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Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026

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Someone once told me I had to try Italian soda, so I did, and it was just soda

No it isn't. Italian Cola is more citrusy, less carbonated and slightly less sweet. I think they use more ppm from the flavor essence. It is also available in 500ml cans which is the right amount and packaging.

1.24L is the correct amount for us Americans.

You can always drink multiple cans and not lose carbonation.

Americans buy 2 liter bottles or 12 oz cans, I don't know where that's coming from.

An example supermarket webpage lists 1.25-liter (<del>12</del><ins>42.2</ins>-ounce) bottles of soda for sale.

Yeah, those are bought sometimes, but not as commonly as 12 oz ≈ 355 ml cans. But the smaller bottles are common at businesses or vending machines, where it's tacky or unexpected to buy a can rather than a bottle. So for instance a pizza parlor might offer a choice between a 2-liter or a 1.25 liter. (Also, 12 fluid ounces is much less than 1.25 liters.)

I've never been a fan of the 2-liter bottles because you have to use them quickly or they go flat, but they're bought commonly for parties, cookouts, as a way to get a lot of soda for several people at once.

Interestingly enough cans closer to the 500 ml can size in the US are associated mostly with energy drinks, only rarely soda. And of course there's the Arizona tallboy with 23 oz ≈ 680 ml, but you wouldn't buy a soda in that size.

Buh? 12 oz is not 1.25L, it is 355 mL.

Sorry, I got confused betwen the nutrition label (12 ounces or 355 milliliters per serving) and the bottle label (1.25 liters or 42.2 ounces).

Yup, they trip you up in that way. "That's way too much soda for one sitting!" "Well read the label, it has OVER THREE servings in it!"