[stana (OP)]

I was looking through the web the other day, and read that fizzy pop (coca-cola, fanta, sprite) Rotts my gullet?

How is this?

Does this mean fizzy pop is acidic?

[another_someone]

Coco-cola, etc. are acidic, but then your guts are in any case very acidic, so I doubt they'd notice the difference.  Your teeth on the other hand might well notice the difference, since the mouth is naturally (if not infected by too many bacteria) an alkali environment.

[techmind]

Coca-cola contains phosphoric acid, which isn't very kind to teeth.

People have also done experiments where a small chunck of (raw?) meat will disappear in a glass of Coke if left overnight (don't drink it afterwards, as the meat could make you very ill). This is very dramatic, but I'm not sure what it actually proves. As another_someone said, you're gut is fairly well protected against acid.

Note that fruit juices (orange juice, grapefruit juice) are also acidic. You should not brush your teeth for at least half an hour after eating/drinking something acidic as I believe (I'm not 100% certain of my source!) the acid temporarily softens the teeth and you'll therefore wear them away more rapidly when brushing.

[stana (OP)]

Thanks..I understand now. Cheers!  []

[techmind]

Oh look - we got replies in just 1 second apart!  []

[kdlynn]

my mom used pop once to clean off her car battery connections. it worked. but it made us all a little concerned at what it could do inside of us...

[Karen W.]

Yes it is common to use it for cleaning battery terminals and other very difficult to remove items..It eats away at things that are pretty tough!