You can’t make fun of a person for their name. After all, they didn’t have any input on whatever awkward combination of names their parents decided to give them. Places, however, are fair game. If you’ve ever taken a good look at a state map, you may have noticed some rather strange city names. Just be glad you don’t live in Ross County, Ohio, where you could go fishing in the Pee Pee Creek. Here are some of the strangest town names in the country.
BACON LEVEL, ALABAMA: This tiny community sounds delicious, and it seems safe to assume that the bacon level is sufficient. According to local tradition, the town name stems from a time in the 1800s when outlaws were active in the area where the terrain levels out. That’s where the crooks got their bacon by robbing traveling pioneers — hence, Bacon Level.
DING DONG, TEXAS: Ding Dong is an unincorporated community pretty much in the middle of Texas. It got its name from the uncle-nephew duo of Zulius and Bert Bell, who opened a country store in the area in the early 1930s. In addition to symbols of bells, their store sign contained the words “Ding Dong,” and the growing community decided to take that as its name.
ACCIDENT, MARYLAND: Accident got its name in the 1700s, when two different land surveyors claimed the area for themselves “by accident.” They started calling the plot of land Accident Tract and the name stuck. Fun fact: You can call a person from Accident an “Accidental.”
BOOGER HOLE, WEST VIRGINIA: According to legend, Booger Hole got its name from a string of murders in 1917. The townsfolk formed a mob to find the “boogeyman” – or “booger” – behind the killings, and the name came from there.
BURNS DOWN, SOUTH CAROLINA: Burns Down is incorporated into the town of Sumter. You can find the name on a map, but that’s about it. There’s not one word about how the town got its name.
