In the South, particularly in Georgia, when folks get a soft drink, many times they'll call it a "Coke." Coca-Cola is a southern product, you see. It was created by Dr. John Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia and became a huge hit when sold in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta. So, with those Southern roots, Coca-Cola is huge. So much so, that "coke" is commonly used as a generic cola name.
When I was younger, if you wanted a Coke, you most likely got it in a 6 1/2 oz. bottle. Some places didn't carry Coca-Cola. You could get a Pepsi at those places. It came in a 10 oz. bottle. And some places carried Royal Crown Cola, which was in 10 oz. bottles.
One day I found out that Coke had a diet drink called Tab. It was in a 10 oz. bottle. And, RC had Diet Rite Cola.
It was so much simpler then. You could count the available flavors on one hand. Okay, two hands. But it was simple.
Yesterday, I had to stop and pick up some shampoo, milk, and breakfast sandwiches. In the process, I had to walk through the soft drink section of the Winn-Dixie. And they had a boatload of drinks on display.
Most of the drinks were available in 12 oz. cans, 20 oz. bottles, and 2-liter bottles. Some had some other sizes, but most had these. And there were lots of flavors and variations on soft drinks.
In the Coke section, they had Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Tab, Caffeine-Free Coke, Caffeine-Free Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Splenda, Cherry Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, Coke Zero, Coca-Cola C2, Cola-Cola with Lime, Diet Coke with Lime, Diet Coke with Lemon. And I haven't even mentioned Sprite, Diet Sprite Zero, Sprite Remix ...
I got tired of looking at Coke products by then. So I turned around. And found myself looking at Pepsi Cola products.
Like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Caffiene-Free Pepsi, Caffiene-Free Diet Pepsi, Pepsi ONE, Pepsi Vanilla, Diet Pepsi Vanilla, Pepsi Lime, Diet Pepsi Lime, Wild Cherry Pepsi, Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Diet Pepsi Twist, Pepsi Edge. Right next to all them were Mountain Dew, Diet Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Code Red, Diet Mountain Dew Code Red, Mountain Dew Live Wire...
I walked away. And walked right past Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper, Caffiene Free Dr. Pepper, Caffiene Free Diet Dr. Pepper, Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper...
I wasn't thirsty any more. I finished my shopping and left.
I'm just glad I didn't stop at the RC Cola aisle.
You know what's funny? I grew up on Southern Minnesota and they call it "pop" up there. It's funny to hear now since I've been down south since 1977 - but you're right, so many choices, and ALL BAD for you LOL
ReplyDeleteI agree. Water is much better. But I'm undecided between Aquafina, Aquafina Sparkling, Aquafina Sparkling Lemon-Lime, Aquafina Sparkling Berry, Dasani, Dasani with Lemon, Dasani with Raspberry...
ReplyDeleteI was so happy when they brought back the little glass bottles of coke. I can usually get them in my supermarket. Hmmmmmmm. Good memories and it still tastes decent.
ReplyDeleteWhat's REALLY sad is all the brand choices for water. It used to be free, yannow.
ReplyDeleteJust straight black coffee, intravenously, please; NO DO IT NOW!
ReplyDeleteActually, Here along coastal GA, we call it a Ca-Co Cola as in "Yes'am, I'll have a Ca-Co Cola and a Moon Pie."
ReplyDelete"What'll you have to drink?" "A Coke." "What kind of Coke?" "A Sprite."
ReplyDeleteLOLOLOL Nettie - HOW TRUE!
ReplyDeleteCoke is all there is. Everything else is foreign intervention and carpetbagging upstarts.
ReplyDelete