154 Items Tagged

Names

Rocks a few miles from Kick 'Em Jenny

Kick 'Em Jenny

A violent name for a violent volcano.

Welcome to Dadsville

West Alexandria, Ohio

Dadsville

This unincorporated community in western Ohio got its peculiar name from John "Daddy" Baker.

The water gate in foreground, Watergate Hotel in background

Washington, D.C.

Water Gate at the Watergate Complex

Before Nixon, "watergate" meant canals.

The statue is at San Rafael High School in northern California.

San Rafael, California

420 Louis Pasteur Statue

Of all the origin stories for weed's secret code, this one likely has the goods.

Ko Tapu islet in front of the Khao Phing Kan islands in the Phang Nga Bay.

ambon Kalai, Thailand

Ko Ta Pu (James Bond Island)

A tall karst islet popularized by 007.

1829 map of former Indochina, Vietnam along the east coast of the peninsula. Inset is the 1821 seal of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Why 40% of Vietnamese People Have the Same Last Name

Everyone knows a Nguyen, but how did that come to be?

Dan Nosowitz March 28, 2017

Boontling word of the week in the tap room of the Anderson Valley Brewing Company.

Boonville, California

Boontling Language of Boonville

A local dialect born in the late 19th century is only spoken in this isolated California valley.

All the Phils of the 1995 Phil Campbell Convention.

In Phil Campbell, Alabama, His Name Is My Name Too

A brief history of a small town and the many Phil Campbells who love it.

Eric Grundhauser March 9, 2017

Red "Ronnies Sex Shop" lettering

Breede River DC, South Africa

Ronnie's Sex Shop

“The oddest pub in South Africa,” inspired by a practical joke.

Street sign for Lois Lane

Worcester, Massachusetts

Lois Lane

A comic book store got the road by its shop officially renamed after Superman's girlfriend.

"What Cheer" water tower

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer

No one knows the origin of this small town’s unique name.

Luecke from satellite view

Smithville, Texas

Giant 'Luecke' Signature

A Texas landowner spelled out his name with three miles of trees, a giant signature that's been used by NASA to evaluate satellite imagery.

Cairn at the top of Disappointment Rock

Norseman, Australia

Disappointment Rock

No one seems to know who suffered the disappointment at this particular place.

A sign for Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!

Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, Québec

Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!

The only town in the world with two exclamation points in its name.

The Name 'Lazarus' Is More Popular Than It's Been in a Century

It's no miracle, just shifting trends.

Eric Grundhauser October 10, 2016

"Nelson Mandela Square," a shopping mall in Johannesburg.

Nelson Mandela's Grandson Wants People To Stop Naming Things After Nelson Mandela

South Africa is "fixated on the Mandelisation of everything," he says.

Cara Giaimo August 31, 2016

Goofy towns strut their stuff at the annual convention.

France's Dumbest-Named Villages Are All In A Club Together

One name translates to "my nipple."

Cara Giaimo July 14, 2016

How Hardened Gangsters Got the Cute Name 'Bugsy'

Once it just meant crazy, now it means criminal.

Eric Grundhauser June 23, 2016