system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why does fountain soda from the gas station seem to taste way better than bottled or canned soda?
gpt
Soda is created by taking a flavored syrup and carbonating it, which means adding carbon dioxide to create the bubbles.

When it's bottled/canned, it's carbonated at the factory and sealed, sent to a store, and then you buy it, open it, and drink it. When you buy it from a fountain at a gas station or fast food place, the syrup is carbonated in the machine right before it goes into your cup. This "freshness" accounts for the difference in taste.