Diet coke exists because men thought tab was too ‘girly’

[Standing Wolf]

I was just remembering the scene in Back to the Future where Marty goes into the diner and asks for a Tab and the counter man says something like, "If you want a tab you have to order something". Then Marty asks for a Pepsi Free and is told that if he wants a Pepsi he'll have to pay for it.

[RMNIXON]

Tab was considered a woman’s diet drink. That’s how it was marketed back then.

I barely remember it and never drank the stuff that I can recall. And being young and much more fit back in the day diet "anything" meant nothing to me.

[Tahuyaman]

I was just remembering the scene in Back to the Future where Marty goes into the diner and asks for a Tab and the counter man says something like, "If you want a tab you have to order something". Then Marty asks for a Pepsi Free and is told that if he wants a Pepsi he'll have to pay for it.

Part of the problem was that they thought he was weird for wearing a life preserver as an outer garment.

[Tahuyaman]

Diet says artificial sweeteners and they have a bad reputation. Diabetics are told to stay away from them. They actually increase your craving for sweets/sugar. They also alter the way your body absorbs sugar, causing big swing in Glucose levels.

A: Diet sodas increases the risk of diabetes by negatively affecting gut bacteria, insulin secretion, and sensitivity. They also cause blood sugar levels to spike when a person eats carbohydrates, increasing waist circumference and body fat. This can make insulin sensitivity and blood sugar management worse.

[Mister D]

To me all diet sodas suck. Plus they are unhealthy.

You're better off drinking them than you are the real product.

[Tahuyaman]

You're better off drinking them than you are the real product.

I’m not sure you’re right with that.

[Cletus]

Perception matters.

I can remember this grizzled old legendary First Sergeant who walked past 3 or 4 of us who had just wrapped up the day and were getting ready to head out. On of the guys was drinking a fountain drink from the PX in one of those paperish cups and he was drinking it through a straw. the First Sergeant looked at him and said... "Sergeant _________, any man who will drink through a straw will quit on you in combat" I don't think anyone who was within earshot has sucked down a drink through a straw since.

Same guy... On a real world FID mission, a little operating base set up in the jungle. The OP spots somebody moving through the bush carrying something big on his shoulders. He gets close enough, they rush him and take him down. It is that same First Sergeant. He was carrying two Silver Bullets on his shoulders. After he got done telling the guys who took him down if they ever tried that again, he would feed them their own guts, he set up the Silver Bullets and told everyone there... "I have some Coffee here for you Men and some Kool Aid for you Candy Asses".

100 degrees in the jungle and not one guy would touch the Kool Aid.

No one wanted him to perceive them as a Kool Aid drinker in much the same way most men did not want to be seen drinking Tab.

[Dr. Who]

I remember when they introduced Tab - I was around 10-years-old and they were handing out free samples at the grocery store. I tried some as we were leaving the store. By the time we got home, my mouth was full of blisters. I never touched Tab again and I don't care for the flavor of diet drinks. Artificial sweeteners leave a weird sort of bitter aftertaste. I almost never drink soft drinks anyway, although there is a store brand lemonade soft drink that I quite like. It's made with actual lemon juice but it's quite sweet, though not as sweet as some national brands, so I only buy it on occasion.