Fancy going to Hell or Satan’s Kingdom? Or maybe you want to visit somewhere a bit nicer - like Candy Kitchen or Santa Claus? Unless of course, you’re in the mood for Intercourse or Climax? There are also some hilarious old legends, misunderstandings, and tourist attractions that make this list of the funniest town names in the US a must-read before planning your next road trip.
You Can Visit SCREAMER in Alabama
Well, we suppose you could technically visit Screamer but it got its name for a reason, and it's one that will probably make you want to stay away. This unincorporated community in Alabama is so-called because of the frequent screaming sounds that can be heard across the town by the many local
animals who would in fact make you scream if you saw them. These include bears, wild cats, and panthers … Although there is also a legend that the name may have come from a tradition in the 19th century set by the Native American inhabitants who would heckle (or “scream”) at white train travelers as they passed by.
You Can Visit UNALASKA in Alaska
If you want to be confused about where you are going then why not try visiting Unalaska in Alaska - presumably the least Alaskan place in the State? With over 4500 ‘Unaskalan’ residents, this oddly named city is in fact the biggest in the Aleutian Islands and the reason behind its unfortunate name
is in fact just a poor translation error. Turns out that it was originally named Agunalaksh which means “near the peninsula” which seems sensible enough. But then when the town inherited a Russian population from the fur trade the spelling slowly changed from Ounalashka to Unalaska - and apparently, no one thought to point out how strange this might sound.
You Can Visit WHY in Arizona
Why anyone visits the town of Why we are not sure, as it seems the highlight of this community is the Y-shaped intersection of the two highways it boasts … not exactly the most exciting tourist attraction. But it turns out that that Highway is quite literally the reason behind its name.
Apparently, it's such a big deal that they wanted to name the city “Y” in its honor. However, in accordance with Arizona law, places must have a name with a minimum of three letters - and so it became Why. Why they love this intersection so much, however, we don't know.
You Can Visit ROUGH AND READY in California
No, this unfortunate name is not a dig at the town's inhabitants - but rather a nod to the rough and ready attitude of the ancestors who fought for their rights. This tiny town was once in fact a mining town (that was named after the mining company Rough and Ready).
And they became famed for being the first town to ever leave the US in order to become their own tiny republic. Unfortunately, they only lasted three months before having to rejoin the US but they’re still pretty proud of the efforts they made and even have a dedicated day when they celebrate it each year.
You Can Visit NO NAME in Colorado
This has to be one of the least inventive names we have ever seen. Apparently, with less than 200 No-Namers in the town, it wasn't top of the officials' list to name it and so when an Exit was opened in the area, they just put up a temporary sign saying “No Name”.
And by the time they got around to changing it, the locals were already so attached that they asked for it to stay - along with their No Name tunnels, Creeks, and Hiking Trails. Let's hope no one gets lost on those trails as it may be a little hard to explain where they are to the rescue team …
You Can Visit HAZARDVILLE in Connecticut
Although this sounds like the name of a fictional town in a show like the Simpsons or South Park, it's actually a legitimate place in Connecticut that was in fact once pretty damn hazardous. Back in the 19th century this comically named village was known for making gunpowder -
so essential it was a hazard just to live there. Bizarrely, however, this isn't how the town got its name, as it was, in fact, named after a man who bought the place in 1837 and just so happened to be called Colonel Augustus George Hazard. Talk about an appropriate namesake!
You Can Visit TWO EGG in Florida
Two Egg in Florida is not so named because of its famous breakfasts. The story behind the name in fact goes back to the '30s when a couple of youngsters traded two eggs for some sugar at the local shop - as it was the Great Depression and they didn't have enough money.
The shop then became known for allowing such transactions (which were much needed at the time) and got the name “Two Egg Store”. This store then became so popular that traveling salesmen who visited passed it on to other towns and eventually it became official. We wonder how good the eggs there actually are though ...
You Can Visit CLIMAX in Georgia
Despite this probably being one of the funniest town names on our list - the reason behind it really is rather dull. The small town, with just around 300 inhabitants in Decatur County, Georgia, is located at the highest point on the railroad between Savannah and the Chattahoochee River.
And that's it. Back when it was founded in the 1800s, climax simply meant ‘the highest point’ - and didn't necessarily have any sexual connotations. We are pretty confident that people are scheduling dirty weekends away there now though.
You Can Visit VOLCANO in Hawaii
It’s true that you can visit a town called Volcano but it may not be the best idea to do so - because, just as the name implies, this town is home to many volcanoes. Near Hilo, in Hawaii, this small town sits opposite an array of volcano spots,
and despite being seemingly quite an off-putting factor - they have managed to make it work to their advantage. You can see the place where the Kilauea Iki volcano erupted in 1959, go on volcano hiking trails, visit a volcano national park, and even have a coffee at the Lava Rock Café. Now, that’s what we call good marketing.
You Can Visit SLICKPOO in Idaho
There's not much of a story to this one but it’s such a funny name that we couldn’t leave it out. Slickpoo is so small that it's more of a large village than it is a town. It sits near Culdesac in Idaho and back in the day a man called Josiah Slickpoo
decided to gift the land to a Catholic mission. Being the good Christian folk that they were, as a thank you, they then decided to name the town after him. We're not sure how kind this was to its residents though.
You Can Visit SANDWICH in Illinois (and New Hampshire)
If you are a big fan of sandwiches then you made have already heard of the town in Illinois - as it definitely capitalizes on its name. Apparently, it was once called Almon, after the man who founded it in 1855 but was then renamed by a train stop liaison who
was from Sandwich, New Hampshire (we guess he was feeling homesick?) which got its name from The Fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montague, who is famed for literally inventing the sandwich. Now they use their unique name to attract hoards of visitors each year for the annual Sandwich Festival.
You Can Visit SANTA CLAUS in Indiana
We don't mean that you can actually find Father Christmas in Indiana (it's not his secret holiday spot from the North Pole) - but rather you can find a town there that was sort of accidentally named after him. Apparently, they were originally called Santa Fe but when they went to make the
name official in 1896 they found that the now popular city in New Mexico had already secured it - so they plumped for Santa Claus as an alternate. For some reason, it didn't occur to them that hundreds of kids would then start mailing them wish lists, and got quite a shock when it became an annual tradition.
You Can Visit GAS in Kansas
Gas has a pretty solid claim to fame. Despite only being a small town with just over 500 inhabitants, it was in fact the place where natural gas was first discovered. The discovery happened back in 1898 by a lucky farmer called E.K. Taylor who immediately found his fortune and sold his land.
60 acres went to industrial interests whilst the rest was dedicated to Gas itself - hence the name. But of course, it is now best known for people who pass by and make the joke, ‘“Did you just pass gas?”. Well, they were kind of asking for it with that name.
You Can Visit BUGTUSSLE in Kentucky
If you find the name Bugtussle or the thought of tussling with bugs off-putting - then we highly recommend staying away from this little town on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. The town is famed for having an extraordinarily large bug population and residents still living there today remember
a time when farmers used to have to literally ‘tussle’ with the bugs because they were so huge. And apparently, the hay during harvest used to be infested with doodlebugs that were so big that they quite literally took over the town name. Probably not the best story to tell visitors ...
You Can Visit UNEEDUS and WENEEDU in Louisiana
You may think that text language came about in the 21st century but apparently, they were using it way back in the ‘20s too - as we can see from the names of these towns in Louisiana. The story goes that Uneedus was formally in a settlement of model farms that were
established by The Lake Superior Piling Company whose slogan was “You Need Us”. Wanting to make sure their slogan was known everywhere, they changed it to "Uneedus" and managed to make it the town name. Residents nearby clearly agreed as they then named their farm community ‘WE-NEED-YOU” - so they must be good neighbors!
You Can Visit BORING in Maryland
We really feel sorry for whoever is on the tourist board of this town - imagine trying to make a place like Boring sound, well, interesting? But that’s the challenge these guys have in the unincorporated community of Baltimore County, Maryland.
With just about 40 homes this small town got its name from the first postmaster of the community, Mr. David J Boring - and surprisingly the residents actually voted for the name when asked to change it from Fairview due to duplicates. So you can now go there and visit a really boring church, museum, and town hall.
You Can Visit HELL in Michigan
We’d say the one place that most people absolutely never want to go to is Hell - so we feel sorry for the 72 people who live here. As with many of these bizarre names, the origin is folklore - but as far as we can work out a suspicious man called George Reeves
settled there in the 1830s and kept trying to trade his own homemade whiskey for the farmer's homegrown grain - much to the farmer's wive's dismay. Apparently as a result they kept saying of their husbands, “He’s gone to hell again” - and this became so popular that the whole town was soon known as it.
You Can Visit NIMROD in Minnesota
This one really isn't the resident's fault - because unfortunately for them, the meaning of nimrod actually changed after they christened their town. Originally it was known in the Bible (specifically the book of Genesis) as someone who was a mighty hunter - so it seemed like a pretty solid name for the place.
Unfortunately, the word later took on a more comical meaning by which point it was too late to change it. However, of the 69 Nimrods currently living there, one of them is the former pro baseball player Dick Stigman, who is famed for having played in teams like the Minnesota Twins. So he doesn’t sound like a nimrod to us!
You Can Visit HOT COFFEE in Mississippi
If you want a sip of hot coffee in Mississippi then look no further than Hot Coffee itself. Located right in between Natchez, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama, back in the day, Hot Coffee was the prime destination to grab a coffee and stock up on supplies when traveling between cities. For this reason,
L.N. Davis decided to build a coffee spot, outside which he hung a sign that read “the best hot coffee around”. Eventually, his brew became so famous that the town was named after it. And whilst his shop no longer exists we can guarantee the place is still full of coffee spots should you wish to visit.
You Can Visit TIGHTWAD in Missouri
Amazingly this isn't a case of a town being named after someone with an unfortunate name - as it was literally named after someone who was being a tightwad! Legend has it that a postmaster was promised a melon from a local farmer but then he sold it to someone else instead
for an extra 50 cents. The postmaster was then so outraged that he named the whole town Tightwad! It seems pretty farfetched but either way, it has (quite literally) paid off as people keep opening bank accounts there just so they can write checks from “Tightwad”!
You Can Visit MAGNET in Nebraska
Mr. B.E. Smith, a settler from 1893, founded this little town in Northeast Nebraska and was determined to find a name that would - quite literally - attract people to come and live there. And so he named it Magnet - what could go wrong?
Sadly, however, it seems the place needed more than just an attractive name to pull in the residents and to this day there are still only about 75 people living there. Maybe it doesn't have quite a big enough magnetic field …
You Can Visit JIGGS in Nevada
You may or may not have heard of the once popular kid’s comic Bringing Up Father (we’re going back to before the ‘20s here so you could be forgiven for not knowing). Anyway, it was super popular at the time, and Jiggs was the name of the main character. So when local businessman
Albert Hankins, who ruled the town, was put in charge of finding a new name - it was this comic that gave him the inspiration. Apparently, it was his kid's favorite, and it ended up being a hit with the town too. The local women's group even named themself Maggie's Club after Jigg’s wife in the show!
You Can Visit LOVELADIES in New Jersey
We’d love to tell you a story about how the people of New Jersey love their ladies - or how it was founded by a group of lovely ladies. Sadly, however, this is just the surname of Thomas Lovelady who owned an island nearby.
Loveladies started out as a life-saving station in the 1870s on the Jersey Shoreback and once it grew into a town they decided to name it after Thomas. We like to hope they’re also big fans of their female inhabitants though.
You Can Visit CANDY KITCHEN and PIE TOWN in New Mexico
If you have a sweet tooth then New Mexico is the place to go. After hitting Pie Town you can travel around 85 miles to Candy Kitchen, between the Zuni and Navajo reservations in Western New Mexico,
where we are sure there are many sweet shops capitalizing on the name. Apparently, however, it first came about as a cover-up. During prohibition, a local moonshine maker needed sugar for his liquor and so opened a Nut Candy side hustle as a front for his illegal alcohol dealings. Pretty 'sweet' idea!
You Can Visit NEVERSINK in New York
This name is pretty ironic because the town is technically sunk 175ft below water. As history tells it, there were a bunch of towns (including the also rather ironically named Bittersweet) along the Neversink River that were flooded and made into reservoirs during the ‘50s
in order to provide water for the Big Apple - and Neversink, formerly known as Main Street, was one of them. When they were then forced to relocate they decided to name their town after the longest tributary of the Delaware River - maybe in the hope that by being called Neversink they actually never would sink again. Here's hoping.
You Can Visit WHYNOT Town in North Carolina
If you're not sure where to take your next holiday, then why not visit Whynot town in North Carolina? You might wonder how a town got such a name, and as with most of the ones on this list, the story is a little ambiguous - but apparently, in the end,
it came down to a heated debate in 1860 when the Post Office insisted the place be officially named. With many suggestions starting with “Why not name it …” in the end, someone suggested just naming it “Why Not” and it stuck! It does sound a little far-fetched but in the spirit of the town, why not believe the story?
You Can Visit CANNONBALL in North Dakota
You'd be forgiven for assuming this town in North Dakota was where canon balls were invented - or maybe there was some sort of incident with a cannonball that made the place stand out. But no, in fact, this town is actually covered in what appear to be tiny cannon balls. It happened
due to a host of natural geological curiosities (officially known as concretions). In lamens terms, this means that literally millions of years ago all of the plants and shells in the area were covered in sediment - which made everything it touched appear like a perfectly round cannonball! Pretty incredible to see and understandable worthy enough to name the place.
You Can Visit KNOCKEMSTIFF in Ohio
Kockemstiff is now a pretty well-known place - and not just because of its hilarious name. According to town legend, it is so-called because a pastor once advised the wife of an adulterer to “Knock ‘em stiff”. All other theories include people drinking too much moonshine so we're not sure which is true.
We do know however know that the author Donald Ray Pollock grew up there and published a book with the same name. Composed of 18 short stories, it’s about life in the Midwest and one of them was even made into a film called The Devil All the Time - some of which was filmed in Konckemstiff itself.
You Can Visit GENE AUTRY in Oklahoma
Formerly known as Berwyn, this small town in the Windy City only has around 200 inhabitants, so it's no surprise that when a star decided to buy a ranch and build a rodeo there - they got a bit overexcited and renamed the whole place after him! The celebrity in question was (obviously)
Gene Autry, who was an actor, musician, and rodeo performer commonly known as the Singing Cowboy. The town was so honored that he decided to open his Flying a Ranch Rodeo there, that they changed their name in his honor. And to this day there is a museum and even an annual film festival to remember the legend and namesake.
You Can Visit ZIGZAG in Oregon
It's not just Zigzag town that you can visit in Oregon. Located right in the heart of Mount Hood National Forest, you can also visit Zigzag River, Zigzag Glacier, Zigzag Canyon - and even a volcanic mountain named … you guessed it, Zigzag. And whilst it's a little unclear, the name is believed to
have come from a man called Joel Palmer who acted as a pioneer for the area and wrote a guide to descending a tricky ravine in the territory in which he included the word "zigzag" many times. And clearly, it had an impact as soon after the town's name was set.
You Can Visit INTERCOURSE (and BLUE BALL) in Pennsylvania
The amusing name for the town Intercourse was actually given after the meaning of the word changed. Originally, intercourse simply meant a “connection or dealing between persons or groups” or an “exchange, especially of thoughts or feelings” which is in theory a rather nice name for a little Pennsylvanian village.
Unfortunately for them, however, it took on a sexual meaning in the late 18th century. They don't mind though and even say on their website “We’re happy with our name. It’s the perfect conversation starter.” And to be fair, they're not wrong. It's also not far from the town Blue Ball - which could spark even more conversation ...
You Can Visit KETCHUPTOWN in South Carolina
If you're a big fan of ketchup then we’re afraid you’re going to be disappointed. Despite how it may sound, this town has nothing to do with tomato sauce and was actually originally supposed to be called Catch Up Town but somewhere down the line, it seems the name got a bit muddled.
The story goes that the town is so-called because of a store that was opened in the heart of the town in 1927 by a man called Herbert Small. The place became known as the hub for people to “catch up” on news and gossip - and as such, the town ended up being named after it.
You Can Visit MAD BUTTE in South Dakota
This funny town actually got its name from a Butte located close by. Now a Butte for those of you (who also) didn't know is a steep hill with a flat top. But where does the mad come from? Well, that was probably in reference to a local rancher who
used to live nearby and would often throw what he thought were rocks off of the butte. Finally one day he realized these odd objects may be something a bit more significant and called a local museum that, in 1981, discovered that they were, in fact, the remains of one of the only Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever discovered. Mad indeed!
You Can Visit DIFFICULT in Tennessee
It's difficult to determine why exactly this Tennesse town is called Difficult as there as two different stories. One implies it was out of spite and one out of confusion - but both originate from an order received from the U.S. Postal Service saying that, in order for the town to get a
post office they had to change their name as it was too “difficult”. Some believe the town then took the name Difficult in order to show the Post Office what for - while others believe they just got confused and took the word “difficult” to be some sort of order. Either way, as we said - it's difficult to know. ...
You Can Visit DING DONG in Texas
Ding Dong is one of the tiniest towns on this list with only 22 residents, and it was named after the founders of the community, the Bell Family. And presumably, the reason that they didn't directly name it Bell Town was that Ding Dong also happens to be in Bell County -
which incidentally also happens to be named after its founder, Governor Peter Hansborough Bell. Bizarrely, however, the two bells are entirely unrelated and it's just a whole lot of coincidence that gives this part of Texas its musical ring!
You Can Visit MEXICAN HAT in Utah
Mexican Hat has a population of just 31 - although they don't actually live in the hat. The famously dry, desert landscape lends to some odd-rock formations and one of them is the 60-foot structure that can be found here in the shape of a … you guessed it, Mexican hat.
Mexican Hat is located on the San Juan River and understanding the selling point of it, the tiny town has made it quite the tourist attraction. Many people stop by on their way to different places to take a picture and others take advantage of the two climbing routes that have been made to the top of the 'hat'.
You Can Visit SATANS KINGDOM in Vermont
In fact, it's not just in Vermont where satan chooses to holiday when in the US - it's also Massachusetts and Connecticut. And apparently, the reason for these rather grimly named towns is that the first settlers were less than pleased when they discovered the land to be
far less fertile than they had hoped. One of the settlers of the New England hellish franchise once even said, we “expected fertile, rolling acres and had received rocks and hills instead.” And apparently, in New England - rocks and hills translate to Satan's Kingdom.
You Can Visit HUMPTULIPS in Washington
We're not sure if you can even find any tulips in this former logging center - but the flower wasn't actually the inspiration behind the town’s name. In fact, Humptulips is the Native American word for “hard to pole”, so named as the Humptulips River is indeed hard to canoe down with poles,
as the Native Americans found out whenever they would try. And now, both the name and its origin have brought the town enough notoriety to get a mention in such books as Another Popular Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins and The Long World by Sir Terry Pratchett - which has brought this tiny little place some much-needed tourism.
You Can Visit BOSSTOWN in Wisconsin
Bosstown sounds like a pretty cool place to live - waking up every day and feeling like a boss has to be fun. And it was indeed named after “The Boss” - but no we're not talking about Bruce Springsteen. This is rather the far lesser-known boss of Richland County in Wisconsin, Henry Dosch.
Wisconsin legend has it that Dosch was very bossy. from when he was a child and when he set up his own store and livestock business he became the boss of the town too. Presumably then, as the boss, he had some influence over the naming of the town - and that’s how Bosstown was born!
You Can Visit CHUGWATER in Wyoming
You might think Chugwater would be the perfect place to quench your thirst but actually, the ‘Chug’ here is a reference to ‘a chug’ - which is actually "the noise that the buffalo ... made when it hit the ground or fell into the water" (don't worry we didn't know that either).
Apparently, this area once belonged to the Mandan tribe who would hunt buffalo and found the easiest way to kill them was to lead them off the edge of the chalk cliffs and into the water. As such it became known as "water at the place where the buffalo chug", then "Chugwater Creek", and then finally just "Chugwater".
If you thought only ambiance, quality food, and service lured customers to a restaurant, think again; a well-thought-out signboard can be a game-changer. We have found some hilarious restaurant signs that make for a good marketing strategy. A few are so clever, thought-provoking, and funny that anyone would be compelled to visit the restaurant for a hearty meal. From cheeky one-liners to outrageous dad jokes, we've listed them out.
Win a Free Meal on a Double Dare
Some restaurants leave you speechless with their creativity. We are not speaking of cleverly thought-out fusion food or the innovative decor of the place. Instead, the offers to get more customers into the diner are so irresistible that we have no choice but to try out their food.
Here is a fascinating signboard that dares you to walk in with a girlfriend and get five percent off or bring your wife to enjoy their 10 percent discount offer. Better yet, accept their cheeky challenge of visiting with both of them, and win a free meal for all three. Now, that’s a dare not many would accept, not even for free food.
Loving You More With Drinks
When you are walking down the street with your beloved, wondering what more you can do to show how much you adore them, this restaurant sign comes into view telling you to buy extra rounds of drinks to prove your love for them. Anyone in love would take the bait and do exactly as the message reads.
Physical touch, loving words, quality time, receiving gifts, and acts of service; looks like this restaurateur believes in Dr. Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages, and, in one swell swoop, the message on his signboard checked a few of these. What a clever way to bring in paying customers!
A Place to Quench Your Thirst
No one does it like McDonald's; you can get a good hearty meal for a steal. What's more, this one throws in an any-sized drink at only a dollar apiece. Even a 50-foot drink would cost you only $1! If that isn't a tempting invitation to visit the restaurant and eat to your heart's content, we don't know what else is.
As far as memorable signboards go, this one is for the books. We bet the message gathered a lot of happy customers, and the restaurant staff was busy but thrilled to have the place bustling with people ordering meals and drinks with gay abandon. The management must have loved the trooping in and the cash that came with it.
Get Out After a Quick Meal
It's common for people to go to restaurants to catch up with family and friends over a leisurely meal. If that's your purpose, better skip this one that asks customers to get out as soon as they finish eating. Even though the message sounds rude, we cannot help but appreciate their honesty.
Bob's Grill's straight-shooting signboard was not one for mincing words. They mean business. Faster turnaround of paying clients means more income, and which establishment wouldn't like to secure their bottom lines? We have to go out on a limb and presume they don't charge as much as the restaurants where you can spend quality time enjoying dinner with your mates.