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In Celebration Of Towns With Strange Or Ridiculous Names!

April 2, 2020 By Jeff 39 Comments

I stumbled across a questionable webpage a couple of days ago that lists “unusual” town names in West Virginia. Here it is. I’ve never heard of any o’ those places, but wouldn’t mind calling Pie, WV home. Ya know? There were some towns around us, while I was growing up, that had crazy names. Places like Hurricane, Tornado, Mink Shoals, Pax, Paw Paw, Poca, Pinch, Quick, etc. I think most of those would fall under the heading of Strange or Ridiculous.

Here in Pennsylvania there’s a town called Jim Thorpe, a place that Jim Thorpe — the famous athlete — never visited while he was alive. I could look it up, but I’m very tired. I believe they just made a deal with somebody to move his remains there and rename the town Jim Thorpe. Weird. What’s next, Vic Tayback, Missouri? Bert Convy, Alaska? And, of course, Pennsylvania is home to the automatic go-to response in discussions such as this one: Intercourse. Which is located right next to Blue Ball. And down the road from Bird-In-Hand.

In Georgia there’s a town called Cumming, which triggered a lot of local “comedy.” I believe it was near Climax. And there’s a place down there named Santa Claus. Who the hell knows? In California we lived in Canyon Country, which is a bit odd, I think. And nearby was a town that I always thought had the ugliest-sounding name: Saugus. Man, that bugs me, for some reason.

What do you have on this one? I know it’s abbreviated, but I’m hanging by a thread over here. What towns have you encountered that you thought had strange or ridiculous names? Please share them in the comments.

And before I call it a day here, I’d like to invite you to call the podcast hotline and leave a message of congratulations (or whatever) on our 100th episode, which I’ll be recording in the next few days. It’s a voicemail setup, and it’s at 570-290-8151. Please identify yourself, and say whatever you’d like. Within reason, of course. Let’s keep it cordial, please. I’d like for you all to be a part of it!

I’ll see you guys again soon.

Support us with a monthly $4 donation at Patreon, and get an extra podcast episode every week! We’re also at Venmo (@thewvsr) and PayPal (jeff@thewvsr.com). Thank you, guys!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Harley Squirrelnuts says

    April 2, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    Dildo, Newfoundland.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dildo,_Newfoundland_and_Labrador

    Reply
  2. Nads says

    April 2, 2020 at 1:37 pm

    Jewtown, Georgia, on St. Simons island. Named for the founder, who was, uh, Jewish.

    Now if we’re talking international, you can’t beat Fucking, Austria. For some reason, tourists keep taking the signs.

    Reply
  3. Limey says

    April 2, 2020 at 2:15 pm

    I used to take the train through Feltham, pronounced felt ’em, every day.

    Reply
  4. madz1962 says

    April 2, 2020 at 2:43 pm

    Imagine being a redneck in Hicksville (Long Island) New York?

    Or a real bum in Lake Success?

    Surf Reporters should NOT wear their Smoking Fish apparel in Fishkill, NY (that’s pretty close to me).

    Nobody really feels comfortable in Cocksakie, NY.

    Reply
  5. Doug says

    April 2, 2020 at 2:49 pm

    You forgot Slippery Gut, WV

    Reply
  6. CC says

    April 2, 2020 at 2:54 pm

    I live in Oxnard, Ca! Oxnard….I’ll just leave it at that.

    Reply
    • chill says

      April 4, 2020 at 3:27 pm

      There needs to also be a town called Ixnay.

      Reply
  7. Malcolm says

    April 2, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    I would have thought Nitro VW would make the list (close to Dunbar, yes?).

    Peripherally, I chuckled when you mentioned Bert Convy. I have a buddy who would sometimes invoke what he called the “not Bert Convy rule.”

    Whenever he thought his life was going down the shitter, he would say things like, “I can wake up tomorrow and say to myself: at least I’m not Bert Convy” to start getting back on the horse.

    Reply
  8. Kevin says

    April 2, 2020 at 4:04 pm

    Belchertown, MA

    Reply
    • chill says

      April 2, 2020 at 9:16 pm

      I have a cousin who lives in Belchertown. I don’t know if Bob’s Burgers has a location there.

      Reply
  9. Bill in WV says

    April 2, 2020 at 4:33 pm

    Orgas, WV

    Reply
  10. Wisey in T-Town says

    April 2, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    Bugtussle Oklahoma

    Reply
  11. AngryWhiteGuy says

    April 2, 2020 at 5:11 pm

    Bert Convy’s dead?

    Reply
    • John Locke says

      April 2, 2020 at 5:24 pm

      Since 1991

      Reply
      • AngryWhiteGuy says

        April 2, 2020 at 5:26 pm

        Oh yeah…I don’t remember much about 90 to 95.

        Reply
  12. John Locke says

    April 2, 2020 at 5:28 pm

    Just a few from Texas…
    Loco
    Kermit
    Cut and Shoot
    Jot ‘Em Down
    Ding Dong
    Notrees (pronounced ‘no trees’)
    Gun Barrel City
    Cool
    Dime Box

    Reply
    • C1-NRB says

      April 6, 2020 at 5:33 pm

      Don’t forget North Zulch.

      Interestingly, there is no Zulch to be North of.

      Reply
  13. Good2go says

    April 2, 2020 at 5:42 pm

    Newfoundland is full of them

    https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Colourful-Place-Names-of-Newfoundland-and-Labrador

    Reply
  14. chill says

    April 2, 2020 at 6:10 pm

    I would totally live in a town called Vic Tayback, but I refuse to move to Missouri. Slowly I turned, and so forth.

    Reply
  15. Time'll_Tell says

    April 2, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    Some funny ones I never knew existed.

    https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/weirdest-town-names-in-united-states

    Reply
  16. chill says

    April 2, 2020 at 7:22 pm

    Jeez, how could I forget my dad’s birthplace: Flushing, NY.

    Reply
    • madz1962 says

      April 3, 2020 at 9:39 am

      I was going to add this! LOL! Home of the Mets.

      Reply
  17. Knight Garrard says

    April 2, 2020 at 9:11 pm

    Depending on which way you are going, you have to pass through Tightsqueeze to get to Climax in Virginia.

    Reply
  18. Ed says

    April 2, 2020 at 9:56 pm

    I live fairly close to a place with the most boring and generic name of all time: Townville. I keep meaning to go visit and see if the people there are just cardboard cutouts.

    Reply
    • AngryWhiteGuy says

      April 2, 2020 at 10:00 pm

      The Powerpuff Girls live there and fight crime.

      Reply
      • Ed says

        April 2, 2020 at 10:09 pm

        Hah! I wasn’t aware until now that they lived in Townville.

        Reply
        • AngryWhiteGuy says

          April 3, 2020 at 6:38 pm

          Yeah, watched every episode with my kids. Seems like a long time ago. I was always happy when they put Mojojojo behind bars! Yes, my life is outside the box.

          Reply
  19. revashanes says

    April 3, 2020 at 7:39 am

    Toad Suck, Arkansas

    Reply
  20. JonnyB says

    April 3, 2020 at 3:38 pm

    Additional ones from Canada:

    Red Head Cove, Newfoundland
    Balls Falls, Ontario
    Vulcan, Alberta
    Crotch Lake, Ontario
    Climax, Saskatchewan
    Saint-Louis-Du-Ha! Ha!,Quebec

    Reply
  21. Alex says

    April 3, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    Forget, Saskatchewan.
    South Porcupine, Ontario.
    Bullfrog, Nevada.

    Reply
  22. Ldub says

    April 4, 2020 at 2:02 pm

    Yes the town of Mauch Chunk made a deal with Jim Thorpe’s widow.
    It’s a cute town with a darling railroad if you ever get down that way
    How could you forget Intercourse and Blue Ball, PA

    Reply
  23. E2M says

    April 4, 2020 at 4:02 pm

    Some other West Virginia towns:
    Penile
    Looneyville
    Dorcas
    Ft. Gay
    Beaver
    Big Otter

    Reply
  24. Dave's Not Here, Man says

    April 4, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    not exactly a town, but if you keep going north of the Pittsburg airport there’s a quaint little sign letting you know that the next exit is the Penn State Beaver Campus. Man, I shoulda studied there.

    Mabie, WV (pronounced maybe)
    Urban legend says there used to be a road sign saying Cassidy 7 miles Mabie 5 miles. I never saw it, but I like to believe it.

    Reply
  25. Mr. Tee says

    April 6, 2020 at 8:05 am

    not a town, but I once stayed at the Young Women’s Christian Association in Hong Kong. It was at 5 Man Fuk Road. No truth in advertising, sadly.

    Reply
  26. Jason says

    April 6, 2020 at 12:05 pm

    White Settlement, Ding Dong, Cut and Shoot: these are a few of the weirdly named towns that I’ve been to in Texas.

    Reply
  27. Richard says

    April 9, 2020 at 2:11 pm

    Gotta throw in Lickskillet, AL, right off Butter & Egg Road!

    Reply
  28. FrakinDave says

    April 11, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    I live in Telephone Texas, a little town northeast of Dallas. Supposedly when originally applying for the town name their first choice was taken so they got choice number 2. It came from having the only telephone for miles around so people would say they were going to telephone when they had to make a call.

    Reply
  29. Spin says

    April 17, 2020 at 6:06 pm

    Hot Coffee Mississippi

    Reply
  30. Erin says

    April 19, 2020 at 7:33 am

    We’ve got a Hell here in Michigan, and a Climax. Also Bad Axe, Bliss, Cement City, etc. I lived in Ypsilanti for a few decades, which was always fun to hear people try to pronounce.

    Reply

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