>>>>I'm proud to say I have no more than 1 coke a year.
>>>
>>>You beat me - I had about two in seven years :).
>>
>>Sounds like you beat me, but I must say, I'm probably about the same. I recall having a coke last summer, as there was no, say 7-up to drink, but generally I never have a fizzy drink. I may buy a burger once a year too (and NEVER a CackDonalds)
>
>Once in a while we go buy one of those clear liquids, or an orange/lemon fizz. We usually forget about it and the CO₂ leaves the liquid, so the last half of the bottle is... a good incentive to buy the next one much later.

Just recalled, we do get a 2L bottle of Fanta for the kids every so often. I Like that. You're right about the CO2 escaping. I tend to squeeze the bottle in at the top before resealing - leave less room for the CO2 to escape into, ready for when you open - keeps it under more pressure.

>
>I DID eat one burger, during my first 12 hours in the States, while I was still a tourist (having joined the local working class the very next morning). It was as expected - the meat was OK, the salad stuff around it was nice, the cheese was the reprocessed cheese leftovers, the bun was spongy and sticking to teeth. Accidentally, I had a dairy plant and a city bakery as customers back home, both of which were supplying the Mc there, so I knew the cheese and the bun beforehand. The cheese was about the worst they had - believe me, I've tried everything they had over the years, the girls kept bringing samples from their mess hall. Same for the bun - it's too American. Any pastry that sticks to your teeth is simply below grade in Serbian terms.

Worse when it coats the roof of your mouth and you spend an hour with the tongue trying to dislodge it, only to resort to the thumb-nail in the end! :-)

>
>I ate another burger in Houston (TX), but that was a complete dinner. It was the standard elephant-ear size, but the plate was large enough to accommodate the fries, salad etc. That was good.

Had the best burger in my life at Xmas, in a pub in Brighton. It had curry-like spices in it, a good bun (you can actually still get good bakery products here)