# Places with funny names, with completely innocent origins **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654 "2023-09-05T16:46:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/61 "2023-09-06T18:47:48Z")
There’s Rough and Ready, California, which mostly just consists of a Post Office, Fire Station, and a few houses. And looking at Google Maps just now, there’s a road called Slave Girl Road in Rough and Ready. I’d love to know the story behind that street name. There’s also a Secession Lane, but that’s not all that surprising; that area is home to a lot of libertarian types who dream of seceding from California and forming the State of Jefferson. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/62 "2023-09-06T18:48:44Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > > [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > > > Athol. Google says it’s a town in Idaho > > There’s an [Athol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athol,_Kansas) in Kansas as well, but it’s not as big of an Athol as the Athol in Idaho. I knew it! I’m surrounded by Athols! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/63 "2023-09-06T21:31:09Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > We always passed the sign for a town called Toad Suck, Arkansas. Which lent its name to the [cocktail](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cocktails/417452), which is a great summer quencher. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/64 "2023-09-06T22:33:31Z")
I always got a snicker out of seeing signs for Okahumpka, Florida. It doesn’t sound like anything dirty; it’s just fun to say. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/65 "2023-09-06T22:59:15Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > The Massachusetts Athol was named after a town in Scotland named for the Duke of Atholl. An old Massachusetts joke: “They named three towns in Massachusetts for Governor Peabody: Peabody, Marblehead and Athol.” (In truth, not even the first of these was named for Endicott Peabody, governor from 1963 to 1965. The town’s name - pronounced “PEE-b’dee” - was changed from “South Danvers” in 1868 to honor George Peabody, a prominent philanthropist.) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/66 "2023-09-06T23:29:10Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > And speaking of weed, the Bong Bridge connects Superior, Wisconsin to Duluth, Minnesota. It’s named after WWII fighter pilot Richard I. Bong, who was born in Superior. He’s all over Wisconsin: Bong Park, Bong AFB, and a Bong Road near me. You saw **Kenobi65** ’s photo… well, a friend of a friend at UW-Madison had a smaller “Bong Recreation Area” sign… ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/67 "2023-09-07T00:49:00Z")
[Peculiar, Missouri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peculiar,_Missouri), which has two origin stories for its name (I doubt either is true). ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/68 "2023-09-07T00:55:45Z")
Uranus isn’t a town. It’s a tourist attraction, basically a collection of buildings done up to look vaguely Old West.\* There’s a mini golf course (the Putt Pirates), a circus museum, a fudge & candy shop (“get your fudge packed in Uranus”), etc. The employees thank you for your patronage by saying “thank you for picking Uranus.” If a tourist attraction could be based on a pun, this is it. I live about 60 miles from there, it’s something to do if you’re passing through the area or live within an afternoon’s drive. The owner of the attraction was a strip-club owner named Louis something. He styled himself “Mayor Louie.” \*I suppose by some definitions this part of Missouri qualifies as being part of the Old West, although we were state before the Civil War. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/69 "2023-09-07T00:58:21Z")
Gobbler’s Knob, Utah, and Knob Noster and Pilot Knob, Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/70 "2023-09-07T01:02:45Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > We always passed the sign for a town called Toad Suck, Arkansas. There’s a Lizard Lick in North Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/71 "2023-09-07T02:20:40Z")
Fuzzy butt falls and Six finger falls are right next to each other in Arkansas. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/72 "2023-09-07T03:59:22Z")
I’ve not been down that way for years, like 30 years. Someone gave me a copy of their paper which is of course full of the same stuff. I did not realize it wasn’t a “real town”. So I hope I didn’t mess up the thread. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/73 "2023-09-07T10:43:04Z")
There is Penistone in South Yorkshire. > **[Penistone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penistone)** > > Penistone (/ˈpɛnɪstən/ PEN-iss-tən) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is 8 miles (13 km) west of Barnsley, 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Glossop, 14.2 miles (23 km) north-west of Sheffield, 27 miles (43 km) south-west of Leeds and 29 miles (47 km) east of Manchester in the foothills of the Pennines. The town is frequently n T... ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/74 "2023-09-07T15:09:38Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > There is Penistone in South Yorkshire. > **[Three Cocks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Cocks)** > > Three Cocks or Aberllynfi (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Welsh: \[ˌabɛrˈɬənvi\]) is a village near Glasbury in Powys, Wales. The Welsh name refers to the mouth of the Afon Llynfi which enters the River Wye a mile from the village. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye some 5 miles (8.5 km) to the northeast. > Aberllynfi was once a separate... ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/75 "2023-09-07T20:28:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > There’s also Hell, Michigan. I’ve been there. Did you come back? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/76 "2023-09-07T20:30:23Z")
Even brought my handbasket on the return journey. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/77 "2023-09-07T20:53:44Z")
There’s Foul Rift in New Jersey, named after rapids on the nearby Delaware River. Yeah, yeah, cue the New Jersey jokes… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/78 "2023-09-07T20:59:03Z")
I gotcher foul rift right heah, Buddy! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/79 "2023-09-07T21:06:05Z")
Coxsackie NY. Local pronunciation is “Cook-sackie,” but outsiders get a giggle. Phil Proctor and Dave Bergman (of the Firesign Theater) joked about it in a show they did up here. The Coxsackievirus was named after being discovered in a fecal sample from there. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/80 "2023-09-07T21:23:21Z")
IANA medical anything, but you really shouldn’t be finding fecal samples in your coxsackie. That’s bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654.md?page=5)