Little neigh­bor­hood stores that sold soft drinks, until recently, were called “spas” which goes back to the late 19th and early 20th cen­tury when soda water was con­sid­ered health­ful and soft drinks were derived from syrupy patent med­i­cines.

If you order a milk­shake in some places, you’ll just get milk and syrup mixed together. If you want an ice cream shake, you’d best order a “frappe”. If you go to DD’s and order a reg­u­lar, you’ll get heav­ily creamed and sug­ared coffee.

You make a good point, Mom, that a huge part of our pop­u­la­tion was not rep­re­sented in this study—those who order the “senior soft drink” and get a well-​deserved price break.

I must admit, Misty, that “soda” def­i­nitely does sound more sophis­ti­cated, and by the way, I think it fits you very well!

I appre­ci­ate the three unique per­spec­tives from people who have been trans­planted from places where the normal way was not the way it mostly is here… Sherry, Michelle, and Gregg.

I actu­ally laughed out loud when I read your com­ment, Cristie, about your Mom using “soda-pop” to be non-​partisan! Now that’s peace-​making! None of us want our fam­i­lies, friend­ships or our coun­try to be polar­ized by car­bon­ated bev­er­age names!

The lesson for me is that our pref­er­ences and opin­ions are what make us each unique, inter­est­ing, and really quite fas­ci­nat­ing.

Any others want to add a com­ment, and reveal which side of the soda/pop aisle you are on?