Maps Show Chicago Is Indeed 'Pop' Country... Surrounded By 'Soda' & 'Coke' Strongholds

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 3, 2017 4:10PM

Getty Images / Photo: Scott Olson

While the rollout of Cook County's new pop tax has proven baffling for some retailers and consumers alike, we thought there was at least consensus on what to call the surcharge. Yes, we speak of the Great Pop, Soda or Coke Debate.

We thought it was a given that our preferred regionalism was "pop." But as Mark Guarino and Kristen East pointed out in this morning's Illinois Playbook, Chicagoans have seen liberal use of the "s" word in many a recent pop-tax headline. Some go stories go on to mix "soda" and "pop" in the copy (perhaps this is another SEO casualty?), but not all.

Chicagoist has explored this controversy in the past, but as a link included by Playbook illustrates, the data-viz'ing of sugary-drink nomenclature has come a long way since then. Mapmaker Alan McConchie provides a map that illustrate, yes (of course), the Chicago region is squarely "pop" turf. But at the same time, the fact that any controversy, as it were, exists might be due to the encroaching proximity of "soda" and "coke" districts. According to these visualizations, it's coming at us from multiple fronts: the north, southeast and southwest.

And here you can see the various regions, by preferred label, in isolation:

It comes into relief in the variation below, too. It almost looks as if Chicago is hoping to dodge a multi-front storm. Which we suppose some would say we are.

You can contribute your preferred sugary-bev lingo to Pop Vs. Soda here to help make sure we're properly represented. Yes, language is indeed mutable, but especially if we gotta pay more for the stuff, maybe we can at least agree on terms. Or not. After all, a pop is a pop is a pop.