This thread reminds me of this map:
What's weird to me is that a good part of southern appalachia (the parts in TN, NC, and south of that) heavily use the term "coke" for soft drinks. Are those parts of the "central appalachia" where Pepsi outsells Coke? I can't imagine using "Coke" as the word for soft drinks but also preferring Pepsi to Coca-Cola. Does that mean you would say "My favorite kind of coke is Pepsi"?
I'm from the Midwest, and we call it "pop", and even up here I hear people genericize "Coke". I also have relatives living Texas who say that most people there either call it "coke" or "soda." I've heard some people there call soft drinks "soda coke", though. Not a surprise, since everybody knows that Coke is immensely more popular than Pepsi in the South. (For that reason, I would guess that liberals would prefer Pepsi, and ironically, it also means Democrats probably drank more Coke than Republicans for most of our history.
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For that matter, I went to Arby's today and had some Pepsi there. It tasted really watered down and there seemed to be hardly any sweetness at all. I don't know if it's just because it was in a paper cup, but it seemed odd. I like both Coke and Pepsi, but I could only tell you which I prefer from a taste test. But if this was any sign, then I would probably have to say that I like Coke more. I've had plenty of Coke in paper cups and it tastes fine, probably because it just seems to have more flavor.
