Sideswipe: September 22: The British v the ants

Towns in America

Ink, Arkansas. The story goes that when selecting a town name, the ballot said: "Please write in ink." And they did.

Chicken, Alaska, was supposedly named such because no one could agree on the spelling of their first choice, which was Ptarmigan.

Hungry Horse, Montana, was named after two legendary horses, Tex and Jerry, who escaped and almost starved to death.

Why, Arizona, was originally named simply Y, after a highway intersection that was y-shaped. The postal service requires a town name to have at least three letters, so it was changed to Why.

Nome, Alaska, has several possible name origin stories. The most interesting is that a handwritten notation on a map said "? Name" but was read as "C Nome," interpreted as Cape Nome. (Via Lost in the Pond)

Confusion reigns supreme

Russell Glenister of Mission Bay is confused by the new layout at the Selwyn Rd intersection with Tamaki Drive. "Which lane is which? Did they forget to join the dots?"

Getting high in ancient times

The art history award at the recent Ig Noble Prize went to Dutch researchers whose study of ancient Mayan pottery found that "quite contrary to the traditional view that the ancient Maya were a contemplative people, who did not indulge in ritual ecstasy", they may have taken "intoxicating enemas", involving an alcoholic liquid and possibly a hallucinogenic plant, "in a ritual context".