New Map Shows The Different Pronunciations For Soda And Pop

Ah, the age-old food and drink wars of the different areas of the country. From deep-dish to thin-crust pizza, to New England and Manhattan chowder, the battle of preferences in different regions wages on, but one battle is the cause of mockery, arguments and confusion; the difference between "pop" and "soda."

A map by Joshua Katz, a Ph. D student in statistics at North Carolina State University, shows the differences in the way that various regions of the U.S. refer to the fizzy drink. He also presented maps for different food and drink pronunciations, including "caramel" and "syrup."

According to the headline for his map for carbonated beverages, "everyone knows that the Midwest calls it 'pop,' the Northeast and West Coast call it 'soda,' while the South is really into brand loyalty." This is referring to the fact that the north half of the country, from Southwestern Pennsylvania to Washington, refers to the drink as "pop," on each coastline and in Southern Florida, you can hear it referred to as "soda" and in some parts of the deep South, each drink, no matter which brand, is "Coke."

At least there's on thing we can all seem to agree on; nearly no one calls it a "soft drink." Go figure.