Britain’s most embarassing place names

You tend to think of the British as a smart, buttoned-up lot. We’re talking about a country with a history of lots of curtsies, foxhunts and tea at high noon. It’s surprising then to learn that the British apparently are not quite so polite when it comes to naming their towns and cities.

Yesterday’s New York Times takes a look at some of the more unintentionally hilarious place names in the United Kingdom, including Crapstone, England; Ugley, Essex; Titty Ho, Northamptonshire and Penistone (it’s pronounced PENNIS-tun, how immature of you) in South Yorkshire. You can’t blame the town founders for their poor naming decisions either – many of the towns were founded (and named) hundreds of years ago. Clearly it was simpler time – a time before the Internet, when adolescents minded their manners and didn’t spend their schooldays passing around links on Digg.

Go check it out. What’s that? You’re too mature for this sort of thing, aren’t you? Skip it if you must, but don’t tell me you don’t read a street name like Tumbledown Dick Road without snickering a little.

[Via Buzzfeed]