Goblu and Beatosu, Ohio
The 1978-79 Michigan Highway map included some creative geography. If you looked at the part of the map that depicted neighboring Ohio, you found two new towns. There was Goblu, shown just east of Toledo near Bono, and Beatosu, shown to the west near Elmira. These names sounded a lot like the cries of University of Michigan football fans against rival Ohio State University.
They were included in the map at the order of Peter Fletcher, the highway commission chairman, who said he included the names to demonstrate his "loyalty to the Athens of the West, the University of Michigan." The fictitious towns were deleted from the next edition of the map. The map with the towns is now a collector's item. One is currently available for $32.55 on eBay.
More info: wikipedia
They were included in the map at the order of Peter Fletcher, the highway commission chairman, who said he included the names to demonstrate his "loyalty to the Athens of the West, the University of Michigan." The fictitious towns were deleted from the next edition of the map. The map with the towns is now a collector's item. One is currently available for $32.55 on eBay.
More info: wikipedia
Lansing State Journal - Dec 23, 1977 (click to enlarge)
Comments
I remember tales of map publishers who would slip in fictional town in order to have proof of copyright infringement. This is just vanity.
Posted by KDP on 05/17/17 at 05:02 PM
A ways back, I was on a road trip from Pa to Fla. Sitting as the passenger, I was reading aloud the towns with weird names on the map. In southern Ga, there was a town called Climax, and right down the road was Needmore.
Posted by Virtual on 05/17/17 at 10:20 PM
Virtual: and then there's the famous Intercourse. I believe it's in VA.
Posted by Richard Bos on 05/18/17 at 08:21 AM
I once worked with a professional map-maker. She told me that when drawing a map for publication, it was common to include inconspicuous little 'individual touches' scattered across the map to protect against plagiarism. She was actually able to win a court case of copyright infringement on the basis of these little 'idiosyncracies.'
Posted by tadchem on 05/19/17 at 06:02 AM
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Category: Geography and Maps | Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators | 1970s