Hooker Lane

[AGBF]

The residents of Hooker Lane (in Greenwich, Connecticut) want to change the name of their street.

"GREENWICH, Conn., Oct. 18 - Those who walk the street on Hooker Lane here in the Cos Cob section of town are people of the L. L. Bean-wearing, exercise-the-dog sort, and they're tired of the giggles and the borscht belt zingers that follow the mere mention of their address.

Tired of the endless jokes, some residents of Greenwich, Conn., are petitioning to change the name of 'Hooker Lane'.

'When you order something from a catalog, for example, and you give the street, there's snickering, always snickering,' said Nick Kopeloff, 66, a retired physician and an avid photographer, who has endured 27 years of such reactions."

The new name of the street will be "Stonebrook Lane", chosen from a list of over 30 names which, "The New York Times" dubs "all as bland as vanilla pudding".


Article from, "The New York Times"

Deborah

 

[jaysonsmom]

I''ve come across some interesting street names....

My company deals with Celestial Teas, and when mailing them something recently I found out their street address was Sleepytime Drive. That is the name of the chamomile tea that I buy!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/21/2005 4:57:18 PM
Author: jaysonsmom
I've come across some interesting street names....

My company deals with Celestial Teas, and when mailing them something recently I found out their street address was Sleepytime Drive. That is the name of the chamomile tea that I buy!

Very cool. I was actually hoping to hear some real, but odd, street names! The roads I have lived on have all had the most boring names in the world...with the possible exception of rue de la Parcheminerie in Paris (which isn't racy at all...it just means Parchment Making Street!).

Deb

 

[MINE!!]

AGBF.. we actaully have a a street named Hooker Rd... that intersects with Dick... LOL....

 

[ame]

Date: 10/21/2005 4:29:56 PM
Author:AGBF
The residents of Hooker Lane (in Greenwich, Connecticut) want to change the name of their street.


'GREENWICH, Conn., Oct. 18 - Those who walk the street on Hooker Lane here in the Cos Cob section of town are people of the L. L. Bean-wearing, exercise-the-dog sort, and they're tired of the giggles and the borscht belt zingers that follow the mere mention of their address.


Tired of the endless jokes, some residents of Greenwich, Conn., are petitioning to change the name of 'Hooker Lane'.


'When you order something from a catalog, for example, and you give the street, there's snickering, always snickering,' said Nick Kopeloff, 66, a retired physician and an avid photographer, who has endured 27 years of such reactions.'


The new name of the street will be 'Stonebrook Lane', chosen from a list of over 30 names which, 'The New York Times' dubs 'all as bland as vanilla pudding'.



Article from, 'The New York Times'


Deborah

I hope it's denied. I have no sympathy for this. If youdon't want to be teased for living on Hooker Lane, don't buy a damn house there. The city/state shouldn't have to cater to them because they bought a house on a street with a stupid name.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/21/2005 5:03:02 PM
Author: MINE!!
AGBF.. we actaully have a a street named Hooker Rd... that intersects with Dick... LOL....

Well, your ace trumped my heart!!! Can you imagine telling AAA (when it asks for the name of the intersecting street)!

Deb

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/21/2005 5:03:56 PM
Author: ame
I hope it''s denied. I have no sympathy for this. If youdon''t want to be teased for living on Hooker Lane, don''t buy a damn house there. The city/state shouldn''t have to cater to them because they bought a house on a street with a stupid name.

ame-

I have no horse in this race, not owning a house on Hooker Lane in Greenwich, but I truly doubt it will be denied. Is there any reason you are against changing the name? Do you think streets (and schools and airports) should never be renamed?

Deb

 

[blueroses]

This is like Beaver College in PA which --I think--ultimately changed their name. I didn''t go there, but I did my Jr. year abroad program through them so when I went through customs at Heathrow my visa was accompanied by a letter from Beaver.....and the British customs guy LAUGHED AT ME!! He said (in his little accent) "Beaver College....what an UNFORTUNATE name!!" I sputtered, "but....but...I don''t even GO there!" Hee.

I wouldn''t want to live on Hooker lane either, but I see Ame''s point too!!

 

[Bagpuss]

Spare a thought for the poor inhabitants of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Menai Bridge, Brynsiency, Wales

Famous because of its long name, this village is known throughout the world.

Its full name is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch which means The Church of St Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio near a red cave, although it is usually shortened to Llanfairpwll or Llanfair P.G..

The extended name is almost certainly the work of a local tailor who wanted to put the village on the map in the mid 1800’s.

One of Llanfairpwll’s unusual claims to fame is that the Women’s Institute movement was founded here in 1915.

Here''s an attempt at how to say the name - read the words in brackets. The double L is impossible to translate exactly, btw, but this is as close as I can get.
Llanfair(clanfire) pwll(pooth) gwyn(gwin) gyll(gith) gogerych(gogerick) wyrn(wern) drobwll(drobith)- llan(clan) tysilio (tisillyo)gogogoch(go go go -ck)

Have fun.

 

[MINE!!]

In our Town we have a University that is on 5th street. But 5th Street is really Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Half of 5th is called 5th and the other half is called MLK. A few years ago the tried to change the entire street name to MLK. THe University had a FIT .. so did most of the town. the claimed that NO ONE would send their child to a school that was on MLK blvd. The claimed that in almost every city this street was the name of a street in some of the worst parts of town. It did not get renamed.. but there is still talk...

 

[belle]

Date: 10/21/2005 5:09:06 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 10/21/2005 5:03:56 PM
Author: ame
I hope it's denied. I have no sympathy for this. If youdon't want to be teased for living on Hooker Lane, don't buy a damn house there. The city/state shouldn't have to cater to them because they bought a house on a street with a stupid name.

ame-

I have no horse in this race, not owning a house on Hooker Lane in Greenwich, but I truly doubt it will be denied. Is there any reason you are against changing the name? Do you think streets (and schools and airports) should never be renamed?

Deb

i agree with ame. and since i do, i'll answer your question for my part. i don't think names should be changed because it costs (insert inordinate amount of tax payer dollars here) to change all of the street signs, maps, references etc. to the new name.
a ridiculous waste of time and money.
and the next thing you know...someone will inevitably want it changed again.

UNNECESSARY.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/21/2005 5:17:36 PM
Author: belle
i agree with ame. and since i do, i''ll answer your question for my part. i don''t think names should be changed because it costs (insert inordinate amount of tax payer dollars here) to change all of the street signs, maps, references etc. to the new name.

Thanks for the explanation, belle. It having a cost would never have occurred to me. I am so used to airports being constantly changed! Many of the world''s airports have changed names during my lifetime!

Deb

 

[cinnabar]

Where I live is called King County. It recently got renamed. What is its new name? King County.

The original name was in honour of a local politician who was (this was a long time ago) a slave-owner. This was recently deemed to be offensive so the county needed to be renamed. They decided to call it after Martin Luther King.

I don''t have any objection at all to the principle of renaming a place, if the original name becomes offensive over time. But renaming it exactly the same name, that''s kinda daft.

local government motion

 

[soulsis]

There''s a place a couple of hours away from here called Dildo. Very true.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 10/21/2005 5:14:53 PM
Author: MINE!!
In our Town we have a University that is on 5th street. But 5th Street is really Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Half of 5th is called 5th and the other half is called MLK. A few years ago the tried to change the entire street name to MLK. THe University had a FIT .. so did most of the town. the claimed that NO ONE would send their child to a school that was on MLK blvd. The claimed that in almost every city this street was the name of a street in some of the worst parts of town. It did not get renamed.. but there is still talk...

Chris Rock does a stand up about this..it''s hilarious..

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 10/21/2005 6:15:49 PM
Author: soulsis
There''s a place a couple of hours away from here called Dildo. Very true.

I had to look this one up. Dildo, New Foundland!

 

[soulsis]

Date: 10/21/2005 6:27:48 PM
Author: MC

Date: 10/21/2005 6:15:49 PM

Author: soulsis

There''s a place a couple of hours away from here called Dildo. Very true.

I had to look this one up. Dildo, New Foundland!

I like how you did the New Foundland. That''s the way it was originally I believe. Now it''s Newfoundland. To be honest...it''s more than a couple of hours away from here. To me, Cuba is a couple of hours away It''s actually quicker for me to drive to Vegas than it is to drive to the East coast. I love living on the Prairies!!

 

[Bagpuss]

How about Great Cockup (Cumbria)

A place called Great Cockup can be found in Cumbria and no mistake. It is one of many examples of ''up'' names which can be found throughout the north of England. An up is a valley and seriously in the case of Great Cockup was a valley inhabited by a cock, most probably a Woodcock.

Or if you don''t fancy living there, how about Great Fryup

In North Yorkshire, adjoining the valley of the River Esk we can find Great Fryup, a name which conjures up images of sizzling bacon and eggs but which really means the ''up'' or valley belonging to Freya. Freya was an Old Norse personal name and also the name of the Norse goddess of fertility from whom we get the name of Friday.

Lastly, there''s always Quaking Houses (County Durham) - not a great place name for those of a nervous disposition.
At South Moor near Stanley is the former colliery village of Quaking Houses which is one of a number of puzzling place names in the old pit district of County Durham. The only clue to the name is that a pit called Quaker House Pit once stood near this site, recorded in 1873 as a pit with two shafts. The name of this pit suggests that the present place name may derive from some kind of Quaker Meeting House located somewhere in the area.

 

[ame]

Deb-
Belle mentioned part of my reasoning. But the other part is that just because a few people bitch about it doesn't mean the whole world should waste money and time changing it to suit them. They knew full well they were buying a house on a street with a name they weren't fond of, if it was really abig deal, they shouldn't have bought on the street. That's their fault, not the city's. And I bet these people on Hooker Lane who want this name change aren't willing tofork over the cash to pay for all these changes they want.

Date: 10/21/2005 5:09:34 PM
Author: blueroses
This is like Beaver College in PA which --I think--ultimately changed their name. I didn't go there, but I did my Jr. year abroad program through them so when I went through customs at Heathrow my visa was accompanied by a letter from Beaver.....and the British customs guy LAUGHED AT ME!! He said (in his little accent) 'Beaver College....what an UNFORTUNATE name!!' I sputtered, 'but....but...I don't even GO there!' Hee.

I wouldn't want to live on Hooker lane either, but I see Ame's point too!!

I used to live 2 miles frrom Big Beaver/Beaver Falls in PA. It was still hilarious to me when I visited for a wedding last year.


In slightly related news, I am a Dickey. I come from a family full of Dickey's, Dieckmann's (dick man) and Hickey's even. I actually enjoy people being juvenile and making fun of it. My husband, not so fond of Dickey. But does get a kick out of how damn funny it is to me for some waiter kid to giggle. So much so that we discussed actually having our names changed to Shithead, pronounced Shi-theed, for the inevitable laughs that will bring. You don't have to like your name, you can change it, but thats just YOU changing it, there are no signs to change, no wasted taxpayer dollars.

I say the state should tell em to move if they don't like it. Not waste taxpayer money.

 

[bar01]

I live in the Chicago area and have relatives in the Detroit area that I visit several times a year. The drive along 94 is pretty boring.

But there is a town along 94 called Climax. The signs say something like "Climax 5 miles, exit here, etc".

Well, you can imagine the creative jokes my gal and I try to come up with on each road trip..."hey honey were about to reach climax" " If I was driving would we would have reached this quicker".."your going too fast, slow down..."

 

[namechange2]

It''s amazing that so many people write about something that doesn''t even concern them!!!! Happily, the street name was officially changed in October of 2005!

 

[ladykemma]

Intercourse, pennsylvania?

 

[pinkflamingo]

[/quote]

I hope it's denied. I have no sympathy for this. If youdon't want to be teased for living on Hooker Lane, don't buy a damn house there. The city/state shouldn't have to cater to them because they bought a house on a street with a stupid name. [/quote]


If you find the right house at the right price, the name is really THE LAST THING you are concerned about. Have you ever bought a house? It was so difficult for us, really, the name is the most superficial thing!
I don't have a problem with it, personally.
ETA: but the residents should pay for it... I think!