# ­xkcd thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574 "2020-05-28T00:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 42
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/822 "2021-06-25T14:15:44Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > I still can’t quite figure out how he did it with a featureless stick figure, but “Megan” is very clearly dubiously looking down at herself, arms and hands wide, as she re-evaluates her vaccination status. Excellent observation. I think the raised elbows have a lot to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/823 "2021-06-25T14:19:13Z")
two observations: 1. Notice that, for some reason, he didn’t include Paris, TX 2. He did not include Springfield Now for a question - are there more Houstons or Springfields? ---
**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:** [June 25, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/824 "2021-06-25T14:22:43Z")
There aren’t many towns in Wyoming, so I was ready to call bullshit on Atlantic City (as I had never heard of it), but, it turns out… [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/952oUgP.png "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/952oUgP) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/825 "2021-06-25T14:32:30Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > two observations: > > 1. Notice that, for some reason, he didn’t include Paris, TX > 2. He did not include Springfield I would guess, if it wasn’t just a “there isn’t room for everything” decision. Paris, TX is such a “the other one” that it tends to be referred to as “Paris, TX” all the time. Is there a THE Springfield? He also left out Norway, Mexico, Paris, Oxford, all in a relatively small section of Maine. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/826 "2021-06-25T14:32:40Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > 1. Notice that, for some reason, he didn’t include Paris, TX He’s only including U.S. cities that share a name with a more famous U.S. city. The famous “Paris” is in France. > [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > 1. He did not include Springfield He’s only including cities where there’s a famous city that everyone thinks of when they hear the name. “Springfield” is famous precisely for being such a ubiquitous name. When you hear “Houston”, 99% of people will immediately think of Houston, TX, not Houston, FL, or any of the other Houstons. Springfield doesn’t have that sort of association. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/827 "2021-06-25T14:34:15Z")
I’m kinda sad he didn’t include Raleigh, ND. It looks to be about six blocks with a post office and a bar. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/828 "2021-06-25T14:36:30Z")
Right here in the Bay Area we have a Richmond and a Pittsburgh. Manhattan, KS is kinda famous as the home of Kansas State University. Aka “The Little Apple”, which i think is pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/829 "2021-06-25T14:38:34Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > Springfield doesn’t have that sort of association. it does when you live in a state with a Springfield. Actually, that would have made a good joke - include ALL of the Springfields. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/830 "2021-06-25T14:40:58Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > He’s only including U.S. cities that share a name with a more famous U.S. city. There’s a more famous US “Lisbon” than the ones in ME and NH? ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/831 "2021-06-25T14:41:32Z")
I was wondering about that too, and found this: [https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/portam/communities.html](https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/portam/communities.html) ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/832 "2021-06-25T14:56:27Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > There’s a more famous US “Lisbon” than the ones in ME and NH? Good point. I missed that initially. He does use a handful of cities where the “famous one” is outside the U.S. (Lisbon, Vienna, North Pole, etc.). So…dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/833 "2021-06-25T15:16:32Z")
I was also amused by the inclusion of Manhattan, MT. It’s a literal three-street town (and yes, the largest of those three is named Broadway). So far as I can tell, its only reason for existence is as a bedroom community for folks who can’t stand the big-city hustle and bustle of Bozeman (or Belgrade). Oh, and there’s a really great steakhouse there. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/834 "2021-06-25T15:40:14Z")
So, thinking about it some more, I _think_ notable omissions like Paris, Texas, and Cairo, Illinois were omitted precisely because they are so notable. The fact that there is a Paris, Texas won’t come as a surprise to many XKCD readers, whereas the fact that there is a Houston, Florida will. Or at least I think that’s Randall’s assumption. So, the same reason he didn’t list all the Springfields. It’s not going to come as a surprise to anyone to learn that there are other Springfields in the U.S. than the one that immediately springs to their mind. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/835 "2021-06-25T16:46:25Z")
I see only one entry on this map where he added a parentheses, presumably as some sort of explanation. Namely, in New York State, he put “TEXAS (TEXAS, MEXICO)” What is that about? Is there a town in Mexico named “Texas”? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/836 "2021-06-25T16:58:09Z")
The Texas in New York state is part of a town called Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/837 "2021-06-25T17:11:00Z")
I think they did that on purpose to make us crazy. 🤣 🤣 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/838 "2021-06-25T17:28:31Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > The Texas in New York state is part of a town called Mexico. Both probably named during the Mexican-American War. There’s lots of places in the US with such names. For example, there’s a couple of towns named Churubusco, named for a battle in that war. Slightly surprised that Detroit OR isn’t on the map there. ---
**Author:** ![Chelonaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Chelonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chelonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/839 "2021-06-25T17:28:43Z")
It even has a wikipedia entry. It doesn’t answer the most pressing question: why call a town Atlantic City when it is 2700 km from the Atlantic shore, and more than 2000 m above sea level. Also “City”? There are 39 Atlantic Cityzens. Who makes these wikipedia entries about microscopic towns, anyway? On the History page most of the editors are named Bot, so I guess they are auto-generated. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/840 "2021-06-25T17:40:25Z")
> [@Chelonaut](#): > > Who makes these wikipedia entries about microscopic towns, anyway? On the History page most of the editors are named Bot, so I guess they are auto-generated. Pretty much all US town wikipages have a standard block of text with demographic data from the 2000 Census. Virtually certain to have been generated by a program based on a Census database. I suspect that most, if not all, the pages themselves were generated at the same time by the same program. So if a town, no matter how small, was in that database, it has a Wikipage. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/841 "2021-06-25T18:47:50Z")
Obviously, it was settled by someone who liked the original Atlantic City, and found it amusing to name the new place after it. And when you only have 39 citizens, it’s not hard to convince enough of them to go along with the joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=43)