Friday, February 22, 2019

It's Just a Name

Thought for the day: What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. [William Shakespeare]

[image courtesy of morguefile]
True, a name doesn't change the intrinsic nature of anything, but it sure can change our perception of it.

I mean... I'm sure Poopada Resorts is a perfectly... lovely place. I'm sure it smells like... a rose.

You can blame a newspaper article for this post. I'll tell you about the article in a little bit, but first I'm gonna take you on a journey through my convoluted mind, because the article got me to thinking about names, in general.

Did you ever have anyone or anything named after you? When I was a teenager, my younger cousin named all of his pets after me. The best one was a baby alligator named Susie. I'm pretty sure that thing hated me, because every time I went anywhere near it, it hissed at me.

[wikipedia]

However, contrary to what you might think, the impressive T. Rex Sue was NOT named for me. This largest, most extensive and well-preserved specimen, which was found in South Dakota in 1990, currently resides in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. For sure, some of my ways are a tad outdated, I'm getting to be as old as dirt, and I like to think I'm fairly well preserved, but this huge bag o' bones is actually named after the scientist Sue Hendrickson, who discovered her.

Lots of geographical places are named after people. Countries, cities large and small, and all kinds of street names are meant to honor real people. Here in Atlanta, it seems like street names change more often than some people change their underwear. I guess our politicians want to honor the most popular or notable people of the day... and then do their best to abolish all remnants of them when they're no longer P.C. or considered worth remembering. (All on our dime, of course.)

[morguefile]
When I saw this sign, I couldn't help but wonder... was it called the old church when it was new? Or was it named New Church Lane up until the time its roof sprung its first leak?

I could write a whole post on funny town names. (Maybe some other time...) But here in the U.S., we have places like Boring, Oregon... Accident, Maryland... and Big Arm, Montana. (I always thought of it as Big Sky country... I had no idea they had a big arm, too!)

[image: Arthur Chapman]
And then there's... Chicken, Alaska. (There's also an Unalaska, Alaska... maybe it's a little warmer there?)

And Pee Pee, Ohio. (Think they have more port-a-potties than other cities?)


[image: Daniell Walquist Lynch]






And let's not forget Hell, Michigan. I could show you a mundane road marker welcoming you to Hell, but I thought this image was funnier. But now that I know there's a town in Michigan named Hell, I finally understand that oxymoronic-sounding saying, as cold as hell. And I also know that Hell does, indeed, freeze over, and quite often.










Okay, last one. I can't write something about odd town names without mentioning the two-town duo in Pennsylvania that always cracks me up. There's good ol' Intercourse, of course. Then... about fifteen minutes away lies the town of Blue Ball. (I kid you not!) Too funny.





[morguefile]
[unsplash]
A rather romantic... but essentially meaningless... thing one can do is name a star after someone... even yourself. The cost can be as low as twenty bucks and as high as a hundred, and what you'll get in return is a gen-u-ine certificate, by golly, as well as a celestial map pinpointing your namesake.


Now... finally, to that article I mentioned. It was about a naming competition of sorts.

[wikipedia]




In honor of Valentine's Day, a zoo in Sydney, Australia, invited people to name one of their brown snakes, a species that happens to be one of the most venomous snakes in the world. Doesn't sound very romantic to you, you say? Well, um, it wasn't meant to be.

The zoo advertised: Is your ex a snake? If so, now is your opportunity to cement their 'snaky status'... by naming a brown snake after them at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo.

To enter, participants had to provide the ex's name and the reason (s)he deserved to be called a snake, along with a dollar donation. The winner was supposed to have been named on Valentine's Day, but I haven't been able to find said winner's name. (Maybe the zoo is still trying to sort through a mountain of entries?)

[morguefile]







A zoo in El Paso, Texas, did something similar for Valentine's Day, only they invited people to name cockroaches after their exes.

Better yet? The newly-named cockroaches were fed to meerkats and other critters during a live stream. HA!

Ahhh... romance, eh?


Okay, so today's path was a wee bit convoluted, but I hope you enjoyed it, anyway.

                                Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.


50 comments:

  1. Some great names there, thanks for sharing. The names here are mostly boring. The little town where I live, Kaiserswerth, means Emperor's island, as an emperor really did live in the castle, before it was a ruin, and when it was still an island in the Rhine. Have a great weekend, hugs, Valerie

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    1. I wouldn't call European town names "boring." More dignified than some of our name, though, for sure. And steeped in history. Here, we tend to have a somewhat cheeky sense of humor. :)

      You have a great weekend, too. Hugs back atcha.

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  2. The Kangaroo is the funniest one, I can't imagine her "getting in there"
    My ex has been dubbed Rat, because he was born in the year of the Rat and he turned out to be one. Any real rats I see I usually say "Oh look there goes....."

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    1. I like that kangaroo one, too. It didn't have anything to do with the post, but I couldn't resist sharing it, anyway. :)

      HA! I like your sense of humor. Have a super weekend.

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  3. Lol I'll skip blue ball and go straight to intercourse.

    One of the most stupid ones I've had to go to is "The Lane" Really? Can't even but the dirt lane or something. Just The Lane. Some people around here have the last name Horne too. Said as Horn, but that's not what I think when I see it.

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    1. HA! I believe most men would agree with you... (Think any Horne families live in Blue Ball...?)

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  4. I have been to Intercourse and Blue Ball. They are near Mount Joy, Paradise and Bird-In Hand. They are all located in beautiful Lancaster County, PA, which a little piece of heaven. People seem to be very happy there.

    I grew up in NYC and moved to PA in my late teens. When we were first married, my husband got transferred to a very small town in Michigan called Bad Axe. I was told that it got its name from just that. It was a cultural shock for me but it was a lovely area around Lake Huron and I grew to somewhat like it. However, I missed my family and was glad to return home eighteen months later to a more populous area.

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    1. I visited Lancaster several times with my in-laws when Smartacus was in Nam. It IS beautiful country, and I loved seeing the horse-drawn buggies. (Instead of stop signs, they should have signs that say "Whoa!")

      You grew to "somewhat" like it? What a sweet way to put it. Not everybody likes to live in the sticks. (I like "populous," too!)

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  5. They probably had a ton of entries for naming the snake.
    Like those signs in Hell, Michigan.
    There's a town here called Lizard Lick. I'm not going to even ask how they came up with that name. Or if they celebrate the town's establishment every year by licking lizards.

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    1. Yeah, you're right. They probably did. (What a clever way to raise money for the zoo!)

      Lizard Lick, huh? I've heard of people licking some kind of frogs to get a "high," so maybe there's a lizard there that has the same kind of effect? Not that I'd care to test... or taste... the theory.

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  6. growing up in PA was always a giggle - oh those Quakers or Mennonites had quite the sense of humor.
    Names are everything - I lived on Beach Lane here in TX - only a million miles from a beach....it was all a state of mind.
    Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend

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    1. Somehow, I don't think those Mennonite town names were intended to be funny. I think it's just our perception that makes them giggle-worthy.

      Oh, I have a beach state of mind, no matter how far away I may live from an actual beach. :)

      Happy Friday to you, too, kiddo. Have a super weekend!

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  7. A street in South Yorkshire, England changed it's name form Butt Hole Road. I cant't think why. Back Passage, in the City of London, didn't feel it necessary to change it's name!
    CLICK HERE for Bazza’s silently sagacious Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

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    1. Oh, dear! I don't believe I'd care to live on a place named Butt Hole Road, but I can think of a couple candidates that'd fit right in. :)

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  8. I have heard of Hell freezing over...Hell Michigan that is! Cute post and also one that with a lot of info. Never heard of that town in Ohio...will have to see just where it is! Ha! And I've lived here most of my life.

    Love and hugs,
    'ma' (from Ohio)

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    1. I suspect every state contains some towns with strange names. One of the unusual names here in Georgia is Shake Rag.

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  9. All those names prove that people still have a sense of humor.

    It always bothers me when a street named after someone long gone is changed to someone else. There is a road around Philly named for a paper mill of an old ancestor of mine, if they changed the name to Obama Pike or Trump Street, I would be upset. Heck, just build another road.

    Fun post as always!

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  10. I know what you mean. My step-grandfather lived in the sticks, and he personally paid to have a road built to enter his property. He also paid for the street sign, which he named after himself. The street is still there, but its name was changed long ago.

    Thanks!

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  11. Thank you for the morning laugh! I've read about Wild West town names that featured the words "hooker" or "whore" but have been sanitized--such as Naughty Girl Meadow.

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    1. My pleasure, dear lady. :)

      I never thought about it before, but I have a feeling there were some pretty raunchy town names once upon a time. You know, just to let the cowboys know where the action was...

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  12. Oh my word it feels good to chortle out-loud! On several occasions, I've wondered who gets naming rights for residential subdivisions … the contractors' children, per chance. No, I've never had a street named for me; only a cousin's dachshund. (Sigh) How about having a hurricane named for you? Way cool!

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    1. And oh my word, it feels good to know I MADE you chortle out loud. :)

      I know what you mean about subdivisions. Our very modest neighborhood is called Sheffield Forest, and the street names sound downright Knight of the Round Table-ish. (i.e. Lancelot, Gloucester, Camelot...)

      Well, a hurricane was named after my hubby, and it was a lot like him. Very determined and unpredictable. :)

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  13. Fun post today. You are so nice.
    Love naming the cockroach I sent that one to my friend who has a x even more terrible than mine if possible.
    It is snowing in Tucson.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

      Snow? Yipes. I bet Winston didn't know what to make of it. :)

      Cheers back atcha.

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  14. I haven't laughed so much in a long time. :-) Thanks! :-D

    Greetings from London.

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    1. You're welcome. :-) Laughing is my favorite exercise.

      Greetings back atcha.

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  15. All good ones but the last one was the best.

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  16. Entertaining tale of odd names! I still love the oddities of English villages. They don't have the same modern English connotations but I guess they must have meant something at some time. They just sound lovely. Names like Nempnett Thrubwell - sounds made-up, doesn't it? :)

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    1. OH, wow! YES, that does sound like a made-up name... like it belongs in a Charles Dickens tale. He had a real flair for coming up with unusual names.

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  17. What a fun post! I wish I'd have had that hell freezing over information when I was a teen. There were a lot of things my mother would have had to let me do! Now, did you find anywhere that had pigs flying? That would have been a whole lot more fun opening up.

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    1. Well... our friends in Tennessee have a flying pig hanging in their home... does that count?

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  18. Funny names--they do make you wonder how some of them came to be. I read about the cockroaches named after exes and being fed to meerkats. Ha! Creative, but not exactly my idea of romance. Thanks for the laughs today.

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  19. I own a tee shirt which trumpets, "I LOVE INTERCOURSE!"
    Just above, in much smaller letters, "Pennsylvania."

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  20. My fourth-grade teacher sure looked a lot like T.Rex and would shake me if I goofed off. That was in 1959 and nobody knew that it would just make the child goofier. 60 years later, I'm living proof. I believe our state now requires school teachers to pass an x-ray exam to divert T.Rex throwbacks into administration.

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    1. Your state is very smart. Those T. Rex throwbacks can cause irreparable damage to young minds. (Old ones, too!)

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  21. Hi Susan - names are wonderful things ... and your post was great fun. I wonder if the brown snake has managed to kill everyone off?!

    But your mind - I'm going to throw you a gentle idea I came across ... and this definitely is my mind ... the Ventral Striatum - the Seeking System of the brain - oh yes ... my curiosity runneth over in my grey cells!!

    Well that's it for now - cheers Hilary

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    1. Hi-ya, Hilary. Hopefully, that snake hasn't killed anyone...

      Yeah, my curiosity runneth over, too, and it always has. That's probably why I loved school so much.

      Cheers back atcha.

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  22. I started reading your post and got all excited, thinking, "Oh, I have to mention Intercourse, Pennsylvania!" And then you beat me to it. Of course it makes sense - you would know about a town with a name like that.

    I was tickled pink when I found a street in Buffalo that has my first name. We were not named after each other, though. Many years ago, I had a pen pal in Austria and her daughter named her doll after me.

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    1. HA! Why, whatever do you mean by THAT...?

      Your name is so pretty, I'm surprised more people haven't named their dolls and kids after you... (Maybe a granddaughter someday!)

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  23. Those are some funny town names! I've heard of Hell, Michigan. But not Pee Pee, Ohio. Which is a darn shame, because I'm from Ohio. I'd almost like to see the place, but now that I'm in GA, it's going to be a bit harder.

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    1. It'd be a little harder to visit Pee Pee, Ohio, but fear not. We've got a LOT of strange town names here in Georgia, too. :)

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  24. That was a fun post. Since I am moving to Tennessee I looked carefully at the map to figure where towns are and found some strange ones, for example Difficult, TN which is near to Defeated, TN. Then I am not sure how far Sweet Lips, TN is from Love Lady, TN but should be close, no? Then they ran out of idea as one is called Nameless, TN and Only, TN. But the strangest name of a town where I spent a couple of days was Dildo, Newfoundland.

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    1. We travel to Tennessee fairly often to visit friends there, and we've been through some unusually-named towns there, too. Like Soddy Daisy. Can't say that we've ever been through any of the towns you named, though. What great names! But Dildo definitely takes the cake. :)

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  25. I don't know of any odd or funny names of towns in Maine...wait, lemme google that...nope. Some may sound a bit odd, but that's because a lot of Maine town names and rivers are Passamaquoddy, like the Piscataqua River, Damariscotta, or Meddybemps (pop. 157).

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    1. Well, those names may not be funny, but I think they could qualify as being a bit odd. Unusual, anyway. :) Especially Meddybemps.

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