The Most Important Question Ever Asked - April

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Author: Kyla Sterling

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This month, in honor of the travel theme, we asked a question that is often answered along geographic lines – namely, what Tower members call “sweetened, flavored, carbonated beverages.” .The options were the ever popular “Soda” and “Pop,” as well as “Coke” and a few other regional variations. The results…were a little more decisive than anticipated.

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This reporter, at least, was unsurprised when “soda” took an early, commanding lead in the poll results. After all, a decent portion of Americans use that term. And, true to predictions, as the Europeans and Australians got online, the balance shifted. “Soda” still turned out to be the clear winner, though.

As far as discussion goes, things remained remarkably civil. Most of the rage and disdain were pointed at “friends” and “coworkers” rather than our fellow members. This reporter was very pleased at the amount of cross-continental sharing and understanding that happened!

Citizen Lei’Le Vumf blew minds across the world with the revelation that it’s called a “soft drink” in Australia because it’s not “hard alcohol.” (Honestly, I could hear the explosions!) Accepted Erin al’Denael recounted a story of a coworker asking for a “Coke” and being disappointed with a Coca-Cola (“I wanted Dr. Pepper […] Dr. Pepper is a Coke.”) and Citizen Fraghin Alaxinar related a similar story (“I’ll have a Coke, Pepsi please.”) that had members shaking their heads across the boards. Of course, those members from the Southern US felt obliged to defend the honor of the blanket “Coke” for all carbonated beverages – but the rest of us know they’re wrong.

Lenore Carvoe Sedai informed us that while it’s technically known as “Soft Drink,” most people in Germany will refer to the beverage as “Limo” (short for Limonade) regardless of flavor, unless it’s specifically dark cola – and then it’s called… Cola. Luna Morn Sedai calls it “Fizzy Drink” when speaking English, although she explained that the Serbian term translates to “Carbonated.” This reporter definitely would have liked to hear from more non-native English speakers to learn about the different terms in different languages!

Alas for our readers, there was no highly volatile “Soda” vs. “Pop” war, and thus the thread petered out after only a few days. However, everyone who participated in the thread learned at least a handful of new facts – making this month’s question thread a decided success.

Don’t forget to head over to the General forum this month for a new “Most Important Question Ever Asked” poll – and, as always, if you have an idea for a future question, don’t hesitate to send a PM to Kyla Sterling Sedai!

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