# Strangely named places you've been to **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629 "2019-11-18T22:20:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/61 "2019-11-20T12:43:06Z")
Show Low, Arizona. Supposedly named after a poker game bet or hand. Tombstone, Arizona ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/62 "2019-11-20T12:55:45Z")
When my family and I went to Hawaii, I insisted that we stop for sign pictures in Aiea (the only city/town in North America with no consonants in the name) and in Ka’a’awa (the only city/town in North America with three of the same letter consecutive - at least in purely English letters, not sure how that apostrophe-thing counts). ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/63 "2019-11-20T13:36:33Z")
Texas has lots of oddly named towns, but the only ones I’ve been to(that I can remember) are Dime Box, Cut And Shoot, and Gun Barrel City. I had friends who lived in Boring, MD. A fishing trip took me to a seedy(heh) motel in Onancock, VA where I resisted the urge to find an ultra-violet light source. Onancock is just up the road from Little Hell, but I didn’t visit there. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/64 "2019-11-20T13:55:18Z")
Well, **Hilarity N. Suze** won’t allow Truth or Consequences 😉 so I’ll mention Pie Town, New Mexico instead. I’ve driven through Muleshoe, Texas ( **Siam Sam** is probably familiar with that one). I’ve visited Chloride, NM\* a few times and if any other Dopers have been there I’ll be shocked. \*A former mining town with a very interesting history and [a nice little museum](http://www.pioneerstoremuseum.com/Pioneer_Store_Museum.html). ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/65 "2019-11-20T15:00:29Z")
**Forty-Fort, Pennsylvania** , near Scranton. Named for the forty defenders of the fort in the Yankee-Pennamite wars of 1769-1784. This was a series of conflicts between the local Pennsylvanian population and newly arrived settlers from Connecticut. Bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/66 "2019-11-20T15:02:34Z")
Haven’t been there but every time I pass signs for **Scotrun** , Pennsylvania, I misread it as Scrotum, and pretty much everyone else does as well. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/67 "2019-11-20T15:09:33Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Germfask, MI – named after the initials of 8 original settlers: [Germfask Township, Michigan - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germfask_Township%2C_Michigan) Turns out there’s a fair number of places whose names are initialisms of people’s names: [inevitable Wiki-list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_geographic_acronyms_and_initialisms#Personal_names_2). The earliest ones I could find are Le Mars, IA and Delmar, IA. Both were named in 1870 in the exact same way: a group of women on a train excursion to a new town were asked to name it, but couldn’t agree on a name. So someone suggests they take their first initials and arranged them into a new name. I expect one was a copycat of the other, but don’t know which was named first. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/68 "2019-11-20T16:20:04Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > Well, **Hilarity N. Suze** won’t allow Truth or Consequences 😉 Truth or Consequences is near Elephant Butte, which it always amused us to pronounce “Elephant Butt.” It’s also near Socorro, whose name translates to “Help!”. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/69 "2019-11-20T17:07:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Truth or Consequences is near Elephant Butte, which it always amused us to pronounce “Elephant Butt.” Yeah, we do that too. > [@Colibri](#): > > It’s also near Socorro, whose name translates to “Help!”. I did not know that! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/70 "2019-11-20T17:09:29Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ve been to [Titz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titz), Germany. There’s also a town called Tit in Algeria, which is most famous for the Battle of Tit in 1902 between French colonial soldiers and local tribesmen. This caused no end of merriment for me and my juvenile friends. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/71 "2019-11-20T17:24:17Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > Well, **Hilarity N. Suze** won’t allow Truth or Consequences ;). But I started this thread, and I’ll allow it. > [@Colibri](#): > > Truth or Consequences is near Elephant Butte, which it always amused us to pronounce “Elephant Butt.” Elephant Butte/Butt was part of _All Things Considered’s_ annual April Fools story about a decade ago. It was about a group of artists who made statues of the things towns are named after to donate to the towns. Except they misread the name of Elephant Butte and made them a statue of a giant elephant butt. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/72 "2019-11-20T18:47:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Colibri View Post > Supposedly there are quite a few plant specimens from Peru in the Missouri Botanical Gardens collection with the locality listed as “Curva Peligrosa” (Dangerous Curve). The collector, not speaking Spanish, assumed the road sign was the name of the of the closest town. (I’m not aware of any actual town named “Curva Peligrosa,” but there should be.) On a similar theme there is a place so small you could drive through it without thinking - but I think ‘Dangerous Corner’ deserves more respect - it was originally a traffic warning but eventually became the place name https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211sg29E3his9IVkC63DcQCiEg%212m2%211d53.9982353%212d-1.6920536%213f317.63%214f7.444%215f0.75 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/73 "2019-11-20T18:49:37Z")
There’s a few in New York City. [Spuyten Duyvil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spuyten_Duyvil,_Bronx), “Spouting Devil,” in the Bronx. The Kill Van Kull and Fresh Kills in Staten Island, “kill” meaning creek in Dutch. I’ve also been to [Shinbone Alley](https://forgotten-ny.com/2013/08/shinbone-alley-noho/) in Manhattan, when it still officially had a street sign and you could still walk through it. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/74 "2019-11-20T19:18:52Z")
More like suburbs rather than towns, but I’ve been to The Village outside Annapolis MD and Barraterria outside St. Augustine FL. Supposedly Severn means river in Welsh so the Severn River in Maryland means river river. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/75 "2019-11-20T19:32:40Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Haven’t been there but every time I pass signs for **Scotrun** , Pennsylvania, I misread it as Scrotum, and pretty much everyone else does as well. Guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/76 "2019-11-20T20:51:10Z")
I’ve been in [Rough and Ready, California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rough_and_Ready,_California). I’ve also driven past [Pasadena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasadena,_Maryland), [Hollywood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Maryland), and [California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California,_Maryland), all small towns near to each other in Maryland. I haven’t been there, but there’s a [Ninety Six, South Carolina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninety_Six,_South_Carolina). ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/77 "2019-11-20T21:00:15Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > …Supposedly Severn means river in Welsh so the Severn River in Maryland means river river. There’s a whole huge [wiki page of tautological place](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tautological_place_names) names like this. j ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/78 "2019-11-20T21:20:11Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I’ve been through Yelverton, Ontario. It’s my favourite hick place name. How about Hicksville, NY for a hick place name? We live not far from Hicksville and when friends from the UK visited us and saw signs for it, they couldn’t stop laughing. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/79 "2019-11-20T21:24:16Z")
Some early pioneers, OTOH, just weren’t interested in creative names. Take the [Hole-in-the-Ground](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hole-in-the-Ground) volcanic crater in Central Oregon. It’s located near Big Hole and Crack in the Ground. Let’s try to find a better pic of that hole. Hey, it’s on [Atlas Obscura](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hole-ground). (That whole area has all sorts of fun stuff to explore like lava tube caves, lava cast forests, lava pickup trucks, etc. ;)) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629/80 "2019-11-20T23:02:14Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Turns out there’s a fair number of places whose names are initialisms of people’s names: [inevitable Wiki-list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_geographic_acronyms_and_initialisms#Personal_names_2). > > The earliest ones I could find are Le Mars, IA and Delmar, IA. Both were named in 1870 in the exact same way: a group of women on a train excursion to a new town were asked to name it, but couldn’t agree on a name. So someone suggests they take their first initials and arranged them into a new name. I expect one was a copycat of the other, but don’t know which was named first. On further research, it turns out I had wrong info on the origin of Delmar IA. I must have gotten the two conflated. Anyway, Delmar was named by a train conductor based on the initial letters of six women passengers. He needed a name for a place starting with D and came up with it that way. Also, it was in 1871, a year after the naming of Le Mars, so he likely got the idea from that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-named-places-youve-been-to/843629.md?page=5)