It must be the fact that I have an American fiancee and American clients, that has caused me to become Americanised!I realised this the other night while watching the television show "Monk". Normally I watch very little TV but for some obscure reason I enjoy this rather off-beat program.
Early in the episode one of the characters used the word "pop". I picked up on this word because as a child in Wales, it was the term we gave to carbonated drinks. I knew that in the U.S. only certain demographic groups use that particular word. Later, a man claiming to be the pop drinkers brother arrived on the scene. He offered to get Monk a - soda.
Aha - gotcha!
I started researching usage of the two terms and came across a nice little website dedicated to the "The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy". Quote from the website:
"Using the World Wide Web to gather and process data from across English-speaking North America, I intend to plot the regional variations in the use of the terms "Pop" and "Soda" to describe carbonated soft drinks".
The website includes a nifty little interactive map and a larger map giving statistics by county. If you are interested in this topic, it is well worth a visit www.popvssoda.com/
On the same sort of topic, I realised some time ago that I was also able to recognise locations in New York. For example I know where certain roads lead or which landmarks they will pass. Just from talking to clients over the years I could drive to Yankee Stadium without any difficulty - well there is one difficulty - I can't drive, but why let facts spoil a good story. Hey, I am getting Washingtonized!
Tomorrow the blog will be published much later in the day (Sydney time) and probably with fewer posts.
Wherever you may be - be safe!
Photo: The Manly ferry wharf, Circular Quay, Sydney
