<iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-K3L4M3" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden">

Barometer

Staines, Pile o’ Bones and other towns that changed name

Also in our Barometer column: Scotland’s oil; dangerous sports; conflicting figures on anoxeria

19 March 2016

9:00 AM

19 March 2016

9:00 AM

Name that town

The representative of Slough in the UK Youth Parliament called for the town’s name to be changed to rid it of negative connotations. Other towns with an image problem which have done a Stalingrad (now Volgograd) and changed their identity:
STAINES Now Staines upon Thames
KILIWHIMIN, HIGHLANDS Now Fort Augustus
ALLIGATOR VILLAGE, FLORIDA Now Lake City
WANKIE, ZIMBABWE Now Hwange
PILE O’ BONES, SASKATCHEWAN Now Regina
Residents in the Austrian village of FUCKING voted against a name change in 2004





Over a barrel

During the referendum campaign, Alex Salmond proposed that Scotland would become independent on 26 March 2016, and said it would have £7.5

Already a subscriber? Log in

Subscribe for just $2 a week

Try a month of The Spectator Australia absolutely free and without commitment. Not only that but – if you choose to continue – you’ll pay just $2 a week for your first year.

  • Unlimited access to spectator.com.au and app
  • The weekly edition on the Spectator Australia app
  • Spectator podcasts and newsletters
  • Full access to spectator.co.uk
Or

Unlock this article

REGISTER

You might disagree with half of it, but you’ll enjoy reading all of it. Try your first month for free, then just $2 a week for the remainder of your first year.


Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator Australia readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Close