale ever made, and everyone from michigan drinks it when they get a cold or flu.
Yup - coke when I was growing up. We moved to New Hampshire when I was in high school and first heard the term "tonic" referring to any/all carbonated beverages. That's also when I first heard a water fountain called a "bubbler."
Pop. My brother married a California girl and they call it soda. Two of my sons call them sodas as well. My wife grew up in Texas and everyone around her called them cokes but she did not pick up that habit.
Your next visual should be the use of "bag" and "sack." When going shopping, I'll say, "Please put that in a bag." When I visited my sister in Dallas, they will say, "Please put that in a sack."
This thread reminded me of a boring old man story that's only tangentially related to this thread. When I moved to Portland from Seattle in '92 I think every restaurant and bar that I went to only had RC Cola on tap. You couldn't get Coke or Pepsi to save your life. RC had no special connection to Portland, it wasn't made here, and it's gone away, but no matter where you were if you wanted cola you'd get RC unless it was a national fast food place or other chain restaurant. By no means were Coke and Pepsi under represented anywhere else in the city, and both were bottled locally in the area, while RC was not, which led further to the mystery. My stepdad always said that RC must've had one heck of a salesman.
This sums it up for me^^^ We might call it pop too, but coke feels more natural (I don't think I've ever personally used the word "pop" in reference to a drink). Actually though, since no one I know actually drinks this sugar bubble stuff casually anymore anyways, we are most likely to call it "mix". So, in anticipation of having to pour some rum and cokes or some whiskey gingers, you go out and buy booze and mix.
RC had many famous pitch people and many innovations as this article discusses. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/royal-crown-cola-company First Soft Drink sold in Aluminum cans. The salesman in your area must not have understood combined marketing synergies because you did not mention the required complementary product that should have been sold with that RC Cola. http://cookingschoolblog.com/2013/12/03/rc-cola-and-a-moon-pie-a-southern-tradition/
