Pop? Soda?

[RegistrationMark]

That stuff inside cola cans is called pop here in Minnesota. I saw an interesting geographical map of the US, detailing who uses "pop" or "soda" in their dialect.
Texans call it Coke, even if it's Sprite they're offering you.
So what do YOU call it?
Mark

 

[Mike Lewis]

Although I lived in the USA for many years, I'm still slightly confused when I'm offered soda. My reaction is ... why would I want soda without the Scotch to put it in?

Mike


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Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

My Visual FoxPro site: www.ml-consult.co.uk

 

[Turkbear]

Hi,
In the Tidewater area of Virginia you went for a 'coke' , even if what you ordered when you got there was root beer...

Of course, these days, saying you are going to 'pick up some coke' will get you in trouble..





To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."

 

[flapeyre]

My take:

When we USA-types say "Scotch and soda", we really mean "Scotch and soda water", i.e., carbonated water (unflavored).

"Soda", by itself, means either a carbonated soft drink, or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, NaHCO₃). It could also refer to other compunds with sodium in them, such as washing soda (sodium carbonate, Na₂CO₃).

Feles mala! Cur cista non uteris? Stramentum novum in ea posui!

 

[IknowMe]

Santa, that would be Roy Utah.

Wow, I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time.
I think I've forgotten this before.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Flapeyre,

Interesting. Washing soda, I know. Sodium bicarbonate is what we call bicarbonate of soda (or just bicarb). What you call baking soda is what we call baking powder, which is sodium bicarbonate plus tartaric acid; when it gets moist and warm, the soda and the acid react to produce carbon dioxide.

See also my post near the end of thread1256-1219667 re the effect of not pre-heating the oven in such circumstances.

Mike


__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

My Visual FoxPro site: www.ml-consult.co.uk

 

[SilentAiche]

Another Raleighite, here:

Coke seems the generic term hereabouts (North Carolina).

Ask for a Coke, and the food attendant will likely ask, "Is Pepsi OK?"

Ooh, that's one smokin' transition to the OK-acronym thread, and Santa's weight loss (Dave - my best was losing 30 pounds in 28 days, after jaw surgery. Intentional beats unintentional every time).

A cig-weigh, if you will.

Tim



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[flapeyre]

MikeLewis: Bicarbonate of soda and bicarb are also used here as synonyms for sodium bicarbonate, as is baking powder for sodium bicarbonate + tartaric acid (cream of tartar?). A dominate brand of baking powder when I was growing up was Calumet (came in a red can with an Indian chief's head drawing).

Feles mala! Cur cista non uteris? Stramentum novum in ea posui!

 

[j0ckser]

guess i'm the first canuck to wade into this debate. i have travelled much of canada and NEVER hear soda unless it refers specifically to soda water which of course would RUIN any scotch i would drink.

pop is offered in familial circumstances, and one defines restrictions from there.

per ardua ad astra

 

[hilfy]

In the mid-60's we moved from Iowa to Massachusetts. I can still remember when my dad went in to a drugstore and asked for a "pop". They didn't know what he was talking about and it ended up that they called it "tonic". By the time I graduated from college and left MA, everyone I knew called it "soda".

Re: Iced Tea. I now live in the Atlanta area where when you ask for "tea" you get sweet iced tea - if it's "properly" made the sweet comes from sugar syrup. If you want something else, you have to ask for "unsweet tea" or "hot tea". I'm wary about ordering tea anywhere outside of the south, though. When I go back to New England to visit family, I always ask whether their tea is brewed - many places outside of the south make their iced tea from powder or syrup and it's truly nasty tasting.

-Dell

A computer only does what you actually told it to do - not what you thought you told it to do.

 

[chiph]

many places outside of the south make their iced tea from powder or syrup and it's truly nasty tasting.

Indeed. I went over to a northern-transplant's house to fix their computer one night, and they offered me tea from powder. Totally and utterly disgusting. Yecch. Pttui.

Chip H.


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[j0ckser]

re hot tea in USA, i have not travelled extensively there, but have learned from experience that few places understand how to properly brew hot tea.

oddly enough, many that brew their own tea for ice tea probably do it properly, but somehow can't translate that to serving hot tea to the customer.

per ardua ad astra

 

[gbaughma]

That stuff inside cola cans is called pop here in Minnesota. I saw an interesting geographical map of the US, detailing who uses "pop" or "soda" in their dialect.
Texans call it Coke, even if it's Sprite they're offering you.

What part of MN are you in? I'm on "da range" (The Iron Range, where all of the iron is mined in the U.S.). I moved up here from the Chicago area about 12 years ago... and it's a bit of culture shock.

This area was mainly settled by Finlanders. There is no such thing as a casserole; everything that might be considered a casserole here is a "Hot Dish".

Cabbage Rolls = "Sarmas" (took me FOREVER to figure out what that one was)
Curling = a sport played on on ice, kind of like shuffleboard with huge pucks and brooms.
Sauna is pronounced "sow-oo-nuh" because in Finnish they pronounce every vowel.



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

 

[CajunCenturion]

I've enjoyed this thread, especially seeing whether or not 'coke' was capitalized. Here is a perfect example of a commonization at work, and where capitalization is critical, at least with the written word.

When Coke is capitalized, you're referring to a proper noun, and is therefore a specific product. When coke is not capitalized, you're referring to a common noun, and could be any soda, pop, or soda pop.

Of course, with the spoken word, it's ambiguous, as is often the case with commonizations.

On a side note, does anyone else have a question about the statistical signifcance with the map?

http://pharyngula.org/images/soft_drink_names_lg.gif

The map is based on 120,464 respondants, and I wonder if that's a significant sample upon which to build a national, county by county map?

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[AnotherHiggins]

There are 3,141 counties in the US[/LINK]. 120,464 respondents comes to an average of 38.34 respondents per county.

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[RegistrationMark]

gbaugh I lived in the Cities all my life. Had a lake place near Nashwauk, until the recent divorce. oh well, there's plenty of resorts. I assume you're around Virginia? Finlander English is mighty fun to listen to.
this has been a fun thread... OK Kleenex or tissue, what do you call 'em?
Just joking don't answer that
Mark

 

[mjldba]

j0ckser: please share how hot tea should properly be made. My GF is an avid (addicted??) tea drinker & I'd love to surprise her with a bit of knowledge.

Also, please suggest some brands. Currently she prefers Bromley above all others.

Thanks

 

[SF0751]

...few places understand how to properly brew hot tea."

You mean there's more to it than hot water + tea bag?

Susan
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work."
- Thomas A. Edison

 

[j0ckser]

to properly brew tea (and I'm certain that some will disagree), bring the water (cold to start) to a rolling boil. fill the tea pot with very hot water from the tap to heat it. when the water is boiling, dump the other water from the tea pot, add the tea (bag or loose) and add the water fresh off the boil (or even still boiling). steep to taste.

the key is that tea needs water at ~100 deg C to leech the flavour from the leaf. many US restaurants use hot tap water (probably less than 70 deg C).

see also

http://www.veg-world.com/articles/make-tea.htm

per ardua ad astra

 

[mjldba]

Color me sad, my GF already uses your prescribed method, including pre-heating .... pre-preparing .... opps, that's another thead .... getting the cup/tea pot ready for the main event.

Personally, I use cold water & microwave it for 2min 15sec. This prepares the cup (now REALLY hot) and water (boiling) but she insists her way is better.

She even claims to be able to taste the difference (is there?) between boiled & nuked water.

 

[gbaughma]

I assume you're around Virginia?

How about IN virginia? <LOL>



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg