On Wednesday I resolved out loud that I wasn’t going to have “soda” for the rest of 2010. Later that afternoon, I had a seltzer, which I regard as carbonated water. Seltzer has no calories, no sodium, no carbs — and, when broken down to its basic ingredients is only CO2 + water. CO2 + water IS a key component to soda, but that makes seltzer/carbonated water a part of soda, not soda itself. Some argue that I broke my resolution. I think I’m still in safe territory.
However, since Wednesday I’ve come to the conclusion just like trying to resolve national health care (kid-ding!), there’s just no one solution to this semantic quandary and people fall along all points of the spectrum. I’ve broken down the differentiating views on the seltzer/carbonated water/soda debate for you here below:
Whether you believe seltzer is soda seems to come down to:
+ whether you believe carbonation is the foundation for soda
+ whether you believe any canned beverage is soda
+ whether you believe carbonated beverages are either beer or soda
+ whether you look up “carbonated water” or “soda water” in wikipedia
+ whether you believe carbonated water can both be part of soda AND soda at the same time
+ whether or not you are David Yee
+ whether a beverage with zero sodium, carbs or calories can be anything but a variation on water
+ whether or not you’re from Texas
+ whether or not you believe in the Principle of Identity Indiscernibles
Winter storm’s a-comin’. Enjoy the weekend.
