WHAT DO 'DEAD HORSE' AND 'DEVIL'S BACKBONE' HAVE IN COMMON? -- A Misguided Guide to Unusual Placenames in America --

It is said that England has more than a few rather quaint placenames such as Bodmin, Grimbister, Ipswich, Nobottle, No Man's Land, Pie Corner, Pratt's Bottom, Scrabster and Twatt but, they pale in comparison to plethora of picturesque placenames in "New World".

For those with precious little to do, why not take a wee peek at a few of curious and entertaining placenames found in United States of America (like Zap, North Dakota and Knockemstiff, Ohio).

This state of affairs naturally begs several questions.

1. Just who might be eager to visit these out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten track, and some might even say, downright peculiar places like Nothing, Arizona or Floyds Knobs, Indiana? 2. What do real estate agents say and do to attract new property owners to King of Prussia, Valentine or Santa Clause?

3. Who lives in Nags Head or Lynchburg?

4. Why would anyone name a place "Punxsutawney" unless of course, one had nothing better to do on "National Groundhog Appreciation Day"?

5. Where is Frostproof, Funkstown, Pottawattamie, Romeoville and Willacoochee anyway?

So grab yourself an atlas or a map and whatever you do, drop by and say hello to folks in:

-- Chicken, Deadhorse or Eek (Alaska)

-- Burnt Corn, Intercourse, Muck City, Rooster (Alabama)

-- Bagdad, Boneyard, Floss, Goobertown, Nothing, Why (Arizona)

-- Fannie, Greasy Corner, Grubbs, Hooker, Okay, Possum Grape, Smackover, Toad Suck, Turkey Scratch, Weiner, Yellville (Arkansas)

-- Blunt, Bummerville, Deadwood, Doghouse Junction, Frying Pan, Hellhole Palms, Hells Kitchen, Hooker, Last Chance, Mormon Bar, Needles, Ono, Prunedale, Rescue, Relief, Scarface, Squabbletown, Sucker Flat, Timbuctoo, Toad Town, Volcano, Weedpatch, Wimp, You Bet, Yreka Zzyzx (California)

-- Climax, Last Chance, No Name, Parachute, Purgatory (Colorado)

-- Giants Neck, Mianus, Moosup (Connecticut)

-- Howey-in-the-Hills, Kissimmee, Okahumpka, Sopchoppy, Two Egg, Weeki Wachee, Yeehaw Junction (Florida)

-- Between, Chickasawhatchee, Climax, Enigma, Hopeulikit, Talking Rock (Georgia)

-- Good Grief, Beer Bottle Crossing (Idaho)

--Bald Knob, Devil's Backbone, Grand Detour, Kickapoo, Paw Paw, Roachtown (Illinois)

-- French Lick, Gnaw Bone, Loogootee, Naked City, Roachdale, Toad Hop (Indiana)

-- Diagonal, Gravity, What Cheer (Iowa) Perdition, Ransom (Kansas)

-- Beaver Lick, Bugtussle, Chicken Gizzard, Crummies, Do Stop, Monkeys Elbow, Mousie, Mud Lick, Oddville, Ogle, Spring Lick, Rabbit Hash, Typo (Kentucky)

-- Belcher, Cut-Off, Fort Necessity, Grosse Tete, Mudville, Tickfaw, Waterproof (Louisana)

-- Bald Head, Dickey, Beans Corner Bingo (Maine)

-- Accident, Assawoman Bay, Boring, Crapo, Cockeysville (Maryland)

I cracked open fortune cookie and read little slip of paper on inside. Immediately I realized that it had been written by a weather forecaster.

"You will be approached in late afternoon by a pink polka-dot octopus..."

It continued on other side: "... and asked to provide details of your application for a yellow cloud mulching permit."

Two things struck me about this particular fortune. The first is that they have come a long way in their ability to predict exactly what will happen and when, just like weather forecasters. This is undoubtedly due to recent technological developments. Laser technology, for example. Nano technology. Robotics. Bioengineering. And so many other specialized fields have been developed to points of precision unimagined just a generation ago.

And it's not just weather forecasters.

In London, Ontario, specialists are performing microscopic cardiac surgery on patients miles away using a robot named CSTAR (Can't you just wait for new parents to start naming their children after famous surgeon, CSTAR?). This has opened up door to many benefits, such as sending robots to remote locations without having to worry about a surgeon replacing wrong organs due to jet lag.

But real benefit was revealed when one surgeon confided in me: "You know world is a better place when we don't have to scrub our hands before surgery anymore."