可乐加花生

不同的历史渊源，不一样的人文地理环境，造就了南北殊同的饮食和文化差异。一提到南北差异，中国网友们能因为豆腐脑、月饼和豆浆的甜咸争论不休。而在太平洋的另一边一美国，也存在着类似的 “纷争”。

Now This, a news portal, tweeted earlier this month: "Peanuts and Coca-Cola are tearing people apart". It became a hot topic among netizens.

月初，美国一个视频新闻网站Now This在推特上发文：“花生加可乐的吃法，正在分化美国人民。”推文一发布，网友们就纷纷留言，反响热烈。

Eating peanuts after dumping them into a Coke is a tradition for some people in the US South. Netizens from the region commented:

因为称这一吃法是南方的传统，不少以南部美国人为主的网友因此“现身说法”：

"I am from country, country NC, and my parents did this with Coke and NuGrape Soda in the glass bottle."

 - Neitizen "The Mrs from North Carolina"

“我来自北卡乡下，我的家人会在可乐或葡萄苏打水里加上花生。”

 - 北卡莱罗纳州网友The Mrs

"My parents were born and raised in California. They did this in the early '60s and passed it down!"

 - Neitizen Motrod from California

“我的父母在加州出生和长大，他们在上世纪60年代就是这么做的，现在住在加州农村的我们也是这样！”

 - 加利福尼亚州网友Mothod

"My momma and grandpa used to do this. I don't like it, but I had to buy my momma the combo when I saw this in the gas station recently."

 - Neitizen Bombchael from Georgia

“我妈妈和外婆过去常常这么吃，我不喜欢。但最近我在加油站看到这样的组合，我不得不买给我妈妈。”

 - 佐治亚州网友Bombchael

When it comes to this combination, someone strongly recommended:

对于这种搭配吃法，有人极力推荐：

"If you haven't tried peanuts in Coke, you haven't lived. Don't knock it until you've tasted it. Salt, sugar, sweet savory. My lunch. All three food groups if you add Fritos."

 - Woody Paige

“如果你没有试过在可乐里加花生，那你根本就没活过。先别急着批评它，你们先去尝一尝。又甜又咸，味道棒！”

 - 网友Woody Paige

Others could barely accept it, and even questioned whether or not it was an authentic part of Southern tradition.

有人却完全无法接受，甚至质疑这是否为南方地区的传统：

"I've lived in the South since 1979. Performed all across it since 1998, and have never ONCE seen this."

 - Roy Wood Jr-Ex Jedi

“我从1979年开始就住在南方，1998年跑南方各地演出，却从未见过这种吃法。”

 - Roy Wood Jr-ExJedi

But when did peanuts and Coca-Cola first appear in people's lives?

那么，这种可乐加花生的吃法到底有什么渊源呢?

John Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the Center for Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, grew up in Jones County, Georgia, where "any road trip was fueled by a sleeve of roasted and salted peanuts and a glass bottle of Coke."

美国密西西比大学南方文化中心南方饮食联盟主任约翰·埃奇，从小在佐治亚州琼斯县长大。他说：“所有公路旅行都是由一桶咸花生和一瓶可乐推动的”。

Edge said the combo "was likely born of country store commerce. Think of Coke and peanuts as a prototype fast food for the 20th century South."

约翰认为，该组合“很可能是乡村商店的营销产物”，这是20世纪南方快餐的常见搭配。

As for why people did it, there are two main explanations.

至于为什么人们会把花生加入到可乐里，主要有两种说法。

One is this: Because many workers didn't have a place to wash their hands after a long day on the job. They would pour their peanuts straight in the bottle, so they didn't have to hold them with dirty hands.

一种是：因为很多工人在经过一天的工作后常常找不到地方洗手。他们就会把花生直接倒进瓶里，这样他们就不必用脏手拿着花生了。

The other is: This combination was originally to help people free up one hand so they could smoke or keep working with the other.

另一种是它起初是为了让一只手得到解放，可以自由地吸烟或继续工作。