Top 10 places you didn't know were real... but actually are
A few years ago I was in New York and decided to take a couple of days out and visit Amish country in Pennsylvania.
They are, of course, that very conservative Christian sect who don't believe in electricity and even consider buttons "too proud" so they hold their clothes together with a hook and eye.
So I took the three hour Amtrak train to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and then the bus to where? ..wait… what?.... Intercourse.
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There are some surprising destinations you might not believe are real. Supplied/John Walsh
Intercourse, Pennsylvania
That's where the biggest community of Amish in the US chose to base themselves. 95,000 of them if you include the whole of Lancaster County.
It's impossible not to snicker like a schoolboy when you pass the sign entering the town, which was actually just named for its location as an intersection of two major roads in the 18th century.
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The name just seems so at odds with a group who have such strong religious beliefs that you can be shunned from the community for owning a car. It's a pretty fascinating place.
The Amish buggies share the road with the Ford pick-ups and everyone just gets about their business. You can't leave here without a souvenir.
I know what you're thinking, yes, you can buy T-Shirts, caps and fridge magnets with I Heart (Emoji) Intercourse but I bought two great mementos - a beautifully handcrafted Amish quilt and a faceless rag doll.
Welcome to Intercourse Pennsylvania sign with farm in the background. Getty Images/iStockphoto
They have no facial features because the Amish subscribe to the Bible's caution against creating graven images - something that could be seen as an object of worship other than God.
And this isn't the only place you might be surprised to learn is actually a real destination. I'll round out my top ten, including some in Australia.
Timbuktu, Mali, Africa
Some people will be surprised to find out that Timbuktu is a real place. It is in fact a town on the edge of the Sahara with a population of 32,000, once famed for its trade in salt, gold and minerals.
It was, however, notoriously difficult to get to and earned a mythical reputation in Europe as somewhere unreachable. Now, as the Oxford Dictionary describes it, it is regarded as "the most distant place imaginable".
The legendary city of Timbuktu surrounded by Sahara's sand dunes. Getty Images/iStockphoto
Nokia, Finland
What came first, the town or the phone? The town was around long before the phone but yes, Nokia is named after the town of Nokia.
A paper mill was established in the town in 1865 and in 1875 changed its name to Nokia Ab to reflect its location. Later they broadened out to include rubber manufacturing and in the 70s and 80s moved into electronics before releasing their first car phone, the Mobira Senator in 1982.
Nokia remained the company's headquarters until 1997 when it moved to Finland's second biggest city, Espoo.
Nowhere Else, Tasmania
Where would you rather be? Nowhere Else of course. The town is about eight kilometres outside Sheffield in north-west Tasmania.
It only became an actual town in 1957 and is believed to be named after an old road that led to a place that didn't have a name, hence Nowhere Else.
A drive around the area will also take you to the towns of Promised Land and Paradise.
Road sign to the town of Nowhere Else in Tasmania. Getty
Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada
Not sure where to start with this one. I haven't been here so I had to do some research. One source said the town was known for "its unusual name." I guessed that already, Sherlock.
Digging a bit deeper it turns out it was named around 1711, possibly by Captain Cook who was the first person to map Newfoundland and who apparently had a sense of humour when it came to naming places.
There have been several motions to have the town's name changed but they have all been voted down.
In 2019, Jimmy Kimmel made so many jokes about it that he was named "Honorary Mayor of Dildo" and donated a HOLLYWOOD type sign that spells DILDO on a hillside overlooking the town.
Jimmy Kimmel made so many jokes about it that he was named "Honorary Mayor of Dildo". Getty Images/iStockphoto
Fugging, Austria
This makes the list because of its previous name (formerly F**kin*) not its current spelling.
The city had to change its name in 2020 because tourists were stealing the street signs.
Like Intercourse, there's no salacious story attached to the name. The town was founded in the 6th century AD by a nobleman named Focko. And F**kin* just means place of Focko's people.
So, move on, nothing to see here. Actually, not much at all. The town has a population of 104 and is (was?) best known for its traffic signs at each of the four roads into the village.
The signs were stolen so often that the local council got sick of paying 300 euros each time to replace them and finally voted on the name change.
The town of Fugging in Austria had to change its name. iStock
Bland, Dull and Boring
Welcome to this trio of towns who decided to celebrate their uninspiring names and form the League of Extraordinary Communities. Bland is in the NSW Riverina and was named after an early settler, William Bland.
Likewise Boring, Oregon which got its name from local William Boring (what does that say about the name William?)
Dull in Scotland derives from a Pictish word meaning "field." It makes for a weird bucket-list but I couldn't find anyone who's been to all three.
Dull, Scotland, is actually paired with Boring, Oregon. Seems appropriate. Getty Images/iStockphoto
Woop Woop, WA
I didn't believe this one at first but sure enough the town of Woop Woop in south-west WA was established by a timber milling company in 1925. It was abandoned in 1984 after the local timber was milled out and now exists only as a ghost town.
But Woop Woop signs still welcome you. While it may no longer exist as a municipality it lives large in the Australian psyche as a legendary expression describing somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
So, if you've got Nowhere Else to go on your next holiday and everywhere else seems Bland or DulI you might want to visit one of the places on this list.
John Walsh was Executive Producer of the TV travel series Getaway from 1999-2024. You can follow John on Instagram @thegetawayexpert.
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