Weird Names
Show Low, AZ
For our category of weird town names, such as Linoleumville.
The city's home page.
Their Wikipedia entry, from which we learn:
According to a legend, the city's unusual name[5] resulted from a marathon poker game between Corydon E. Cooley and Marion Clark. The two men were equal partners in a 100,000-acre (400 km2) ranch; however, the partners determined that there was not enough room for both of them in their settlement, and agreed to settle the issue over a game of "Seven Up" (with the winner taking the ranch and the loser leaving).[6] After the game seemed to have no winner in sight, Clark said, "If you can show low, you win." In response, Cooley turned up the deuce of clubs (the lowest possible card) and replied, "Show low it is."[7] As a tribute to the legend, Show Low's main street is named "Deuce of Clubs" in remembrance
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 07, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Regionalism, Weird Names, Gambling, Casinos, Lotteries and Other Games of Chance, Nineteenth Century, Arizona
Welsh Weather Report
Recent weather forecast for Welsh town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. More info: cbc.ca
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 11, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Weird Names, Weather
Odd Place Names of Missouri
Original article here.
Tightwad, MO
Crybaby Holler, MO
Barely Do, MO
Old Dishrag, MO
Hell on the Line, MO
Not, MO
Rat, MO
Competition, MO
Koshkonong, MO
Peculiar, MO
Frankenstein, MO
Romance, MO
Braggadocio, MO
Yup, them's some odd names, allright.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 15, 2015 -
Comments (7)
Category: Regionalism, Weird Names, North America
The Assassin Brothers
Nowadays, with a name like 'The Assassin Brothers', these two would probably be offered a reality TV show deal .
There are in France two brothers with the surname of Assassin, who recently obtained the necessary permission from the high functionary called the Keeper of the Seals to change their name to one less offensive. After mature reflection, they decided to change their name to Berge. Now that it is too late to alter it, they have discovered, to their intense annoyance, that their new name happens, by a singular coincidence, to be that of the chief assistant to M. Deibler, the public executioner, who will, in all probability, succeed to M. Deibler's gruesome business.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 07, 2013 -
Comments (3)
Category: Weird Names, Nineteenth Century
West End, New Jersey
West End, New Jersey has a minor claim to fame as the birthplace of Dorothy Parker. It used to be its own village, but now I think it's just a suburb of Long Branch. But what makes it unusual is its name. It's surrounded on three sides by Long Branch, and on the other side it faces the Atlantic Ocean. So what exactly is it on the west end of?
Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 28, 2013 -
Comments (5)
Category: Geography and Maps, Weird Names
Follies of the Madmen #198
Sloggis? Really? Isn't that the worst name for briefs?
Still in business, so it must work, I guess.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 07, 2013 -
Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Weird Names, Underwear, 1980s
Pronounciation Help Needed
[From The Providence Journal 12/31/12]
Was there a shortage of vowels in this woman's homeland, when her husband's surname, and hers by marriage, was coined? How do you even begin to say it?
"Marker-tosh-jan"? "Maker-tisch-jan"? "Muck-root-sack-hyj-an"?
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 02, 2013 -
Comments (18)
Category: Weird Names
Welcome to Cumback
Of all the towns in America, why did they choose to feature Cumback in their ad? Or was 1958 a more innocent, pre-internet era when the term 'cumback' didn't have the same connotations (see Urban Dictionary) that it does today ?
Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 02, 2012 -
Comments (9)
Category: Geography and Maps, Weird Names, Advertising, 1950s
Kayser the Spy
The Reverend Kayser sounds like a real piece of work. German propagandist, adulterer, real-estate conman, and possible saboteur. A man accumulates a lot of possible murderers with that resume.
Bonus points for being named "Kayser" during World War I.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 23, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Death, Real Estate, Religion, Sexuality, War, Weird Names, 1910s
The Town of Swastika, Canada
Swastika is a small town in Ontario, Canada. (wikipedia link). It was founded in 1908, and got its name from a nearby gold mine. Then the Nazis went and adopted the swastika as their symbol, which made things a little awkward for the Swastika townsfolk. But despite pressure from the Canadian government, the townsfolk resisted changing the name of their town. After all, they had the name first! And so the town has kept its unusual name, to the present day.
Several pictures of Swastika from Steve Colwill's flickr account. The Swastika Laboratories sounds a little sinister.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 17, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Odd Names, Signage, Weird Names
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |