How did a ‘health drink’ from the early 1800s spawn so many names and variations? An expert in American dialects explains.

The word you use generally boils down to where you’re from: Midwesterners enjoy a good pop, while soda is tops in the North ...

It all stems from a mix of economic enterprise and linguistic ingenuity. The popularity of “soda” in the Northeast likely reflects the soda fountain’s longer history in the region.

Soft drinks go by many names—and each one tells a story. From 1800s pharmacies to modern dialect maps, here’s how our favourite bubbly beverages became cultural flashpoints.