Crazy Names of American Towns: A Tour of America's Strangest (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798276236889)

There are many reasons to travel: adventure, escape, curiosity, the eternal hope of finding a gas station with clean restrooms. But the real reason-the one we rarely admit-is that the world is funnier than we expect. Every map is a comedy waiting to happen, and America, to its great credit, never disappoints.

The United States contains mountains, oceans, deserts, prairies, and ice fields larger than entire countries. But hidden among their glorious expanses are smaller wonders: towns named by tired settlers, bored surveyors, mischievous postmasters, and the occasional committee that really should have gone home for the night. These names survived wars, floods, economic collapses, pandemics, zoning laws, and three centuries of schoolchildren laughing at them. They are immortal not because they are dignified, but because they are unforgettable.

Some places are named for features-Big Ugly, Dead Man's Flats, Slaughter Beach-suggesting the land itself was composing horror stories. Others reflect moods: Embarrass, Boring, Carefree, Accident, Hazardville. And the rest? Well, when you reach towns like Intercourse, Dildo, Climax, and Ding Dong, you realize the naming committees may have been drinking stronger coffee than they admitted.