April 30, 2007

20 Cities and Towns with Dubious Claims to Fame

Many world capitals have distinctive and evocative nicknames; examples include Paris (The City of Lights), New York (The Big Apple), and Beijing (The Forbidden City). These nicknames may come about solely through a historical quirk, or may refer to something specific to that city. The same is true of smaller cities and towns, whose residents may find a source of pride in a local specialty. While most claims to fame are meant to impress those who are strangers to the town/city, some, like the ones below, may be difficult for outsiders to appreciate fully.

Sources: Wikipedia, Trivia Asylum, and Doug’s List of Lists

6 Responses to “20 Cities and Towns with Dubious Claims to Fame”

  1. Erik said:

    Beijing “The Forgotten City”? Where did you get that information? I think you mean “The Forbidden City” which is situated inside Beijing.

  2. Morgen Jahnke said:

    Erik:

    Oops. Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve made the change.

  3. Erik Kritter said:

    I have lived most of my life in Franklin County, Virginia. I have a business located here & yes I have tried the product of Franklin County’s oldest “industry”.

    Franklin County became known as “The Moonshine Capital of the World” during prohibition. The county was the largest producer of illegal liquor of any locality in the world. There was a great “moonshine conspiracy trial” that took place back then that probably gave rise to the claim of “moonshine capital of the world. Basically the trial exposed just about everybody in the county who had been in positions of authority had been “on the take from the moonshine industry”

    Also, up until a few years ago the worlds largest moonshine still ever destroyed (by law enforcement) was in Franklin County (it actually belonged to a friend of mine’s father). The one that broke the Franklin County Record was in Pittsylvania County. The farm it was found on straddled the county line. The farmhouse and barn were in Franklin County and the still was just across the line in Pittsylvania County……

  4. Caleb forbes said:

    Who is the person who’s from Franklin county cuz I am too and just wanted to kno if I know u

  5. rickzwebz said:

    Winnipeg has won the Slurpee Capital of the World for the 11th year

    http://winnipegreflections.com/famousWinnipeg/theSlurpee.php

  6. Al Weiss said:

    Check out http://www.southpolestation.com/cis/nevada/bm.html for the story of Battle Mountain, Nevada, the Armpit of America.