U.S.COUNTIES WITH THE SAME NAME AS THEIR STATE

IOWA COUNTY, IOWA

NEW YORK COUNTY (MANHATTAN), NEW YORK

OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA

HAWAII COUNTY, HAWAII (LARGEST COUNTY IN LAND AREA IN THE U.S.)

ARKANSAS COUNTY, ARKANSAS

IDAHO COUNTY, IDAHO (LARGEST COUNTY IN LAND AREA IN IDAHO)

UTAH COUNTY, UTAH

THE MINISKIRT

The miniskirt did not get its name from the length of the skirt, but rather it was named after Mini Cooper cars. Several designers have been credited with the invention of the 1960s miniskirt, most significantly the London-based designer Mary Quant and Parisian André Courréges. Whether or not Quant invented the miniskirt, it is widely agreed that she was one of its highest-profile champions. Quant loved Mini Cooper cars and named the garment after them, saying that car and skirt were both “optimistic, exuberant, young flirty,” and complemented each other.

MARY QUANT IN A MINISKIRT - 1966

ELECTRA, TEXAS, BUICK ELECTRA AND LOCHEED L-188 ELECTRA TURBOPROP

Electra is a city in Wichita County, Texas. The population was 2,791 at the 2010 census. Daniel Waggoner started a ranch in present-day Electra in 1852. Around 30 years later, the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway was built. In 1885, Waggoner’s son, William Thomas Waggoner, successfully lobbied railroad executives to build a railroad station at the site. By this time, the Waggoner ranch covered a half-million acres. Until this time, the town was called Waggoner, but following the building of the station and a post office in 1889, it was dubbed Beaver Switch, after the nearby Beaver Creek. The opening of 56,000 acres of land north of the railroad station brought more farmers to the area. The town was renamed again in 1907, this time after the Waggoner’s daughter, Electra Waggoner. Electra Waggoner was born on January 6, 1882 near Decatur, Texas. She had two brothers; E. Paul Waggoner and Guy Waggoner. E. Paul Waggoner had two sons and a daughter. His daughter was born on November 8, 1912 and she was named after her aunt, Electra Waggoner. Electra (born 1912) ultimately became a well-known sculptor. A large collection of her work is featured at the Red River Valley Museum in Vernon, Texas. Electra (born 1912) also has the distinction of having both a plane, the Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop, and a car, the Buick Electra, named after her, the latter by her brother-in-law, Harlow H. Curtice, former president of Buick and later president of General Motors.

1960 BUICK ELECTRA 225 CONVERTIBLE

AN L-188A ELECTRA OF PACIFIC SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

MOST EXPENSIVE DOMAIN NAMES*

The domain aftermarket is the secondary market for Internet domain names in which a party interested in acquiring a domain that is already registered bids or negotiates a price to affect the transfer of registration from the registered holder of that domain name. 

*Many high-profile domain sales either sold privately or by brokerage firms are kept confidential.

DOMAIN	PRICE	SALE DATE
CarInsurance.com	$49.7 million	2010
Insurance.com	$35.6 million	2010
VacationRentals.com	$35 million	2007
PrivateJet.com	$30.18 million	2012
Internet.com	$18 million	2009
360.com	$17 million	2015
Insure.com	$16 million	2009
Fund.com	£16 million	2008
Sex.com	$13 million	2010
Hotels.com	$11 million	2001
Tesla.com	$11 million	2014
Porn.com	$9.5 million	2007
Porno.com	$8.9 million	2015
Fb.com	$8.5 million	2010
Business.com	$7.5 million	1999
Diamond.com	$7.5 million	2006
Beer.com	$7 million	2004
Z.com	$6.8 million	2014
iCloud.com	$6 million	2011
Israel.com	$5.9 million	2008
Casino.com	$5.5 million	2003
Slots.com	$5.5 million	2010
Toys.com	$5.1 million	2009
AsSeenOnTv.com	$5.1 million	2000
Clothes.com	$4.9 million	2008
Medicare.com	$4.8 million	2014
IG.com	$4.6 million	2013
Marijuana.com	$4.2 million	2011
GiftCard.com	$4 million	2012
YP.com	$3.8 million	2008
Mi.com	$3.6 million	2014
Whisky.com	$3.1 million	2014
Vodka.com	$3 million	2006
Candy.com	$3 million	2009
Loans.com	$3 million	2000

PECUNIARY PLACES

NAME	STATE	GEOGRAPHY	ORIGIN OF NAME
Money	Mississippi	Town	Senator Hernando DeSoto Money
Dollar’s Corner	Washington	Town	The Dollar family
Dollarville	Michigan	Town	Robert Dollar General Manager of American Lumber Company in 1882.
Dollar Bay	Michigan	Bay Town	Shape of small inlet of Portage Lake From the name of the Bay
Dollar Lake	Oregon	Tarn	Almost perfectly round much like that of a silver dollar.
Dollarhide	Texas	Town	Town no longer exists. May have been named after a drought killed most of the cattle and their hides were sold for a dollar each.
Last Dollar	Colorado	Mountain	Probably named after a mining claim.
Greenback	Tennessee	Town	By postmaster after Local “Greenback” political party
Hardmoney	Kentucky	Town	Established in 1880; named for the political controversy of the day over the gold standard. Town no longer exists.
Cash	Texas	Town	Originally called Sylvia. Residents attempted to change name to name it after local store owner John A. Money. Postmaster rejected name and they settled on “Cash”.
Cashtown	Pennsylvania	Town	A post office called Cashtown has been in operation since 1833. According to tradition, the community was named for the fact a local tavern owner required that payment be made in cash.
Coin	Iowa	City	Population 193. Origin of name unknown.
Dime Box	Texas	Unincorporated Community	Unknown
Dinero	Texas	Unincorporated Community	Unknown

APTRONYMS

An aptronym is a personal name aptly or peculiarly suited to its owner.

Jules Angst	German professor of psychiatry who has published works about anxiety
Michael Ball	Football player
Lonzo Ball	Basketball player
Sara Blizzard	Meteorologist for the BBC
Usain Bolt	Jamaican sprinter
Rosalind Brewer	Executive at Starbucks and former director at Molson Coors Brewing Company
Margaret Court	Australian tennis player
Thomas Crapper	Sanitary engineer
Josh Earnest	Third press secretary for the Obama administration. His name literally means, ‘just kidding, but seriously’.
Cecil Fielder	Baseball player
Prince Fielder	Baseball player
Amy Freeze	American meteorologist
George Train	American railroad entrepreneur
Igor Judge	English judge and Lord Chief Justice
Chris Moneymaker	American poker player and 2003 World Series of Poker champion
Josh Outman	Baseball pitcher
Marilyn vos Savant	American columnist who has been cited for having the world’s highest recorded IQ
Anthony Weiner	American politician involved in sexting scandals

CAROL STREAM, ILLINOIS

A common misconception is that the municipality of Carol Stream was named for a local minor waterway. In fact, Carol Stream is one of the few communities in America that took its name from the first and last names of a living person: Carol Stream, the daughter of its founder Jay Stream. Jay W. Stream (April 17, 1921 – January 22, 2006), a military veteran who had previously sold insurance and ready-mix concrete, was in the mid-1950s heading Durable Construction Company. He became frustrated with red tape while negotiating a planned 350–400 home subdivision in nearby Naperville, Illinois. A Naperville clerk reportedly advised Stream to "build your own town", and in 1957, Stream began buying unincorporated farmland outside Wheaton. He hoped to allow people to work in the town they lived in, rather than have to commute to Chicago. On August 26, 1957, Carol Stream and three friends were returning from Racine, Wisconsin in a 1949 Studebaker. While attempting to cross U.S. Route 45 in central Kenosha County, the car was struck in the right rear corner, killing 15-year-old Richard Christie of Chicago, the passenger seated there. Carol was ejected through the windshield and into a utility pole. Neurosurgeons at Kenosha Memorial Hospital said the comatose girl might never awaken or, if she did, would likely be severely handicapped. On advice of the doctors that her recovery might improve with good news, Jay decided to name the new community in her honor. After four months in a coma, Carol regained consciousness.

ONE SYLLABLE COUNTRIES

The only countries in the world with one syllable in their names are Chad, France, Greece, Laos (one pronunciation) and Spain. Wales has only one syllable, but it is not an independent country.

ADJACENT COUNTIES – SAME NAME BUT DIFFERENT STATES

COUNTY	STATES	NAMED AFTER
Big Horn	Montana-Wyoming	Big Horn Mountains
Bristol	Massachusetts-Rhode Island*	Bristol, England
Escambia	Alabama-Florida	Escambia River
Kent	Delaware-Maryland	Kent County, England
Park	Montana-Wyoming	Yellowstone Park
Pike	Illinois-Missouri	Zebulon Pike – 19th Century Explorer
Sabine	Texas-Louisiana	Sabine River
San Juan	New Mexico-Utah	San Juan River – Counties are adjacent at the Four Corners Monument
Teton	Idaho-Wyoming	Teton Mountains
Union	Arkansas-Louisiana	Union, Arkansas – Citizen Petition Union, Louisiana – Quote from Daniel Webster
Vermil(l)ion	Illinois-Indiana	Vermilion River; Indiana-Vermillion; Illinois-Vermilion

*County equivalent