[ ammends ]

Though I seemed to be on the upswing yesterday, I am even more sick today. I have mail to open, e-mail to return, and phone calls to return. I don't have that many phone calls because a power outage while we were out of town erased all of our messages. But I'm not able to do much of anything, because I am so stuffy.

In my effort to remain hydrated, I actually got around to wondering what the difference is between:

• sparkling water

• mineral water

• club soda

• soda water

• seltzer water

• carbonated water

All of these are water that has been charged with carbon dioxide. According to the FDA, club soda, soda water, and seltzer are regulated as soft drinks, not bottled waters. Mineral water and sparkling water do not contain any additives. Sparkling water is any kind of water that is carbonated with CO2. Mineral water can be bubbly or flat, but must come from a geologically protected underground water source, and must contain minerals or trace elements, hence the name.

You can make your own soda water by using a soda siphon that charges plain water with carbon dioxide.

source 1; source 2