Selection of a hotel, restaurant or even city name can be a stressful process, especially if you’re not particularly creative or inspired. After mocking some of the worst hotel names, we now point an accusatorial finger at the most mystifying city, town and village names. Clearly, the common thread with this top 10 list is, “what were they thinking?”
10. Peck, USA – Located in Sanilac County, Michigan, Peck is a small village of around 600 people, arguably referred to as peckers. Peck is rather small, having a total surface of 1.0 square miles (2.6 km²). As with other towns or villages included in the list, not many facts are known, apart from the number of inhabitants. [on Google maps]
9. Phuket Province, Thailand – Located in the Andaman Sea, Phuket is a southern province of Thailand and also the country’s biggest island. The name is derived from the word bukit, which means mountain or hill. Tourists flock to the myriad beaches - save for in tsunami season - while nightlife enthusiasts and shoppers crowd Patong. [on Google maps]
8. Climax Springs, USA – Although the name sounds appealing, it only refers to a small village of around 80 people in Camden County, Missouri. Don’t start packing yet because the city doesn’t actually have springs per se. Small and devoid of attractions, you may want to ignore the allure of the place name - as seductive as it is, and visit nearby St. Louis instead. [on Google maps]
7. Condom, France – Also known as Condom-en-Armagnac, Condom is located on the Via Podiensis and home to two castles that date back to the 13th century – the Château de Mothes and the Château de Pouypardin. Other than the castles and odd name, the town is known for the production of Armagnac brandy. [on Google maps]
6. Dix Hills, USA – Located in Suffolk County, New York, Dix Hills is often described as one of the nicest communities on Long Island. Most of its allure is derived from the fact that it was home to American jazz musician John Coltrane during the last years of his life. Here, Coltrane wrote several pieces, including one of his greatest: “A Life Supreme”. [on Google maps]
5. Owanka, USA – Even though the city is not tracked by the American Census bureau, Owanka has been assigned a zip code (oh, the irony). Owanka is an unincorporated community in the Pennington County of South Dakota. [on Google maps]
4. Placentia, Canada – Located on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, the town of Placentia is home to several communities that amount to around 3,900 inhabitants. Sadly, the population is in rapid decline. In fact, only one other town in Canada shrinks at a faster rate that Placentia. Famous Placentians include commentator/journalist Rex Murphy and wrestler Alastair Ralphs. [on Google maps]
3. Shag Point, USA – This is a point on the north coast of South Georgia, between Camp Bay and Sunset Fjord in the Bay of Isles. The name was chosen by the wacky British, with first use on a 1931 chart. [on Google maps]
2. Pussy, France – The small French village of Pussy is located in the community of La Léchère. The village’s name comes from the Gallo-Roman name Pusiacum - pusus actually means little boy. It lies on the river Isère offering magnificent views of the Mont Bellachat. [on Google maps]
1. Fucking, Austria – The number one puzzling town name is in western Upper Austria. Fucking has been around since 1070, named apparently after a legendary 6th century character “Focko”. Translated, the name of the town simply signifies “(place of) Focko’s people.” [on Google maps]
If you want to imagine how a tourist in search of Fucking proceeds, check out this enlightening video.
photo sources: Wikimedia Commons
HotelClub Travel Blog is where the weird, the wacky and the wonderful world of travel comes together. You will find posts on green/environmentally friendly travel ideas, interesting and obscure destinations and hotels as well as posts about the cultural side of travel. We also feature 
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Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada should be on the list over Placentia I think…
Conception Bay, Newfoundland, Canada also works.
And the great irony: originally a french settled community- Baie d’Espoir, bay of hope, is now pronounced by the anglicized- Bay Despair…
You missed Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dildo,_Newfoundland_and_Labrador
There is also a Placentia CA : http://maps.google.com/maps?q=placentia+ca
John Coltrane wrote “A Love Supreme,” not “A Life Supreme.”
Sorry, but this is one of the lamest posts I’ve seen in a long time.
What, no Intercourse, PA?
Amusing. ;D At least part of the answer to “What were they thinking?” is explained within the article, and another part is, “They were thinking in different languages!”
Another funny thing: saying “Fuck thong” is similar to the Thai word for “pumpkin”. And Thailand has a lot of obscene-sounding place names, like “Bum Chit” and “Thong Lo”.
“Phuket” is actually said more like “Puke it” than “Fuck it”. My Mom’s name is “Phornphen” and it’s pronounced like “Porn Pen”. OK, there’s an extra laugh for you! =)
Why is Peck on that list? That doesn’t seem nearly as strange as say Dildo, Newfoundland or numerous other examples…
While travelling through Iceland, we came across this little beauty:
http://tinyurl.com/628bbw
Probably pronounced in some Swedish Cook accent
You forgot Hell in Norway!
Phuket is only odd in English….. it’s not odd in thai.
Or Twatt, which is the name of two towns in the Shetlands and Orkneys, which leads to a claim that the only twat(t)s in the UK are Scottish.
Oh that’s nothing.
In Turkey there’s a city called BATMAN!
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100678775636984531258.00000113483577724a7b7&ll=37.882712,41.123543&spn=0.160145,0.239639&t=h&source=embed
The town of Tweebuffelsmeteenskootfontein in South Africa can literally be translated to: The Town Of Two Buffalo With One Shot.
What about Weed, California?
Yeah I was thinking the same thing, Dildo Newfoundland was not represented in this list.
And in Norway you could always go to Hell (http://tinyurl.com/6bbp2f)
why not mention Bald Knob, Arkansas
or Knob Lick, Mo?
Oooh, some place names in local languages other than English have risque meanings in English, and then it’s supposed to be funny that the locals still used these names - how Anglo-centric can you be?
In reference to John Coltrane, wouldn’t that be “A Love Supreme”?
What about Petting in Austria? And Kissing in Austria? not too far from Fucking, I hear.
I really think the list should include Boring, Oregon and Panic, Pennsylvania. And since you’re jumping language borders for an easy ride, there are places called Kissing and Petting in Bavaria, and a part of Berlin is called Wedding.
What you have there are mildly odd names, but the oddest? I beg to differ.
How about Intercourse, AL?
Coxsackie, NY
You need to include Bar (Yugoslavia), Batman (Turkey) or Casino (Australia)
oh my god .. what a town in Austria..the video from Youtube is funnyyyyyyyyyyyy:-)
i really dont see whats so funny about placentia, which was a french settlement…there are far worse names for towns than that