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.
- Barbed Wire Capital of the World—La Crosse, Kansas
- Bimbo Town—Leipzig, Germany
- Boring Capital of the World—Las Cruces, New Mexico
- Cherry Pit Spitting Capital of the World—Eau Claire, Michigan
- Chimneyville—Jackson, Mississippi
- Cow Chip Throwing Capital of the World—Beaver, Oklahoma
- Curtain Rod Capital of the World—Sturgis, Michigan
- Drunk Driving Capital of the World—Gallup, New Mexico
- Indoor Foliage Capital of the World—Apopka, Florida
- Lightning Capital of the World—Tampa Bay Area, Florida
- Loader/Backhoe Capital of the World—Burlington, Iowa
- Moonshine Capital of the World—Franklin County, Virginia
- Porn and Fireworks Capital of Australia—Canberra, Australia
- Slaughterhouse to the World—Chicago, Illinois
- Slurpee Capital of the World—Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Storm Capital of the World—Bandon, Oregon
- Streaking Capital of the World—Knoxville, Tennessee
- Swearing Capital of the World—Colorado Springs, Colorado
- The City of Blinding Lights—Seoul, South Korea
- Toilet Paper Capital of the World—Green Bay, Wisconsin
Sources: Wikipedia, Trivia Asylum, and Doug’s List of Lists
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:19 am
Beijing “The Forgotten City”? Where did you get that information? I think you mean “The Forbidden City” which is situated inside Beijing.
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:00 am
Erik:
Oops. Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve made the change.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
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……
March 11th, 2010 at 4:27 am
Who is the person who’s from Franklin county cuz I am too and just wanted to kno if I know u
July 12th, 2010 at 8:33 am
Winnipeg has won the Slurpee Capital of the World for the 11th year
http://winnipegreflections.com/famousWinnipeg/theSlurpee.php
August 13th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Check out http://www.southpolestation.com/cis/nevada/bm.html for the story of Battle Mountain, Nevada, the Armpit of America.