Great Fire of London, Texas, Awesomely silly discussion Options

[Kato]

Those of us who live in New England have to put up with a lot of name duality, including New York, New Jersey, New London, New Bedford, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

One of the weirdest conversations I ever had was with a woman who protests outside the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King was shot (I've since found her on google). When she learned that we were from the UK, she started calling other folks over and they excitedly surrounded us

The first thing one guy said was "do you know Nova Scotia? I went there once and it was real cold."

[Moulton]

I've often wondered about New Paltz.

Is there really an Old Paltz somewhere across the Atlantic?

[guy]

Plymouth is a very popular name world-wide. Oh, and Washington is in the North-East of England (or the East of the United Kingdom).

[Kato]

I've often wondered about New Paltz.

Is there really an Old Paltz somewhere across the Atlantic?

Yes, Paltz is an island near Heenamaagalaa.

[Moulton]

The amazing things one can learn from a good encyclopedia.

[The Joy]

British geography has always bugged me. I've heard of East Anglia and Northumbria, but is there a West Anglia and Southumbria?

(I think I've read that the "North" in Northumbria is based on the word "Norse" as the Vikings and Scandinavians were taking over around that time.)

[Yehudi]

I've heard of East Anglia and Northumbria, but is there a West Anglia and Southumbria?

Is there an East Virginia? Is there a North Hampton on Long Island near the East, South and West ones? Is there a Deep North?

My favourite "New" place is New Square, a delightful town in upstate New York. The founders wanted to call it "New Skvir", but the county clerk thought that they were funny foreigners who couldn't speak English and they meant New Square.

[The Wales Hunter]

British geography has always bugged me. I've heard of East Anglia and Northumbria, but is there a West Anglia and Southumbria?

(I think I've read that the "North" in Northumbria is based on the word "Norse" as the Vikings and Scandinavians were taking over around that time.)

No, there is no West Anglia or Southumbria, sadly.

Basically goes back to the days of the Heptarchy pre-Norman invasion.

* Northumbria was in the north, meaning land to the north of the River Humber estuary
* Sussex in the south, meaning South Saxons
* Wessex in the west, meaning West Saxons
* Essex and East Anglia in the east, meaning East Saxons and East Angles respectively
* Mercia in the middle, meaning "border people"
* Kent stuck in the south-east, named after the Cantiaci tribe

Though that's only a very simple explanation and there is further breakdown - for example the East Angles were made up of a southern and northern group, where modern-day Suffolk and Norfolk get their name from

[Yehudi]

And don't forget Middlesex, situated (appropriately) between Wessex and Essex.

[Moulton]

And to make things even more confusing, Boston MA is in Suffolk County, while Cambridge MA and the towns north and northwest of Boston are in Middlesex County.

[Yehudi]

And to make things even more confusing, Boston MA is in Suffolk County, while Cambridge MA and the towns north and northwest of Boston are in Middlesex County.

You have to say Suffolk, MA to avoid confusion with Suffolk, NY or indeed Suffolk, England.

Oh, and there are two places called Kansas City. The better-known one is no more in Kansas than Washington, DC is in Washington state.

[The Joy]

In the US, there's an East St. Louis and a St. Louis, but no West St. Louis.

[Moulton]

There's an East Los Angeles, but if there were a West Los Angeles, it would be under water.

[Cedric]

The two that cause most controversy are Birmingham, which is a large UK city and a small-mediumish US city...

That conflict actually erupts on Mensa mailing lists too... somebody will refer to the "Birmingham annual gathering", and somebody else will point out that this label is ambiguous, since both Birmingham, Alabama, USA and Birmingham, England have hosted annual gatherings of their respective national Mensa groups.

You have to be very careful of whom you say "mensa" to where I live. "Mensa" is Mexican Spanish for "stupid bitch".

[Milton Roe]

There's an East Los Angeles, but if there were a West Los Angeles, it would be under water.

No it would be that nice area between central LA and Santa Monica (which is on the waterfront). Parts of Culver City, Palms, and especially Westwood (where UCLA is), and Brentwood. I watched the Rodney King riot smoke from a roof-top in that area once, and felt perfectly safe where I was. I wasn't in Santa Monica or Venice, and I certainly was not underwater. Smoke from it rose almost directly East.

[guy]

I wasn't in Santa Monica or Venice

You mean Venice, Italy?

[Jonny Cache]

By a fountain back in Rome I fell in love with you
In a small cafe in Athens you said you loved me too
And it was April in Paris when I first held you close to me
Rome, Georgia, Athens, Texas, and Paris, Tennessee

No, we're not the jet set
We're the old Chevro-let set
There's no Riviera
In Festus, Missouri
And you won't find Onassis
In Mullinville, Kansas
No, we're not the jet set
We're the old Chevro-let set
But ain't we got love

cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/prine-john/were-not-the-jet-set

Jonny "Yee-Haw" Cache

This post has been edited by Jonny Cache: Tue 25th March 2008, 5:32pm

[Chris Croy]

In the US, there's an East St. Louis and a St. Louis, but no West St. Louis.

That is because we want nothing to do with that 3rd world hell hole to our east, but we're quite happy to claim the nice, polite Indian immigrants on the west side as our own.

[Moulton]

And then there's India, Indiana, and the East Indies, each with their own race of indigenous people.