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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1164 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 17, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Pop is a verb. It means things. People use it to talk about non-beverages, creating potential collisions in language usage. While collisions in language happen all the time and are manageable, it's still a point against.

Coke is a horrible term to use, because Coke is a specific beverage. Use of brands for generics, like saying "Kleenex" for tissues only works when those things are interchangeable. If you ask someone for a Kleenex and they bring you a Puffs tissue you can just use that instead. You might not even notice. If you ask someone for a Coke and they bring you a Sprite you're in for a rude surprise

Soda is clearly the superior choice. The only collision is for things like Soda Water, which is just carbonated water that they use in soda, or sodium compounds in chemistry (which the majority of people don't talk about).

You have been Culturally Imperialized, by the correct and dominant Empire. You are welcome.

I come from soda country, but I'm ok with pop or even soda pop. The only clearly wrong choice here is to call everything "Coke", for the reasons you articulate so well.

The real regional thing I grew up with is that back home, we call the things you drink water from in public "bubblers". My understanding is that Bubbler was the brand name of the first such drinking devices, and it stuck. Similarly (though less common as it got supplanted before it could stick), people will sometimes call ATMs a "TYME machine" because that was the first ATM that popped up in our area and they were ubiquitous for a while.

Coke is a horrible term to use, because Coke is a specific beverage.

Tell this to my wife, who says "pepsi-cola" instead.

You are pissing on the cultural heritage of 100 million people!

I didn't do it, I swear! I smelled like that when I found it.

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