Why do Texans refer to all soda as "Coke"? (Austin: charge, place)

[NYLifes2shrt]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spade]

I also think it comes down to a racial thing (please don't take how I used that any other way). Most blacks in the south say Soda. I rarely if ever used coke to ask for a soda. However, Pop is huge in the midwest outside St. Louis and Milwaukee. Everybody uses that. I asked for soda in Chicago one time and they showed me a box of baking soda. Don't have to worry about that anymore. I despise soda.

[Back2TX]

Oh I love coke floats and frosted coke. I'm temporarily in KY and went to DQ this summer and asked them if they could make me a frosted coke. They looked at me as if I had fallen off my rocker. I wonder if they still make them in the TX DQs. (Frosted cokes are coke and ice cream blended together with a mixer... even better than coke floats.)

And as far as asking if anyone wanted a coke.... I meant it literally at my house... that's all I had in my fridge. Never cared to drink any other carbonated drink.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by Spade

I also think it comes down to a racial thing (please don't take how I used that any other way). Most blacks in the south say Soda. I rarely if ever used coke to ask for a soda. However, Pop is huge in the midwest outside St. Louis and Milwaukee. Everybody uses that. I asked for soda in Chicago one time and they showed me a box of baking soda. Don't have to worry about that anymore. I despise soda.

You and I have talked about this before, Spade...and we both agreed. That is to say, that blacks in the South tend to use the term soda, while whites use "coke." As a teacher with a mixed race class, I can vouch for it first hand. LOL

As to WHY this is so? THAT is the confusing thing! I mean, Southern whites and blacks eat the same traditional food (known either as soul or country)...and share more, linguistically and and culturally..with each other than with our yankee counterparts! BUT...for SOME reason, it stops with soda and coke! LOL

[NYLifes2shrt]

Originally Posted by Spade

I also think it comes down to a racial thing (please don't take how I used that any other way). Most blacks in the south say Soda. I rarely if ever used coke to ask for a soda. However, Pop is huge in the midwest outside St. Louis and Milwaukee. Everybody uses that. I asked for soda in Chicago one time and they showed me a box of baking soda. Don't have to worry about that anymore. I despise soda.

LOL!!!! Got to love the South for keeping things interesting...

[ripley]

As a former Dr. Pepper route salesman, I do not struggle with the affliction of referring to all soft drinks as "Coke."

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by ripley

As a former Dr. Pepper route salesman, I do not struggle with the affliction of referring to all soft drinks as "Coke."

But as a Texan, I bet it was a hell of a struggle at first, wasn't it? LOL

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by Sonrise

I was in Houston a few weeks ago on business for and we got into a fun conversation about local/regional coloquilisms. The topic of soda came up and we mentioned that most of the country does indeed refer to this beverage as soda. However some parts, specifically that Great Lakes region and all of Canada refer to it as pop. My co-workers in Houston mentioned that in Texas when eating out people order a "coke" and then the normal response is, "what kind, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Pepsi, etc...?"

I was very perplexed and mentioned to them that this made absolutely no sense whatsoever since Coke is a specific cola flavored carbonated beverage. That would be like going to Dairy Queen and ordering a chocolate cone and as they're about to prepare it tell them that you want vanilla. While they are both indeed types if ice cream they are very different and distinct in flavor. Same with coke and other brands/flavors. All, of my Texan co-workers paused for a minute, digesting my point and nodded in unison, getting my point immediately.

So anyway, just curious as to why and how this came about as it is factually incorrect. Thanks

born and raised texan here who has never referred to all soda as "Coke" (except for those drinks labeled...coke)

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by NYLifes2shrt

LOL!!!! Got to love the South for keeping things interesting...

Wellll, we are sorta partial to it...!

[Spade]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

As to WHY this is so? THAT is the confusing thing! I mean, Southern whites and blacks eat the same traditional food (known either as soul or country)...and share more, linguistically and and culturally..with each other than with our yankee counterparts! BUT...for SOME reason, it stops with soda and coke! LOL

I honestly cannot answer that question. I never noticed it before until you said it but then realized that it made total sense.

Honestly, blacks share things culturally and lingusistically many times everywhere outside New York. For example, Black Chicagoans refer to the drink as pop but their dialect confused with someone from Mississippi. Very interesting is somebody puts some research into all of this.