# Your geographical misconceptions **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 30, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294 "2020-12-30T20:58:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 32
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/622 "2021-02-14T02:33:51Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Who is? He was a cartoonist whose cartoons were often found in The New Yorker. [Here are some.](https://www.art.com/gallery/id--a420397-b704688/george-price-new-yorker-cartoons-by-subject-posters.htm) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/623 "2021-02-14T04:06:03Z")
Churchill Manitoba (the town where people are not to lock their doors because someone might need immediate shelter from a big hungry white thing) is on almost the exact same latitude as the Orkney island town of Twatt. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2021, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/624 "2021-02-14T04:48:59Z")
And appropriately for the companion “Interesting random facts you learned today” thread, I now know there’s a place named “Twatt Orkney” Now _that’s_ a deliciously British name. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/625 "2021-02-14T05:25:20Z")
The only thing I remember about Scotland is putting shillings into the space heater in December. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/626 "2021-02-14T05:27:00Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > a place named “Twatt Orkney” Now _that’s_ a deliciously British name. There’s a Twatt in the Shetland Islands too: > **[Twatt, Shetland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twatt,_Shetland)** > > Twatt is a settlement in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It is located on the Shetland Mainland on a minor road that leads from the A971 road to Clousta, north of Bixter. The settlement is within the parish of Sandsting. > The settlement name originates from the Old Norse þveit, meaning 'small parcel of land'. The Norse word commonly produces in England the place name element Thwaite. > The name Twatt is similar to the common English expletive "twat", a vulgar word for vulva and also an insulti... ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/627 "2021-02-14T06:04:47Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > a vulgar word for vulva Talk about doubling down ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/628 "2021-02-14T07:23:10Z")
Thanks for the correction - I googled it first time round but still got it wrong somehow (embarrassingly, I can only assume I was looking at kms or something). ---
**Author:** ![cytop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@cytop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cytop)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/629 "2021-02-14T07:53:38Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > There’s a Twatt in the Shetland Islands too … and a Muff in Co. Donegal, Ireland [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Welcome_to_Muff.jpg/375px-Welcome_to_Muff.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Welcome_to_Muff.jpg/375px-Welcome_to_Muff.jpg) There is a Muff Diving Club but with no affiliation like PADI/BSAC/NAUI noted on the website. it’s probably capitalising on the name for merchandising (Not meant as an ad for them - I’m really disappointed it’s not an active dive club, I’d join in a flash). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/630 "2021-02-14T14:59:14Z")
It was not that it was over exceptionally humid , it was that I was not expecting it to so be and was not prepped. Wearing a full sleeve shirt and slacks. And I lived in Karachi, so trust me I know hot and humid. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/631 "2021-02-14T16:07:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And appropriately for the companion “Interesting random facts you learned today” thread, I now know there’s a place named “Twatt Orkney” Now _that’s_ a deliciously British name. > [@dtilque](#): > > There’s a Twatt in the Shetland Islands too: And neither of them has ever been represented in the House of Lords. This is a grave injustice! Write to your MP at once! ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/632 "2021-02-14T17:11:33Z")
Justice for Twatts everywhere! ---
**Author:** ![cytop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@cytop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cytop)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/633 "2021-02-14T18:33:42Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > And neither of them has ever been represented in the House of Lords. The Lords don’t represent a ‘who’, they represent a ‘what’. The what is ostensibly the good of the country. Whether it works in practise is another discussion altogether. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/634 "2021-02-14T18:41:30Z")
I don’t care about the good of the country. I want to see someone with the magnificent title “the Lord of the Twatts”. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/635 "2021-02-14T20:58:59Z")
My favourite is a small town in Yorkshire called Idle. This means that they have an ’ Idle working man’s club’. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/636 "2021-02-14T21:11:39Z")
Would their wives drive them to it in their White Ladies Aston? ---
**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:** [February 14, 2021, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/637 "2021-02-14T22:28:54Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > The precipitation in Portugal pelts primarily on the plateau Jeez, that brought back a memory. Twenty five years ago when the place I was working got bought out and we were all waiting to be laid off, I started rewriting versions of The Rain In Spain to take my mind off things. No, I don’t know why. But I can remember just the one, which I shall perform for you now: By Fuengirola’s seaside flats The grans and granddads all wear hats It always rains, there’s never sun & p\<0.1 I thank you. j ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/638 "2021-02-14T23:36:01Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I thank you I’m glad I provided a trigger for a long buried memory. I love when that happens to me. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/639 "2021-02-14T23:46:33Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@Treppenwitz](#): > > > > I thank you > > I’m glad I provided a trigger for a long buried memory. Treppenwitz’s has now brought forth one of mine. Years ago, in a very wet growing season, an intern and I together wrote a very long song with many many verses, which we thought very funny at the time. Most of it has been mercifully forgotton. I remember the refrain, which was ‘and the rain just kept on raining on’; and that it was raining on the Queen and on her crown (I don’t think we specified what queen) and that it was raining on somebody else and dripping off his nose. Some of it must have had to do with the fact that it was raining on us and on the fields and crops, but I don’t remember any of that part. I do remember a lot of giggling, though. So that part is good. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/640 "2021-02-15T06:42:21Z")
Peninsular Florida has a “mountain range” easily visible on satellite, standing out as white sand. The Lake Wales Ridge is 150 miles long, rising 300 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/641 "2021-02-15T17:18:10Z")
Hehe, way to destroy my illusions. It just so happens I still have the Edinburgh guide, and it’s actually called the “City of the Dead Tours.” Here’s the blurb: > Take an exciting journey into the past to a terrifying paranormal conclusion-through hidden Old Town wynds, GREYFRIARS GRAVEYARD and the tragic COVENANTERS PRISON. > Then unlock the BLACK MAUSOLEUM-lair of the MACKENZIE POLTERGEIST-responsible for hundreds of physical attacks on these tours. > Wild history, wicked humour & the world’s best documented supernatural case. (Some one word reviews) > Nightly outside St. Giles Cathedral… > [www.blackhart.uk.com](http://www.blackhart.uk.com) The guide was a blonde dressed in black, and she was really into it. We went down a street behind the cathedral, and she bellowed “See how clean and pristine this street is? Imagine it covered COMPLETELY WITH RATS!” She went on to tell some black plague stories. Her voice was so loud, one of the priests came outside to tell her to tone it down. We then walked to Greyfriars, where she told us the “It is rumored that beneath this hill are all the black plague victims in a big pile” story. She then told us about Scotty, the terrier who visited his master’s grave for 17 years after the man died, but it was actually the wrong grave! Then she told us about Burke, who led a crime ring where he and his associates befriended strangers, got them drunk, then lured them back to his flat where he stuck his fingers up their nostrils and down their throat, choking them to death. He then sold the corpses to universities for their anatomy classes. She then talked about how some of the tombs have cold spots where poltergeist activity was known to take place, and had us all gather in one of them together. She kept up the “cold spot” talk, attempting to make us scared and nervous. “Feel that cold spot yet?” Suddenly the crypt door opened and a guy wearing a werewolf mask stepped in. It got a few squeals, but I was like whuuut? That’s your big scare moment? I could have went to a high school haunted house for more scares, but it least the constant BS was entertaining. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294.md?page=31) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294.md?page=33)