In a post below he referred to Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania. That was probably named by some of my Welsh ancestors as they spent some time in Pennsylvania before moving on to Ohio. Apparently, in Welsh it is Nant-Y-Glo, meaning ravine of coal.
I love to discover place names that are unusual and possibly, though not always, unique. Places like Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and Bad Axe, Michigan. Warner Robins, Georgia and Slapout, Oklahoma are other fine examples of the imaginations of those who had the honor of naming US places. Add to that the misplaced cities of Kansas, Oklahoma and California, Missouri. There is a county northwest of Topeka, Kansas named for the Pottawatomie Indians, but, is commonly known as "Pot County". It is home to the big city of Flush. That logically should be home to an NCAA bowl game labeled the Toilet Bowl.
Since the name of the place of higher education was changed to The Pennsylvania State University, shouldn't it logically be in State University instead of State College? There's a similar problem in College Station, Texas home of TAMU. And how many letters and spaces are involved in typing out the full name of Los Angeles, California? Then there is the irony of Dodge City being in Ford County.
Thoughts on a slow, rainy Saturday afternoon.
I'm old enough to remember when Bob Barker announced that the town was changing its name to Truth or Consequences. I forget what the benefit was. Little did I know that years later I would stay in the town when we worked on the Naval Array in the desert northeast of there. Pleasant little place.
Glad I could help!
We too have a Pottawatomie County in Oklahoma. A loose translation of the word means "Land of Casinos". But, as usual, the forked tongue white man butchered the spelling. Pottawatomie County is home to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. One of my associates does nothing but CPN work. They are buying up everything they can get their hands on and placing it in trust. Lots of surveying there in Pott Co.
I live near a street here in Norman named University. It runs south right into the University of Oklahoma Campus. Guess what? It use to be named College until the early 20th. Century.
If you look on wiki, the most common city (with Post Offices) name in the U.S. is "Greenfield". Followed by "Franklin" then "Springfield".
This isn't a habit I picked up from the internet. As a child I use to sit and read road atlases...for real.
Glad I could help!
"As a child I use to sit and read road atlases...for real."
Boy, Paden, I don't think you're alone; especially among those of us who ended up being surveyors.
I've always loved maps and what they seemed to represent or promise, really.
Those old gas station maps of the states with the different lines for different kinds of roads and different kinds of circles for big or little towns.
I poured over them and imagined all the adventures and people I could find along those bright red highways.
I was fifteen when I first started out with one of those maps in my back pocket and a little knapsack, headed south on I-75 out of the Soo; hitch hiking to see what I was missing by living in the U.P.
Man, I learned a lot!
Now that I'm old, I realize that I really didn't have to go anywhere to learn the few meaningful things I've managed to absorb, but I'm glad I did.
🙂
Don
That's fantastic
What a list of weird ones?!
Quite a few names could be worked into the names of X-rated movies. Everything from Spread Eagle to Clapper Gap and Virginville.
I really enjoyed the negativity displayed by three of the five listed for Vermont: Mosquitoville, Notown and Satans Kingdom. Those probably aren't included in any Vermont tourist-type information packets.
I noticed quite a few places that could be listed in other States as well as the one(s) listed. Just a few days ago I was chatting with a fellow who spent his early years in Climax. We have both Havana and Cuba, but they're over 200 miles apart. We also have both Minneapolis and St. Paul but they definitely are not twin cities. Wichita is not in Wichita County. Lyons is not in Lyon County. Johnson is not in Johnson County. Cherokee is not in Cherokee County, but it's just across the road from it. Fort Scott is not in Scott County. Appropriately, Sun City is not in Cloud County.
The list needs an addendum.
My favorite Louisiana town is Transylvania. It even has a bat on the water tower.
There is a Pumpkin Center near here and there is one on the list in OK.
Also near here is a place called Uneedus. The gas station cafe there had good beans and rice plus real good fried catfish.
Also Happy Jack, La is a favorite. I did some oyster lease surveys out of the marina there.
When road tripping cross country way back when, I did stop on Truth and Consequence NM for a night.
( didn't have room in the VW bug to pick up Don
on another road trip back east through TN, drove a half day off the beaten path because I saw a place called Skullbone in the road atlas.
Definitely was a waste of gas but gas was relatively inexpensive.
That's fantastic
I thought the site was pretty cool. However, I look at it from a different perspective. In my mind (whatever little left) I suspect the States with the most weird named towns also contain the most weird "humans" as well. ie: most weird names = most weird people = danger Will Robinson stay away.! 😉
Glad I could help!
"As a child I use to sit and read road atlases...for real." - See more at: http://beerleg.com/index.php?mode=thread&id=267151#sthash.1Z8TcTTf.dpuf
At one time that was entertainment.
Hey, it was better than watching some of those local shows that appeared on that 12 inch black and white tv that picked up two channels on a good day.
B-)
Learn something new
Everyday. I didn't know Nanty Glo was a Welsh area. It's a great name for a mining town. Way better than Mine 37 near Windber, Pa.
Glad I could help!
So that is why you are like you are. You are a Yupper!!B-)
Glad I could help!
> So that is why you are like you are. You are a Yupper!!B-)
I got a lot more wrong with me than that, but that is definitely part of the problem.
It's difficult to go through life still smelling like your Grandpa's old coyote bait:-)
Don
