Wednesday, June 9, 2004

Unusual Place Names

Unusual Place Names Scroll down if you dare ... 1. "F*cking villagers vote against name change" <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_981264.html> "Residents of an Austrian village called F*cking, have voted against changing the name" 2. "German town's name will stay Puke" <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_980154.html> "Officials in a German town named Kotzen, or Puke, have voted against changing its name" 3. "Fed-up French contest cheeky town names" <http://smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/06/1065292531333.html> "Among the 15 or so villages joining the event in the south-western village of Mengesebes (Eat Onions in Occitan, an old language from the south of France) are: Saligos (which sounds like Filthy Swine), Montcuq (sounds like My Arse) and Trecon (Very Stupid)" 4. "What's in a name? In Corleone, Sicily, a lot" <http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2524222.htm> "Local lawyer Antonio Di Lorenzo began a signature drive on Tuesday to change the name of the hill town south of Palermo made famous by 'The Godfather' books and films of the 1970s" 5. "Animal rights group urges Hamburg name change" <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_773410.html> "An animal rights group in the US has urged a town to change its name from Hamburg to Veggieburg" 6. "Town names itself after cocktail" <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_944432.html> "The Richland section of Buena Vista in New Jersey is already into the first week with its new name Mojito" 7. "Cheers to village that never was" <http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=232742004> "A mistake by council officials has led to an Aberdeenshire village being renamed after a malt whisky" 8. "Cop to bike from 'Aa to Bee'" <http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/05/04/446845-ap.html> "British policeman Paul Perry plans to ride his bicycle from 'A' to 'B,' he said Tuesday, adding that this jaunt will carry him from Norway to Nebraska" 9. "From Purgatory (Maine) to Hell (Michigan)" <http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/5569810.htm> "New book chronicles America's oddest town names" 10. Related lists of unusual place names on the web: * TheFreeDictionary.com: List of interesting or unusual place names <http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/List%20of%20interesting %20or%20unusual%20place%20names> * Listology: 'Real' Weird Town Names <http://www.listology.com/content_show.cfm/content_id.10438> * Funny Town Names: USA & UK <http://s88932719.onlinehome.us/townname.htm> * Strange and Daft Place Names <http://www.satiche.org.uk/satiche/sat-0332.htm>