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

Would you consider soda a medicinal beverage? Selling drinks purported to have health benefits has been around far longer than you might imagine.

Whether you call it soda or pop, there's no denying that something about fountain drinks makes them taste different from what ...

Brandon Shahniani serves up cold treats from the 100-year-old soda fountain at the Fair Oaks Pharmacy in South Pasadena, CA, on Tuesday, July 24, 2024.

Ninja has a new diet soda Thirsti bundle that’ll give you fizzy fountain soda forever for just $170 Updated: Jul. 01, 2025, 3:17 p.m. | Published: Oct. 30, 2024, 5:45 p.m.

Few American linguistic debates have bubbled quite as long and effervescently as the one over whether a generic soft drink should be called a soda, pop or coke.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced many beloved mom-and-pop shops to close their doors, including the century-old East Village soda fountain Gem Spa, known for its legendary egg creams.

With burgers sizzling and classic rock thumping, many Americans revel in summer cookouts – at least until that wayward cousin ...

Another theory suggests that because bottles were more common in the region, soda drinkers were more likely to hear the “pop” sound than in the Northeast, where soda fountains reigned.

As for the Midwestern preference for “pop” – well, the earliest American use of the term to refer to a sparkling beverage appeared in the 1840s in the name of a flavored version called ...