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Front of the church.
Kalamata, Greece

Church of the Virgin Mary

This sixth-century church housed an icon with eyes so beautiful legend has it they inspired the name of a Greek city.
The annual event is called Kwita Izina—“give a name” in Kinyarwanda, the country’s indigenous language.
names

How to Name a Mountain Gorilla in Rwanda

Start with an ancestral ceremony for human babies. Then add 30,000 people who want to save the endangered, majestic primates.
Chloe Berge October 18, 2019
Permanently Closed
"Gassy Jack."
Vancouver, British Columbia

'Gassy Jack' Statue

An effigy of Vancouver's Gastown neighorhood's namesake.
Cliffs of Sewemup Mesa.
Gateway, Colorado

Sewemup Mesa

A remote sandstone plateau named for a legendary cattle rustler.
Casa del Diavolo
Casa del Diavolo, Italy

Casa del Diavolo (House of the Devil)

This region of the Perugia municipality has an unforgettable name.
The Baboon.
Rome, Italy

'Il Babuino' ('The Baboon')

Romans decided this 16th-century "talking statue" was so ugly, they named it after a primate.
Stratford, New Zealand

Stratford Glockenspiel Clock Tower

This mechanical clock performs "Romeo and Juliet" in a Shakespeare-themed New Zealand town.
Charing Cross Mural.
London, England

Charing Cross Mural

The medieval woodcut-style artwork chronicles life in medieval London.
<em>Wunderpus photogenicus</em>: No two look alike.
art

Meet the World's Most Playfully Named Creatures

But giving them those crazy names isn't always fun and games.
Winnie Lee June 11, 2019
Hapless prey would never know what hit them.
coral reefs

It’s Not So Easy to Rename a Species With a Problematic Moniker

One scientist argues that we should reconsider the Bobbit worm.
Sabrina Imbler May 31, 2019
Gastro Obscura

Awful Awful

This Jersey-born frosty drink is now a Rhode Island favorite.
The Devil’s Bit
Glenreagh, Ireland

The Devil’s Bit

It's said this geological anomaly was caused when the Devil took a bite out of the Irish mountainside.
Newmarket, England

Potoooooooo

A misunderstanding gave this 18th-century racehorse a most amusing name.
Stockholm, Sweden

Percys Trappa

A wooden street sign is the last remnant of this 400-year-old alleyway.
Robin Hood's former piss-pot.
Oxton, England

Robin Hood's Hill

This Bronze Age burial mound used to be called "Robin Hood’s Piss-Pot" until it was renamed by spoilsport Victorians.
Tbilisi, Georgia

Tbilisi Sulfur Baths

A cluster of historic bathhouses built on the famed hot springs that gave the Georgian capital its name.
The street sign made to look like Scrabble tiles.
Queens, New York

The Birthplace of Scrabble

A uniquely lettered street sign marks the corner where the iconic word game was invented.
Pig’s Head in the Pottage Pot Gant
Braintree, England

The 'Gants' of Braintree

You won't find these curiously named passageways anywhere else in England.