The Top 6 Strangest Names Ever Given To A Location - Written By Ashley

The creativity (or the lack thereof) of some people amuses (and scares us) sometimes. Unfortunately, these sparks of inspiration (often confused as sparks of insanity) are had by people entrusted with the task of naming cities, buildings and villages. The wackiest of them all is below. But first, let's take a look at:

6. Batmania

No. This is not a comic phenomenon dedicated solely to the dark knight. It was a village found and named by a man called John Batman. Yes, Batman was his real surname.



"I'm Batman"


We assume "Gotham" was taken at the time so he instead opted to name the place after himself. That was back in June 1835 (when Judy Dench was a teenager). Now, this place is called central Melbourne (boring).

5. Boring (Oregon, USA)

What a coincidence. Speak of the devil. I once saw an internet ad for Boring, Oregon, calling it 'an exciting place to call home' (true story). On the plus side, the residents have grown to accept the name and even use puns associated with it to have fun. They joined forces with Dull, Scotland (another exciting-sounding place) to create 'Boring and Dull' day, an official holiday on their calendar. Restaurants such as  The Not-So-Boring-Bar-and-Grill are proof that these people can take whatever jokes you throw at them. This means they are no longer fun to ridicule anymore, and we are moving on with our list.





Sticks and stones...



4. Dwarf (Kentucky, USA)

We wanted to make a Danny Devito and Gary Coleman joke on this one, but we finally decided to take the 'high' road instead (Hehe). Dwarf is an unincorporated community located in Perry County, Kentucky, United States. The town was named after Jeremiah Combs (no relation to Sean "Diddy" Combs), whose nickname of "Short Jerry" pointed to his stature.




Their post office is still active, but deliveries sometimes come up short. Sorry. We couldn't help it.



3. My Large Intestine (Texas, USA)

Yes, that's right. Most of the top six strange location names are from the US of A. America, the land of opportunity, and weirdness. Can you imagine filling out a job application when you're from My Large Intestine? This town in Texas is located just 13.0 miles and about 19 mins away from San Antonio, TX. We imagine the 13.0 miles from San Antonio is the small intestine.

2. Hell (Michigan, USA)

Apparently "Go to Hell" was a phrase originally used to advise people to visit Michigan. Once they do so and return that means they have "been through Hell and back". Here's what Wikipedia says about the place:

Hell grew up around a sawmill, gristmill, distillery and tavern. All four were operated by George Reeves. Reeves moved to the area in the 1830s from the Catskill Mountains in New York. He purchased a sawmill on what is now known as Hell Creek in 1841. In addition to the sawmill, Reeves purchased 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land surrounding the mill. Reeves then built a gristmill on Hell Creek which was powered by water that was impounded by a small dam across the creek. Farmers in the area were quite successful in growing wheat and had an abundance of grain. Reeves opened a distillery to process the excess grain into whiskey. Reeves also opened a general store/tavern on his property.^[3]
The tavern and distillery soon became a thriving business for Reeves. He built a ballroom on the second floor of the establishment and a sulky racetrack around his millpond. Additionally Reeves sold his alcohol to nearby roadhouses and stores for as little as ten cents a gallon.^[3] His operation came under the scrutiny of the U.S. government in the years after the American Civil War. When tax collectors came to Hell to assess his operation Reeves and his customers conspired to hide the whiskey by filling barrels and sinking them to the bottom of the millpond. When the government agents left the area the barrels were hauled to the surface with ropes.^[3] As Reeves aged he slowed down his business ventures, closing the distillery and witnessing the burning of the gristmill. He died in 1877.^[3]

Hopefully he did not go to Hell.

1. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (Wales)

Despite what you may believe, my cat did not just chase a mouse across my keyboard while I was typing this article. This is actually the name of a large village and community on the island of Anglesey in Wales, situated on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. We will not bother telling you how it is pronounced but the translation of the name is ' St. Marys Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel Near to the Rapid Whirlpool of Llantysilio of the Red Cave'. I know. Less of a mouthful, right? Why didn't they just call it that in the first place?




Pictured: Tongue Twister