Saturday 25 November 2017

10 unusual town names (part 2)

It's time for another look at more weird and unusual town names.  Most of the following towns are from the United States, but a couple are from elsewhere around the world, and all of them are real actual town names...

The town of Earth, pictured from very very far away.
Also the planet Earth, pictured from an appropriate distance.

1) Earth


Earth is a perfectly sensible name for a planet in my opinion, but it's kind of a weird name for a town.  However, someone obviously disagrees with me because Earth is a real town in Texas.

Imagine having the following conversation...

Stranger: "Where are you from?"
Resident: "I'm from Earth."
Stranger: "Yes, I know that.  But where specifically?"
Resident: "Earth."

I wonder, are people from the town of Earth known as Earthlings?



2) Nameless


Nameless is the inaccurate name of a town in Tennessee.  Nameless by name, named by nature.


It's good to be silly...
...unless you're naming a location.

3) Silly Department


In the United States, the country is divided into states.  In England, the country is divided into counties.  In Burkino Faso, however, the country is divided into Departments.  Rather unfortunately, one of these departments is called Silly, so its full name is ... Silly Department!



4) Pity Me


Pity Me is a town in Durham which is actually not too far from where I live.  I'm not sure who named 'Pity Me' but presumably they must have been a right miserable grump.



This isn't a photo of the town of Accident.
Rather, it's an accident about to happen.

5) Accident


Accident is a town in Maryland.  I'm not sure how it got its name, however, because Accident was created quite deliberately and not by accident.  Apparently, people who come from Accident are called 'Accidentals'.



6) Eureka


'Eureka' is the name of a fictional town in the TV show of the same name, but there are also three real towns called Eureka, located in Illinois, California and Missouri.

Eureka, Missouri got its name when railroad workers were clearing land for a rail track.  They came across the place where Eureka is now located, and when they saw that it was level land with little to clear, they cheered, "Eureka!"



The North Pole can be found at the top of this globe.
And also at two other locations!

7) North Pole


As well as being the name of the actual North Pole, there are also two misleadingly named locations called 'North Pole'.  One is a town in Alaska, and the other is a hamlet in New York.



8) Why


Why is a town in Arizona.  It was given the name 'Why' because two highways in the town intersected in a 'Y' shape.

This is another town which could cause some confusion when meeting new people...

Stranger: "Where are you from?"
Resident: "Why."
Stranger: "I'm just curious.  I was just wondering where you're from?"
Resident: "Why."
Stranger: "Tut!  If you're going to be awkward about it then I wish I never asked!"



Santa Claus, pictured with his twin brother.  Neither of them are
from the town of Santa Claus, they're both from the North Pole.
(I mean the North Pole at the top of Earth, not the one in Alaska
or in New York.  And by Earth, I mean the planet Earth,
not the Earth in Texas.)

9) Santa Claus


Santa Claus is the name of a very generous man who travels the world every Christmas Eve giving out presents, but 'Santa Claus' is also the name of a small town in Georgia.

The people who first founded the town of Santa Claus were obviously big fans of Christmas, because 'Santa Claus' has many festively themed street names, such as Rudolph Way, Sleigh Street, December Drive, Prancer Street, and Candy Cane Road!



10) Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg


Finally, this last one is a lake not a town, but it's got such an unusual name that I couldn't resist including it.  It may look like I've just typed a load of random letters, but Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is a real lake, as shown by this sign post...

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

You can find more strange town names in my original blog post:
10 unusual town names (part 1)



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