Broken Hills, Crapstones and embarrassing places to live

March 11, 2009

in Australia,Living abroad,Living in Sweden,Stockholm,Travels,Travels

After traveling close to 35 hours covering a distance of more than 15,000 km (10,000 miles) I am home in Sweden at last. I have a brain-numbing case of jet lag that has me fuzzy headed during the day and then waking up at 3.30 am. Maybe the jet lag explains at least partially explains why I am thinking about amusing towns to live in. It all started when I read an article in The New York Times about embarassing English towns to live in such as Crapstone, North Piddle and Crotch Crescent. But rather than just embarassing names, I’ve been thinking about funny names. In Australia, I love the sound of Wagga Wagga – a city in New South Wales which is otherwise known as just Wagga to locals. The name is aboriginal and means place of many crows. Another New South Wales town that I find entertaining is Broken Hill. How does a hill get broken anyway?

Here in Sweden, my favorite Stockholm suburb name is Aspudden. I think it sounds kinda cute and kinda perverse all at once. And in the US, you just can’t beat the towns of Rabbit Hash, Big Bone Lick and Beaver Lick for a bit of humor, all of which are located in Kentucky. But there are always places to live in that are far worse: I can’t imagine having to tell people that I live in Penistone, England, for instance. Now that would be embarassing.

{ 2 comments }

1 Michelle March 11, 2009 at 20:27

I love this! In Iowa, there’s a tiny little town called “What Cheer,” and I’ve always thought that would be a grand return address. They even have an opera house.

2 Susan March 15, 2009 at 22:39

intercourse, pa, anyone?

i’ve always felt sorry for the inhabitants of scaggsville, md.

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