Trivia for Squiggle #XXVII
Today's issue of Trivia for Squiggle contains weird town names and the supposed origins of those names.
651. Bigfoot, Texas, USA
Sadly, not named after the mythical sasquatch. The town was named after William A. A. (Bigfoot) Wallace, a resident of the community.
652. Blow Me Down, Newfoundland, Canada
According to local legends, this towns name was given by Captain Messervay. Messervey was an unusually small captain who only stood at 4’2’ and upon his ships arrival into the Bay of Islands, which is surrounded by huge mountains, he prayed that they wouldn't "Blow-me-Down".
653. Chicken, Alaska, USA
This town was named after the state bird, Ptarmigan, which closely resembles a chicken. Since the name Ptarmigan was too hard to spell, and the residents did not want the town to be the subject of ridicule they decided to simply call the town…chicken.
654. Crackpot, England
In 1298, this town was originally called Crakepot. The name originates from the old English word "Kraka", a crow and a Viking word "Pot". A ‘pot’ was usually a cavity or deep hole.
655. Crotch Lake, Ontario, Canada
Crotch Lake is located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Apparently, if you see the lake from a plane in the air, you will see a sharp curve in the middle of the lake making it look like two legs.
656. Cut and Shoot, Texas, USA
This Texas town was named after a community confrontation that almost led to violence in 1912. There are numerous versions of the story on whether it was a dispute over land claims, design of a new steeple for the town church or who should be allowed to preach at the church. A boy at the scene of the dispute reportedly declared “I'm going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!" This apparently remained in residents' minds and was eventually adopted as the town's name.
657. Deadhorse, Alaska, USA
This town was named after a construction company (Deadhorse Company) that built it to support oil drilling and production in the area.
658. Ding Dong, Texas, USA
Legend has it that Ding Dong’s weird name has something to do with the fact that it is located in Bell County. The town’s motto is “If you find yourself in Ding Dong, you had to have been looking for it.”
659. Earth, Texas, USA
The proposed name of this town was supposed to be “Good Earth,” but a simple U.S postal office mistake changed the proposed name to simply “Earth.” So you can stand beside the city limit sign, take a picture, and tell your friends you just came back from Earth.
660. Egypt, Texas, USA
An individual named Eli Mercer established a plantation and ferry on the Colorado River. The area suffered from drought for a long time until Mercer provided corn to the region. People started calling the area Egypt for the biblical reference.
661. French Lick, Indiana, USA
This town was one of the earliest outposts in the mid-West and was first settled by French traders over 200 years ago. This valley was a source of rich mineral springs, which attracted animals that flocked to lick the waters and wet rocks. The settlers nicknamed this valley "The Lick".
662. Fucking, Austria
The correct way to actually pronounce the town name is "fooking," which was founded in the 6th century after a man whose name was Focko. Apparently the town has a serious sign-stealing problem.
663. Gun Barrel City, Texas, USA
The town name comes from its motto: "We shoot straight with you," and its symbol is a rifle.
664. Half.com, Oregon, USA
In 1999, Half.com’s marketing team made a visit to the town of Halyway, Oregon to ask the mayor to change the name to Half.com. Although reluctant at first, the mayor took the request up with city council for further discussion. Half.com offered financial support to the community if they agreed to change the name. On January 19, 2000, Half.com became the first dot com city in the world.
665. Happy, Texas, USA
Happy derived its name from nearby Happy draw, where cowboys were elated to find water there. The number of residents in 1990 was only 558. Happy uses the slogan "the town without a frown."
666. Hell, Michigan, USA
There are a couple of stories on how this town’s name originated. One theory suggests that one of the original residents, George Reeves, was asked just what he thought the town should be named. George reportedly replied, "I don't care, you can name it Hell if you want to." The second theory suggests that since the area is lower and swampy and in the olden days it was “hell” to cross the rivers in the area. Every year people travel to Hell’s post office to have Hell postmarked on their tax return.
667. Hot Coffee, Mississipi, USA
Travelers in the early 1800’s to Mobile or Ellisville used to stop by at a local inn that was owned by Levi Davis, who always had ready a pot of hot coffee and ginger cakes baked by his wife. Davis eventually put up a large sign with a big coffee pot that read “Hot Coffee.” The inn took on the name and eventually the area surrounding the inn did also.
668. Humansville, Missouri, USA
James G. Human of Tennessee settled at the big spring in 1834 and founded the town, which was named after him.
669. Intercourse, Pennsylvania, USA
Formerly known as "Cross Keys," there are a few explanations to the origin of this town's name. 1. It was named after a racecourse, which had an entrance that was called "Entercourse", which eventually evolved into Intercourse. 2. The crossing of two famous roads in the town and 3. In the Old English language used during the 1700's, the word "intercourse" actually meant fellowship and friendship.
670. Looneyville, Texas, USA
The town was named after John Looney, who opened a store there in the early 1870s. At the height of its greatness in the early 1890's, Looneyville had a population of 100. Almost a hundred years later, Looneyville is a dispersed rural community.
671. Monkey's Eyebrow, Arizona, USA
There are several legends regarding the origin of this town’s name, but most people think it originated from a local crescent-shaped hill. Apparently when the grass grows tall, it looks very similar to a monkey’s eyebrow.
672. Nameless, Texas, USA
Local legend suggests that this town was named after the Post Office had rejected numerous suggestions for the town’s name. The frustrated residents of the town wrote back to the post office, saying, "Then let the post office be nameless, and be damned!"
673. Toad Suck, Arkansas, USA
Folklore suggests that this town's name originated from the fact that rivermen used to suck whiskey until they swelled up like toads.
674. Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico, USA
This town was formerly known as Hot Springs, but took the producers of the “Truth or Consequences'' radio game show up on their request to have a town name itself after the TV game show. The town did not receive any monetary incentive, but it did benefit a good amount of publicity.
675. Why, Arizona, USA
This town was named for a Y-shaped intersection of state Highways 85 and 86. The spelling was changed from “Y” to “Why” after the residents had petitioned for a post office. The state required that the name be spelled differently.
"All right, this chick is TOAST!"
651. Bigfoot, Texas, USA
Sadly, not named after the mythical sasquatch. The town was named after William A. A. (Bigfoot) Wallace, a resident of the community.
652. Blow Me Down, Newfoundland, Canada
According to local legends, this towns name was given by Captain Messervay. Messervey was an unusually small captain who only stood at 4’2’ and upon his ships arrival into the Bay of Islands, which is surrounded by huge mountains, he prayed that they wouldn't "Blow-me-Down".
653. Chicken, Alaska, USA
This town was named after the state bird, Ptarmigan, which closely resembles a chicken. Since the name Ptarmigan was too hard to spell, and the residents did not want the town to be the subject of ridicule they decided to simply call the town…chicken.
654. Crackpot, England
In 1298, this town was originally called Crakepot. The name originates from the old English word "Kraka", a crow and a Viking word "Pot". A ‘pot’ was usually a cavity or deep hole.
655. Crotch Lake, Ontario, Canada
Crotch Lake is located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Apparently, if you see the lake from a plane in the air, you will see a sharp curve in the middle of the lake making it look like two legs.
656. Cut and Shoot, Texas, USA
This Texas town was named after a community confrontation that almost led to violence in 1912. There are numerous versions of the story on whether it was a dispute over land claims, design of a new steeple for the town church or who should be allowed to preach at the church. A boy at the scene of the dispute reportedly declared “I'm going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!" This apparently remained in residents' minds and was eventually adopted as the town's name.
657. Deadhorse, Alaska, USA
This town was named after a construction company (Deadhorse Company) that built it to support oil drilling and production in the area.
658. Ding Dong, Texas, USA
Legend has it that Ding Dong’s weird name has something to do with the fact that it is located in Bell County. The town’s motto is “If you find yourself in Ding Dong, you had to have been looking for it.”
659. Earth, Texas, USA
The proposed name of this town was supposed to be “Good Earth,” but a simple U.S postal office mistake changed the proposed name to simply “Earth.” So you can stand beside the city limit sign, take a picture, and tell your friends you just came back from Earth.
660. Egypt, Texas, USA
An individual named Eli Mercer established a plantation and ferry on the Colorado River. The area suffered from drought for a long time until Mercer provided corn to the region. People started calling the area Egypt for the biblical reference.
661. French Lick, Indiana, USA
This town was one of the earliest outposts in the mid-West and was first settled by French traders over 200 years ago. This valley was a source of rich mineral springs, which attracted animals that flocked to lick the waters and wet rocks. The settlers nicknamed this valley "The Lick".
662. Fucking, Austria
The correct way to actually pronounce the town name is "fooking," which was founded in the 6th century after a man whose name was Focko. Apparently the town has a serious sign-stealing problem.
663. Gun Barrel City, Texas, USA
The town name comes from its motto: "We shoot straight with you," and its symbol is a rifle.
664. Half.com, Oregon, USA
In 1999, Half.com’s marketing team made a visit to the town of Halyway, Oregon to ask the mayor to change the name to Half.com. Although reluctant at first, the mayor took the request up with city council for further discussion. Half.com offered financial support to the community if they agreed to change the name. On January 19, 2000, Half.com became the first dot com city in the world.
665. Happy, Texas, USA
Happy derived its name from nearby Happy draw, where cowboys were elated to find water there. The number of residents in 1990 was only 558. Happy uses the slogan "the town without a frown."
666. Hell, Michigan, USA
There are a couple of stories on how this town’s name originated. One theory suggests that one of the original residents, George Reeves, was asked just what he thought the town should be named. George reportedly replied, "I don't care, you can name it Hell if you want to." The second theory suggests that since the area is lower and swampy and in the olden days it was “hell” to cross the rivers in the area. Every year people travel to Hell’s post office to have Hell postmarked on their tax return.
667. Hot Coffee, Mississipi, USA
Travelers in the early 1800’s to Mobile or Ellisville used to stop by at a local inn that was owned by Levi Davis, who always had ready a pot of hot coffee and ginger cakes baked by his wife. Davis eventually put up a large sign with a big coffee pot that read “Hot Coffee.” The inn took on the name and eventually the area surrounding the inn did also.
668. Humansville, Missouri, USA
James G. Human of Tennessee settled at the big spring in 1834 and founded the town, which was named after him.
669. Intercourse, Pennsylvania, USA
Formerly known as "Cross Keys," there are a few explanations to the origin of this town's name. 1. It was named after a racecourse, which had an entrance that was called "Entercourse", which eventually evolved into Intercourse. 2. The crossing of two famous roads in the town and 3. In the Old English language used during the 1700's, the word "intercourse" actually meant fellowship and friendship.
670. Looneyville, Texas, USA
The town was named after John Looney, who opened a store there in the early 1870s. At the height of its greatness in the early 1890's, Looneyville had a population of 100. Almost a hundred years later, Looneyville is a dispersed rural community.
671. Monkey's Eyebrow, Arizona, USA
There are several legends regarding the origin of this town’s name, but most people think it originated from a local crescent-shaped hill. Apparently when the grass grows tall, it looks very similar to a monkey’s eyebrow.
672. Nameless, Texas, USA
Local legend suggests that this town was named after the Post Office had rejected numerous suggestions for the town’s name. The frustrated residents of the town wrote back to the post office, saying, "Then let the post office be nameless, and be damned!"
673. Toad Suck, Arkansas, USA
Folklore suggests that this town's name originated from the fact that rivermen used to suck whiskey until they swelled up like toads.
674. Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico, USA
This town was formerly known as Hot Springs, but took the producers of the “Truth or Consequences'' radio game show up on their request to have a town name itself after the TV game show. The town did not receive any monetary incentive, but it did benefit a good amount of publicity.
675. Why, Arizona, USA
This town was named for a Y-shaped intersection of state Highways 85 and 86. The spelling was changed from “Y” to “Why” after the residents had petitioned for a post office. The state required that the name be spelled differently.
"All right, this chick is TOAST!"
posted by Scott at 12:01 PM
3 Comments:
Is it just me or does it seem like a lot of these are located in Texas? What's more, I seem to notice that the Texan towns are named for reasons that aren't exactly obvious (i.e. Looneyville named after a guy named Looney, or Bigfoot being a nickname.)
The quote threw me for a second! Bill Murray is such a funny guy!
We've finally mentally synched up! It took you long enough!
Agreed ... Bill is goooooooood.
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