When my colleague, Kat informed me that July 29th was the 25th anniversary of Diet Coke, I thought "Cool, I'll write about how this bubby invasion defined 'liquid' and 'diet' all through my teen years." Then I realized, "Holy crap, I'm so old I was more than halfway through my teens when Diet Coke was even invented!" I have to admit, I was a little depressed. So I went to see 'The Simpsons' and ordered a medium-sized, ice cold half bucket of Diet Coke to buoy my mood and infuse me with some much-need youthful vigor. My friend had a few sips, but otherwise I drank the whole thing by myself.
Needless to say, I was stoked. And floating.
This is why, although I'm typically an earth-first type of eater and drinker with a preference for locally grown produce and stuff labeled 'artisanal' and 'fresh-squeezed,' I have never been able to give up my Diet Coke. Its got that refreshing balance of fake sweet, bubbly goodness that comforts me, paired with a foundation-shaking jolt the size of a small seismic tremor that may or may not cause residual damage.
My diet cola affinity started with Tab. I went to a fancy Manhattan public school where even the teachers judged you based on body type. The de riguer lunch was not salisbury steak but rather, a Tab and an apple. The thing about Tab, though, is that the saccharine taste was so disgusting you could feel the cancer eating right through the carbonation and away at your gut. But you drank it because, of course, to be thin was to sacrifice.
Then, in 1982 came Diet Coke. This was a revolutionary concept -- the soda (that's what we New Yorkers call it) most people besides me actually wanted to drink, but with NO CALORIES! As Coke's genius advertising campaign summed it up, you could drink Diet Coke 'Just for the Taste of It.' And so, 23 years after I gave up dieting for good, I still loves me some Diet Coke. I don't care when Diet Pepsi -- with it's no backbone bubble -- came to pass. I can be promiscuous with regard to my allegiance for Yanks vs. Mets depending which side of my family is present, but I'm utterly loyal to Diet Coke.
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1. I drink about (believe it or not) 8-12 cans of Diet Coke every day...more on week-ends. I like it with lime, cherry, and I even like Diet Cherry Zero. I have so much Diet Coke in my refrigerator that I hardly have room for food. What a taste!!!!!
Diann Harris at 2:48PM on Aug 23rd 2007