Straight Dope Message Board

[Colibri]

Originally Posted by MrAtoz

There is also The Villages in Florida, which I have driven past on the way to Walt Disney World.

For a concisely redundant name, there's also the city of Pueblo in Colorado, whose name simply means "town" in Spanish. 101

[ftg]

We have a redundant place name near us that is redundant.

There once was a town with a name of the form X Park. Named after a nearby noted park. While it lost its charter in the 30s, the name for the area remains. There is now a park there. It is X Park Park. So when we go to X Park Park we park in the X Park Park parking lot. 102

[Colibri]

Originally Posted by ftg

We have a redundant place name near us that is redundant.

There once was a town with a name of the form X Park. Named after a nearby noted park. While it lost its charter in the 30s, the name for the area remains. There is now a park there. It is X Park Park. So when we go to X Park Park we park in the X Park Park parking lot.

I've been to Taman Negara National Park in Malaysia, whose name merely means "national park" in Malay. 103

[Brayne Ded]

Originally Posted by xizor

And when I was in Germany, my phone informed me that I was in Fuhlsbuttel, which in my mind is pronounced "Fool's Butthole"

Germany has a number of place names that are funny in German. It also has UNIX car rental and a bus company called Fucker. You can tell who their drivers are; the ones with a permanent weary smile. 104

[Brayne Ded]

In the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire there are the Slaughters, which are two villages: Upper Slaughter and (natch) Lower Slaughter. Just typical villages, not knee-deep in blood. 105

[dtilque]

How about the Norfolk, England villages of Little Snoring and Great Snoring. Dare anyone stay the night in the latter? 106

[Sunspace]

And if you've lived anywhere near Peterborough, Ontario, you know about the village of Omemee, on Highway 7 to the west. One of my favourite names. My co-worker's boyfriend is from there.

I also have a cousin in Oneonta, New York. 107

[burpo the wonder mutt]

Originally Posted by MrAtoz

There is also The Villages in Florida, which I have driven past on the way to Walt Disney World.

I've driven past Howey-in-the-Hills (FL). It's named for Mr. Howey and I suppose there are hills (Florida does have hills; you gotta look for them), but what's with the hyphens? 108

[bibliophage]

Originally Posted by Sunspace

I also have a cousin in Oneonta, New York.

Maybe I'm missing something but Oneonta doesn't seem particularly strange to me. If anything it's less strange to my ears than any number of other Native American derived names in NY like Canajoharie, Canandaigua, Cheektowaga, Tonawanda, Poughkeepsie, Irondequoit, and a dozen others I could name. 109

[ftg]

Originally Posted by Bumbershoot

I've also been to Sunspot, NM- which may not be such a strange name when you consider the National Solar Observatory facility located there. Well worth a visit.

(Solar system stuff.)

If you're driving on I-84/I-86 in Idaho, you might be disappointed if you take the exit for Craters of the Moon. 110

[wolfpup]

Originally Posted by Bookkeeper

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in Alberta, Canada.

Dave Barry covered that one in one of his books. He claims if you call the interpretive centre, they answer the phone with, "Head smashed in, how may I help you?" 111

[furryman]

Originally Posted by Sunspace

I've been through Yelverton, Ontario. It's my favourite hick place name.

I've driven past Scaggsvile MD, which has an added bonus in that the villians in Lil Abner were named the Scraggs.

Originally posted by MrAtoz
There is also The Villages in Florida, which I have driven past on the way to Walt Disney World.

This is the first thing I think of when I think of a place named The Vilage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWTdmwwK-ME 112

[CalMeacham]

Originally Posted by furryman

I've driven past Scaggsvile MD, which has an added bonus in that the villians in Lil Abner were named the Scraggs.


This is the first thing I think of when I think of a place named The Village:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWTdmwwK-ME

I used to do my Laundry at a laundromat called, simply, The Laundry. I thought that The Village must be franchising. 113

[TreacherousCretin]

Driven past Humptulips, Washington.

Spent a week at Dead Swede Campground in Wyoming.

Been to the Grand Tetons, which translates to "Large Mammaries", "Big Tits", "Huge Tracts Of Land" and any number of less polite euphemisms.

Driven past Molly's Nipple, a distinctly shaped hill in Mohave Desert. Not too far from Zyzzyx Road. 114

[Personal]

Originally Posted by Sunspace

I've been through Yelverton, Ontario. It's my favourite hick place name.

Hicksville, Ohio a little to literal for you? 115

[EinsteinsHund]

There are a few funny names around where I live, such as:

Faulebutter (rancid butter)

Kuckuck (cuckoo)

There's also a small river called Neger (negro) running through the Neger valley with the three villages of: Oberneger (overnegro), Mittelneger (middlenegro) and Unterneger (undernegro)

And finally, there's an autobahn rest stop nearby called Sterbecke, which means "dying corner", a very unfortunate name for a highway stop. 116

[Personal]

Originally Posted by Personal

Hicksville, Ohio a little to literal for you?

Too. Blech. 117

[notfrommensa]

I have been to Weir, (pronounced "Where") Mississippi

Could be part of an "Abbott and Costello" - esque bit. 118

[Paperweight]

In Ross county Ohio we have Kinnikinnick, Knockemstiff, and Lickskillet. 119

[Chefguy]

Crazy Woman Canyon (and creek), Wyoming. Pretty place. The link has photos and the story of how it got its name. 120

[Rough Draft]

I've been to Dead Monkey Ridge, Arizona, but not to Rotten Bananas Butte. They're about 100 miles apart on the Navajo Reservation, so I don't know if there's any connection between them, but it's nice to think there is. 121

[furryman]

Originally Posted by notfrommensa

I have been to Weir, (pronounced "Where") Mississippi

Could be part of an "Abbott and Costello" - esque bit.

You could have an accident in Accident MD or a dent in Denton MD. 122

[ITR champion]

In northwest South Dakota there are two towns named Faith and Lemmon. This means that there's a crossroads with a sign where an arrow to Faith points in one direction and the arrow to Lemmon points the other way. (Also, Lemmon is known for the world's largest petrified wood park, while Faith is where "Sue", the world's most complete T-Rex skeleton, was dug up.)

And a few miles down the road is Gettysburg South Dakota. Town motto: "Where the Battle Was Not". 123

[FairyChatMom]

Originally Posted by Rick Kitchen

I've also driven past Pasadena, Hollywood, and California, all small towns near to each other in Maryland..

Hollywood and California are adjacent, but Pasadena is 70 miles away in a different county. However, Scotland is just 18 miles south east of California. 124

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by Brayne Ded

Germany has a number of place names that are funny in German. It also has UNIX car rental and a bus company called Fucker. You can tell who their drivers are; the ones with a permanent weary smile.

What ausfahrt do you take to get to it? 125

[Kent Clark]

When I lived in Paducah, Kentucky, I was literally between Possum Trot and Monkey's Eyebrow. 126

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

Originally Posted by WildaBeast

.



I've passed through Weed, California on the way to Oregon. It's legal here now! And yes, businesses there sell souvenirs playing up the slang meaning of the town's name.

We spent the night in Weed too, also on our way to Oregon; we were moving there at the time. Except for having read Of Mice And Men, I hadn't heard of Weed, CA.





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[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

Felch, MI.

Do they have goats there?



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[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

Originally Posted by Brayne Ded

Germany has a number of place names that are funny in German. It also has UNIX car rental and a bus company called Fucker. You can tell who their drivers are; the ones with a permanent weary smile.

I rode through Igel (Hedgehog) between Trier and Luxemburg City.

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[Nava]

Originally Posted by Colibri

For a concisely redundant name, there's also the city of Pueblo in Colorado, whose name simply means "town" in Spanish.

Hey, maybe its founder was from Burgos ("borroughs" or "towns"). 130

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

Originally Posted by Nava

Hey, maybe its founder was from Burgos ("borroughs" or "towns").

Regarding the word "pueblo", which I assume originally meant "people" [of a city or town], does it retain any of that meaning at all in Spanish, or does it now simply mean "town"?

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[nightshadea]

Kokomo Indiana .... a "onery" little town named after a "onery " local Indian chief in the early 1800s who according to family mythology had a daughter that one of the brothers that started the family line in america ran off to what would be niles michigan ..... and if you knew my family it would explain a lot .... 132

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

Not just been to, but actually lived in for six months: Culver City, CA--officially redundant as The City of Culver City.

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[Chefguy]

I've been to Fast Eddy's, a restaurant and motel in Tok, Alaska (pronounced 'toke'). I bought a souvenir apron from the place.

Also been to the town of Chicken, AK, which is 60 miles from Tok on the Taylor Highway to Canada. "Highway" is a grand title for what is essentially the worst potholed, washboarded dirt road in Alaska. It's a former gold mining town that was initially going to be named 'Ptarmigan" because of the large number of the game birds in the area. However, nobody could agree on the spelling, so they settled for "Chicken".

I've also been to Buckshot Betty's in Beaver Creek, YT.

Then there's Long Rifle Lodge & Restaurant on the Glenn Highway north of Anchorage. They have a sign that says "We have the right to arm bears!", and an absolutely killer view of the Matanuska Glacier and valley from the dining area. 134

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

Originally Posted by Filbert

Been to Giggleswick





Also been to Pennsylvania, Catbrain, and London Apprentice. All of which are in England and tiny.

Since Pennsylvania was an invented name based on the name of its founder William Penn, was the town in England named after the colony in America? By Quakers, perhaps?

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[Bumbershoot]

Originally Posted by Spectre of Pithecanthropus

Regarding the word "pueblo", which I assume originally meant "people" [of a city or town], does it retain any of that meaning at all in Spanish, or does it now simply mean "town"?

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Here in the southwest, "pueblo" is used by Native American communities that had their land granted to them in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueblo

Of the federally recognized Native American communities in the Southwest, those designated by the King of Spain as pueblo at the time Spain ceded territory to the United States, after the American Revolutionary War, are legally recognized as Pueblo by the Bureau of Indian Affairs...
There are 21 federally recognized Pueblos that are home to Pueblo peoples.

136

[Mama Zappa]

Originally Posted by Chefguy

....

Backlick Road in Virginia....

That's quite near where I live! I frequently drive near Pope's Head Road in the same county. Naturally we always call it Pope's Nose Road.

How about *this* intersection though.. Proves Tolkein's claim that you "can't walk into Mordor" is a lie - hell, you can get there via Google Street View!!

For those who've visited Intercourse, PA you missed out on quite a bit of the experience 137

[Mama Zappa]

Originally Posted by Mama Zappa

...How about *this* intersection though.. Proves Tolkein's claim that you "can't walk into Mordor" is a lie - hell, you can get there via Google Street View!!
...

Er, I rescind my claim about getting there. (pretty horrifying, really; I got to that link while searching for the story of how the road was named). 138

[Filbert]

Originally Posted by Spectre of Pithecanthropus

Since Pennsylvania was an invented name based on the name of its founder William Penn, was the town in England named after the colony in America? By Quakers, perhaps?

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I'm hardly an expert, I just drove through it a few times, which takes about 10 seconds a time, but wikipedia claims so. 139

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

Originally Posted by Filbert

I'm hardly an expert, I just drove through it a few times, which takes about 10 seconds a time, but wikipedia claims so.

I forgot that Wikipedia has articles on just about everything!

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[RioRico]

The La Brea Tar Pits. "La"=the and "Brea"=tar. The the tar tar pits, what a pit.

Can I suggest a road? An official sign near a prior home proclaimed "No Name Street."

Then there was a street in Palos Verdes (a peninsula by Los Angeles) named "End of the Colorado River" which was 200 miles away. A local town now has a sign up for Pig Shit Alley. And when Rudy Vallée moved to Bel-Air he had his access road named "Rue de Vallée" which isn't much worse than seeing "Costco Road" on US maps. 141

[Mama Zappa]

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

I've been to Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in Massachusetts. It's not far from one place I used to work.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chaubunagungamaug

"Lake divided by islands" may be descriptive, but nowhere near as colorful as the translation a high school teacher once claimed: "You fish on your side, I fish on my side, nobody fishes in the middle"

Rue de Vallée is actually kind of cute and clever. Valley Road, what's not to love?

I always get a kick out of Apple's HQ address: "1 Infinite Loop". 142

[Lightray]

I've visited Bland, MO. It was accurate. 143

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

I once went to Zig-Zag Alley in Charleston SC. It, too, was an appropriate name.

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