Weird Town Names and Origins (II)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Chicken, Alaska, USA
This town was named after the state bird, Ptarmigan, which closely resembles a chicken. Since the name Ptarmigan was too hard to spell, and the residents did not want the town to be the subject of ridicule they decided to simply call the town…

… Chicken.
Awwwww the irony of it all.

Crackpot, England
In 1298, this town was originally called Crakepot. The name originates from the old English word "Kraka", a crow and a Viking word "Pot". A ‘pot’ was usually a cavity or deep hole.

Crotch Lake, Ontario, Canada
Crotch Lake is located in the Canadian province of Ontario. The name at first can lead to wild thoughts on the origin. However, if you see the lake from a plane in the air, you will see a sharp curve in the middle of the lake making it look like two legs

Cut and Shoot, Texas, USA
This Texas town was named after a community confrontation that almost led to violence in 1912. There are numerous versions of the story on whether it was a dispute over land claims, design of a new steeple for the town church or who should be allowed to preach at the church. A boy at the scene of the dispute reportedly declared…

… "I'm going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!"
This apparently remained in residents' minds and was eventually adopted as the town's name.

Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada
This town’s name definitely raises a few eyebrows when people first hear it. No, it is not the Hollywood of the adult movie industry, nor is it a town of perverts. Although residents of the town have tried to have the name changed, it has been to no avail. The origin of the name comes from two possible sources that I could find: 1. It is thought the name came from a place in Portugal/Spain or, 2. It comes from the shape of the headland that forms Dildo harbour.
What?
Did you actually thing I would include a picture for this city!