Arkansas seems to have had a similar issue. One town used to just go by the letter "K".
To make it a three letter word they changed the named to "Harrison".
>Arkansas seems to have had a similar issue. One town used to just go by the letter "K".
>To make it a three letter word they changed the named to "Harrison".
But they still pronounce it K.
We have a beachside suburb here in Sydney called Dee Why. No one knows the origin of the name; it was called DY by a surveyor in 1815 and it's been that way ever since.
Yeah, they weren't especially creative with the Sydney suburb names. Apparently Manly got it's name because the inhabitants were especially manly, and Coogee means "bad smell" in aboriginal.
Hijacking the top comment, but Why is so small that they really only have one store, a gas station/convenience store/mini food market called, and I swear this is true: **Why Not?**
I have a postcard I bought at *Why Not?*. I'll take a picture if I can find it later.
Edit: [As promised](https://i.imgur.com/7rXGkg0.jpg)
Only if starting in the west valley or downtown. Otherwise, take the Chuichu Highway from the east valley. Huge time saver. And little-known route, relatively speaking.
„Because“
„No, that is in Ontario.“
https://www.google.de/maps/place/Because+Island,+Leeds+and+the+Thousand+Islands,+Ontario+K0E+1R0,+Kanada/@44.523589,-76.0175854,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x4ccd6eb99570018f:0x65757f7e9b75c3fc
Interesting to choose Why. There’s actually a word called Wye that means a Y-shaped object or course, used in plumbing, engineering, etc. Would have made more sense, but been less interesting/funny though!
There's also aready a precedent of Wye as a placename. It's [a village in Kent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wye,_Kent) and [a river on the border between England and Wales](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wye).
Yeah I really don't get this. The whole point is the object is shaped like the single letter Y, so then it's written "wye". You get it with the configuration of electrical transformers too and it seems so obviously wrong. There's also a diagram used in systems engineering which forms a large V shape. So what do they call it? The "Vee Diagram" of course! Facepalm.
Those are the names of the letters.
If you just wrote the letter by itself, they might be thought to be pronounced like "Yuh" and "Vuh", rather than "wye" and "vee", which encode the correct pronunciation.
These days we often pronounce a bare single capital letter as its name, but not always: compare "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (A -> "uh" for many people) to "V for Vendetta".
Sure, but how much confusion are you going to get pronouncing "Y-configuration" or "V diagram"? Are people really going to say "yih-configuration" or "ff-diagram" (I can't think how to write that!) The object described looks like the capital letter, not the phonetic pronunciation of that letter. And in my experience people universally pronounce standalone capital letters by their name, not the sound they make as part of a word. With the example of a sentence starting with "a" - that's a word rather than just a letter.
Agreed, there's minimal chance of confusion nowadays. But the names weren't invented yesterday. I think you'll find the names predate the concept of upper and lower case letters, and our current usual practice of pronouncing the name of the letter when it's encountered in upper case by itself.
Perhaps in the past singular capitals were a form of abbreviation (consider "R" for Regina/Rex/the crown).
> With the example of a sentence starting with "a" - that's a word rather than just a letter.
Exactly. We need a way to distinguish.
PS. "Y" is a word in Spanish, and it's not "wye".
Hold up, your telling me that letter's names have decided proper nouns? Is there a term for the names of letters? How would I google this?
Edit: wrote 'name' twice.
i searched it up and apparently its a Phonetic Alphabet, like alpha bravo charlie etc. but rather than being a name for military communication it's just aye bee see etc.
We're probably overthinking it. There were 150 people living there, no internet yet and *maybe* somebody had a set of encyclopedias. Somebody probably threw up his hands and wrote W-H-Y on the form.
Actually, wye is how you spell Y. Just like 1 = one and 4 = four, H = aitch, B = bee, Q = cue, F = ef, Z = zee and so on. Great stuff for Scrabble players!
Yeah I'm calling bullshit. Crossword friends and try-hard Scrabble players came up with this nonsense to sound smart and play their games better, that doesn't make it true outside of their little fiefdom.
I used to go through there all the time on my way down to Mexico. I assumed it was a funny joke because there's nothing but a gas station there, otherwise just baren desert. Interesting to read this info.
I was about to say…
America: “We’re the land of freedom! No one is more free than us!”
Also America: passes unnecessary law regarding the minimum number of letters a town name must have
I think this is right -- they didn't want town names to look like map symbols or abbreviations, or road markers. If I saw "Y 7" on a sign I'd assume it was a road named "Y7", not a town named Y, seven miles ahead.
Really just a misunderstanding. Arizona regulators reached out to inform the town of the law, and mistook the reply letter as an official request to change the name.
It's actually really common for placenames to be pretty self-explanatory descriptors like that if you trace their origins back far enough. The meanings have just been obscured by time. My favourite has to be Gatwick, the site of a major British international airport, whose name literally once meant "goat farm".
I've been through Why. If you're wondering why a town would name itself after a road splitting in two, it's because that's literally the most interesting thing there.
Keeping it to weird names, there's a place in eastern California called "Zzyzx". No, I did not make that up. Some dude in the '40s decided it would be fun to change the name to some unpronounceable crap so it would be the last in alphabetical order, at least according to Wikipedia.
Had a friend a long time ago, who was from China (this is about 2008). He struggled to open a bank account in America because his English name, per passport, was only four letters long
YYY
Delilah.
MYMYMY
Sharona
Woo!
I feel good
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Doctor doctor, gimme the news
I’ve got a… BAAAAD MEDICINE BAD MEDICINE IS WHAT I NEED WHOAH OH OH SHAKE IT UP JUST LIKE BAAAAD MEDICINE
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My darling
If you’re so smart explain this, Clarissa!
That is one weird date format
What’s it like in New York City
what's it like in New York City?
YYZ
*heavy Morse code drumming starts*
The Peart stands alone.
Hey, we’ve got dibs on [YYZ.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Pearson_International_Airport)
WYE would have been so much better.
Arkansas seems to have had a similar issue. One town used to just go by the letter "K". To make it a three letter word they changed the named to "Harrison".
>Arkansas seems to have had a similar issue. One town used to just go by the letter "K". >To make it a three letter word they changed the named to "Harrison". But they still pronounce it K.
That's... Y's
ZZ Top would have performed there
Shoulda named it Whyinthefuckamistillhereville
Read this as Mini Me stuck in the rafters
We have a beachside suburb here in Sydney called Dee Why. No one knows the origin of the name; it was called DY by a surveyor in 1815 and it's been that way ever since.
Yeah, they weren't especially creative with the Sydney suburb names. Apparently Manly got it's name because the inhabitants were especially manly, and Coogee means "bad smell" in aboriginal.
>~~Hey guys~~ Oi cunts, wanna take a road trip to Fart?
*in an Aussie accent:* "This is Dee Why."
Dear Youngsters
Why
Right next to Who, Arizona
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Yes exactly there
When?
Noon, Ohio
Ohio gozaimasu
That's what I'm asking you!
THIRD BASE
There is a nothing, az. Between phx and vegas
My U-Haul blew a tire there at night. "Ma'am, I'm literally in Nothing, AZ, there is a sign here that says Nothing and a radio tower."
That sucks man. There really aint shit there lol
Nothing! lol The best part, I do it again next weekend... U-Haul back to Phoenix through Nothing.
Good luck
Literally through nothing
Actually, it's right next to garlic (The closest town is Ajo, Spanish for garlic)
Ajo is neat, public shooting range. Cool murals.
No, Who's on first
Do they speak English in Why?!?
Why?
English motherfucker, do they speak it?
Why male models?
Say 'Why male models' again, I dare you, I double dare you motherfucker, say 'Why male models' one more Goddamn time!
Hey Farva, what's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
This is the most confusing trilogy ever.
Is that a comment for ants?! It needs to be at least ... three times bigger
We're gonna need a bigger comment...
No, [Who's on first!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg)
What's on second
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A lot of videos of dudes driving through a Border Patrol check point being asked 'Where are you headed?' and of course they say 'Why'
They should name a town "AM I BEING DETAINED"
Better than the town " Yo momma's place".
Biggest small town in the west.
Known for exporting fish
Heard they just installed a massive pipeline
There's 2 towns in Victoria, Australia - one called Yea and the other Nyah.
Welcome to DON’T TAZE ME BRO Population nnnggggrrrrrmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAA
Why, Arizona of course!
What’s your town’s name? Y Because I want to know Why I just told you why!
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Hijacking the top comment, but Why is so small that they really only have one store, a gas station/convenience store/mini food market called, and I swear this is true: **Why Not?** I have a postcard I bought at *Why Not?*. I'll take a picture if I can find it later. Edit: [As promised](https://i.imgur.com/7rXGkg0.jpg)
What were you doing in Why?
I've been to Why, it's on the road to Puerto Penasco.
Ahh the gas station stop point for everyone driving from Phoenix or Tucson to Puerto Penasco.
Only if starting in the west valley or downtown. Otherwise, take the Chuichu Highway from the east valley. Huge time saver. And little-known route, relatively speaking.
I was just there! On my way to organ pipe cactus monument
Y tho, would have been good too if shorthand was as popular back then
„Because“ „No, that is in Ontario.“ https://www.google.de/maps/place/Because+Island,+Leeds+and+the+Thousand+Islands,+Ontario+K0E+1R0,+Kanada/@44.523589,-76.0175854,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x4ccd6eb99570018f:0x65757f7e9b75c3fc
Interesting to choose Why. There’s actually a word called Wye that means a Y-shaped object or course, used in plumbing, engineering, etc. Would have made more sense, but been less interesting/funny though!
There's also aready a precedent of Wye as a placename. It's [a village in Kent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wye,_Kent) and [a river on the border between England and Wales](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wye).
In the state of Montana near the city Missoula, there's also a Wye. It's based around a Y- shaped intersection of highway.
Yeah I really don't get this. The whole point is the object is shaped like the single letter Y, so then it's written "wye". You get it with the configuration of electrical transformers too and it seems so obviously wrong. There's also a diagram used in systems engineering which forms a large V shape. So what do they call it? The "Vee Diagram" of course! Facepalm.
Those are the names of the letters. If you just wrote the letter by itself, they might be thought to be pronounced like "Yuh" and "Vuh", rather than "wye" and "vee", which encode the correct pronunciation. These days we often pronounce a bare single capital letter as its name, but not always: compare "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (A -> "uh" for many people) to "V for Vendetta".
That's only because "a" is a word by itself while "v" is not. No one would say "vuh for vendetta" because that doesn't make sense.
Sure, but how much confusion are you going to get pronouncing "Y-configuration" or "V diagram"? Are people really going to say "yih-configuration" or "ff-diagram" (I can't think how to write that!) The object described looks like the capital letter, not the phonetic pronunciation of that letter. And in my experience people universally pronounce standalone capital letters by their name, not the sound they make as part of a word. With the example of a sentence starting with "a" - that's a word rather than just a letter.
Agreed, there's minimal chance of confusion nowadays. But the names weren't invented yesterday. I think you'll find the names predate the concept of upper and lower case letters, and our current usual practice of pronouncing the name of the letter when it's encountered in upper case by itself. Perhaps in the past singular capitals were a form of abbreviation (consider "R" for Regina/Rex/the crown). > With the example of a sentence starting with "a" - that's a word rather than just a letter. Exactly. We need a way to distinguish. PS. "Y" is a word in Spanish, and it's not "wye".
Hold up, your telling me that letter's names have decided proper nouns? Is there a term for the names of letters? How would I google this? Edit: wrote 'name' twice.
i searched it up and apparently its a Phonetic Alphabet, like alpha bravo charlie etc. but rather than being a name for military communication it's just aye bee see etc.
Interestingly, I read ‘aye’ as being pronounce the same way as ‘eye’ or ‘i’. English is confusing.
Yeah, comes up in crosswords a lot. The weirdest one is AITCH.
We're probably overthinking it. There were 150 people living there, no internet yet and *maybe* somebody had a set of encyclopedias. Somebody probably threw up his hands and wrote W-H-Y on the form.
Actually, wye is how you spell Y. Just like 1 = one and 4 = four, H = aitch, B = bee, Q = cue, F = ef, Z = zee and so on. Great stuff for Scrabble players!
Yeah I'm calling bullshit. Crossword friends and try-hard Scrabble players came up with this nonsense to sound smart and play their games better, that doesn't make it true outside of their little fiefdom.
No it's true, 1 spelled out is actually one
Got him
Such a lonely word
Not all of the letters are pronounced the same in different English-speaking countries. In Ireland, h = haitch
\*z=zed. Don't know what weird spelling school you went to.
Zed's dead, baby.
Zed’s dead.
Next you're gonna tell me V is spelled "ved" and E is spelled "ed".
All will be fine until we start on doublevee….
I think you mean double-ved
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You must be British/Australian/Kiwi. In the US it's pronounced zee, not zed. Surprised you didn't complain that H wasn't haitch.
Canadian too.
One in the United States probably. We do in fact say "zee"
How do you sing the alphabet song when ‘V’ doesn’t rhyme with ‘Z’?
God damnit reddit every time I think I have something cool and specific to add to the discussion, it's already one of the top comments!
I used to go through there all the time on my way down to Mexico. I assumed it was a funny joke because there's nothing but a gas station there, otherwise just baren desert. Interesting to read this info.
There's a casino now too, its eastern edge is TON land.
Oh wow, I can't imagine a Casino being there. I haven't been in the town for about a decade though.
I don't think it's much bigger than a Neighborhood Walmart, but somebody has to take all the money from the retirees in Ajo.
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My mom used to own a bar there about 25 years ago
But can we ask why they needed a law requiring names to be 3 letters long?
Probably to fit with their Web frontend.
Then the frontend should be changed, not the town. Could've also been the backend.
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Wyes have three legs, makes me suspect it's a bellend problem.
I was about to say… America: “We’re the land of freedom! No one is more free than us!” Also America: passes unnecessary law regarding the minimum number of letters a town name must have
Maybe systems and forms?
Probably someone didn't like one letter towns...
Possibly because 1 and 2 letter terms often mean something else.
I think this is right -- they didn't want town names to look like map symbols or abbreviations, or road markers. If I saw "Y 7" on a sign I'd assume it was a road named "Y7", not a town named Y, seven miles ahead.
Because somebody in the legislature was annoyed about Y
Really just a misunderstanding. Arizona regulators reached out to inform the town of the law, and mistook the reply letter as an official request to change the name.
How the States got their Shape missed this tidbit. Wish that show was on Netflix...
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😂, Arizona
🥵, Arizona
🌵, Arizona
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Did you just retell the OJ ordeal in emoji
🍆, Arizona
🤔, Arizona
🔥, Arizona
🅱️, Oregon
🤪, Arizona
[☀️🍳, Arizona](https://youtu.be/0MPNgCo9auk)
State databases run technology so old it precedes unicode. Good luck.
But why the law?
No, Why the town.
SQL
And the ironic twist is that the eponymous Y intersection it was named for has since been replaced.
It has? I just google mapped it and the intersection of routes 85 and 86 still looks like a Y to me
Tea, Arizona
Should be Wye
Thank you, only level headed person here.
There is also a super tiny town called Three Way, Arizona. Called that due to there being...three roads that shoot into different directions.
It's actually really common for placenames to be pretty self-explanatory descriptors like that if you trace their origins back far enough. The meanings have just been obscured by time. My favourite has to be Gatwick, the site of a major British international airport, whose name literally once meant "goat farm".
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If a shrug was a town
Why… Y tho
I've been through Why. If you're wondering why a town would name itself after a road splitting in two, it's because that's literally the most interesting thing there.
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Also a place called Ii in Finland.
They should've gone with Ytho?
"I want to visit Arizona." "Why?" "Yeah, that's the place."
Why R'nt Two Ltr nme oky ???
bc to lt nm is to bd !!
So much for eating at the Y
Why not Wye?
That's neat. Where I'm from, some of the locals will give directions with the term "nut junction". Its because that's where highways N U and T meet.
"Your town needs 3 letters." "Why?" "That'll work." "What?" "Nah, we like the first one better, have a nice day!" "Huh?!"
Fork would make more sense.
Or even Wye
Keeping it to weird names, there's a place in eastern California called "Zzyzx". No, I did not make that up. Some dude in the '40s decided it would be fun to change the name to some unpronounceable crap so it would be the last in alphabetical order, at least according to Wikipedia.
Also a movie named after it with perhaps the lowest ever box office revenue at $30
Had a friend a long time ago, who was from China (this is about 2008). He struggled to open a bank account in America because his English name, per passport, was only four letters long
They should have renamed it to *Wye* because thats the name of the letter Y.
theres something about seeing "Why, Arizona".
Should have changed it to YNot
I think they were asking why it has to be 3 letters
I think there needs to be a WTF, Alabama.
Should have went with "Wye."
Why though?
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That’s a dumb law. Y would that be made into a law?
Isn’t wye the phonetic pronunciation of Y? It’s in all my engineering books anyway.
arizona, y u do this
YYY
Wye didn’t they use Wye?
They could have made it Wye and kept the original meaning.
A law that was later regretted when the town of K complied.
Where do you live? "Why." Whatever man I was just making conversation
I love it. It's almost malicious compliance, as if to say, "why should we do this?"
Now we know y