Strange and Unusual Place Names Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. While Biblical scholars continue to debate the exact location of the Garden of Eden, where would you find a town that has already staked its claim to this title?

Answer: Nova Scotia, Canada

The Garden of Eden is located on the Moose River in northern Nova Scotia. It was named by William MacDonald, a Scotsman who was among the first to discover the place in 1830 and was awestruck by its natural beauty. Since MacDonald was the first man to settle there, he was known as "Adam of the Garden". Two other places in the locality, Mount Adam and Eden Lake, are assumed to have derived their names similarly.

This question was written by zorba_scank.

2. In 1950, a town in New Mexico changed its name. A famous radio game show promised a personal appearance by the host and a big annual party to the first U.S. town to rename itself. Hot Springs was the winner. By what modern name is Hot Springs known?

Answer: Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

The city, referred to as "T and C" locally, is a tourist attraction as well as a retirement area. Airplanes land at Truth or Consequences Municipal Airport. Host Ralph Edwards continued to come to the town in May for fifty years, to attend a celebration in the town's honor. The event is held every year, including a dance in Ralph Edwards Park, a parade and a beauty contest.

This question was written by robbieh.

3. Miss Universe 1990 could literally be described as "The Beauty Queen from Hell". In what European country was her strangely-named home village?

Answer: Norway

Hell is a Norwegian village, situated just to the south of Trondheim. Its name translates to "success" in English. (Dictionary.com translator)

Mona Grudt was born in (or near) Hell. In 1990, representing Norway, she won the Miss Universe title, the first Norwegian to do so. She was also the last Miss Universe to accompany Bob Hope on a USO tour.

This question was written by auntie1.

4. A community near Portland, Oregon has a rather interesting name. The slogan used by its Community Planning Organization is "the most exciting place to live". What is its name?

Answer: Boring

Boring was named in honor of W.H. Boring. It is found in in Clackamas County, Oregon. According to Wikipedia, "The name 'Boring' is embraced by locals...and found in many local businesses, resulting in many road signs that seem humorous to outsiders".

(Source: Wikipedia, 2010)

This question was written by nilesh_asher.

5. If your neck of the woods looked like the head of a monkey on a map, and your very small town could pass for its eyebrow, what would you call it? Monkey's Eyebrow, of course. Monkey's Eyebrow is located in the U.S. state which has given us George Clooney, Muhammad Ali and Abraham Lincoln. Which state is home to Monkey's Eyebrow?

Answer: Kentucky

Many famous folks have come from the beautiful state of Kentucky, home of bluegrass music, the Cumberland Gap, the Colonel's fried chicken, and some very beautiful scenery.

Monkey's Eyebrow doesn't always show up on state maps, but it's there all right, not far from Paducah on Route 473. There was even a Monkey's Eyebrow website run by a fellow named Joe Culver, with some stories about the area and some recipes passed down from his grandmother.

This question was written by robbieh.

6. Why is it so tough to name a place, you ask? The people of this quaint little town in USA decided to name their town exactly that--"Why"--because it stood at an intersection of two state highways. Where in the US would you come across Why?

Answer: Arizona

Why is a small rural community in Pima County, Arizona. Apparently two major highways, State Routes 85 and 86, originally intersected in a Y-intersection at this place. The town founders named it Why, instead of just calling it "Y" as they wanted to, because the state laws demanded a place name of at least three letters!

This question was written by srini701.

7. There are a lot of places with strange and unusual names, but a town with an exclamation mark? Saint-Louis-Du-Ha! Ha! is probably the only town in the world with not one, but two, exclamation marks in its name! In which country would you come across this funny-sounding town?

Answer: Canada

Saint-Louis-Du-Ha! Ha! is a small town in Quebec, Canada. Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! is so-named because "le haha" in archaic French meant 'an impasse' or 'obstacle'. Apparently, there was just such an unexpected obstacle blocking a waterway near the site of this future town. The exclamation marks were later added colloquially by some happy souls who certainly were not too worried about punctuation--and the name stuck.

This question was written by srini701.

8. The name of this little place reminds me of a punishment my mother might have inflicted with her wooden spoon. What is it?

Answer: Nether Wallop

A cluster of villages extends along the Wallop Brook, a tributary of The Test River in Hampshire, England. Known collectively as "The Wallops", they are respectively Over, Middle and Nether Wallop. The earliest cricket bats are said to have been made from the willow trees which overhang the Brook. Nether Wallop has been used by the BBC as a film setting for St. Mary Mead, the home of Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple.

Just for the record; I received very few "nether wallops" from Mother's wooden spoon, but I probably deserved them all!

This question was written by auntie1.

9. In 1953, the borough of Mauch Chunk in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, USA adopted the name of an Olympic medal winning athlete to cash in on his popularity. Which versatile athlete, born in Oklahoma, did the town take its name from?

Answer: Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe won Olympic gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon apart from playing professional baseball, basketball and American football. The borough bought his remains from his third wife after his death in 1953.

The borough was also the location of the first roller coaster in the USA - the Mauch Chunk Switchback Gravity Railroad. Other monikers given to the town include "Gateway to the Poconos" and "Switzerland of America".

The town of Ismay in Montana unofficially adopted the name 'Joe, Montana' as a publicity stunt in 1993.

This question was written by zorba_scank.

10. Just when one thought names of places couldn't get any stranger, one comes across this weird town name. Now, where in the USA is a place called "Who'd Thought It"?

Answer: Texas

I am not sure you will find Who'd Thought It on a map! According to the Handbook of Texas Online, Who'd Thought It was a farming community in northern Hopkins County east of Tira and just north of Sand Hill off Farm Road 1536. It is not known how the town acquired its unusual name, but there once were two stores and a number of scattered houses in Who'd Thought It. By the 1980s, the town apparently became a ghost town and no population estimates exist.

This question was written by srini701.

Source: Author zorba_scank

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

A chain game on the team message board led the Indian Gang to discover places with interesting names. Come and take a trip with us across the globe.

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