Scatological Friday

The New York Times has an article about British place-names. They're often from dialects or languages no longer spoken, and in modern speech sound kinda rude. The NYT gets a giggle out of it.

No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else




Growing up in northern England, I found places like Penistone and Wetwang to be perfectly normal.

The NYT don't mention that the U.S., which doesn't have the excuse of obsolete words in its place names, has a few of its own. Pennsylvania alone has Beaverdale, Bird-in-Hand, Blue Ball, Intercourse and Stalker.

Also, in the Fisting the Night Away stakes, we have Fox News explaining what Barack Obama and the First Lady get up to when they're alone.