Not so long ago this wouldn’t have been much of a fact at all. It would have been more at home among quiz games such as Trivial Pursuit, after all, it’s only a name of a place. But as times have changed, and new consumer goods have entered the market place, what may have been innocent at one point in time, can be reason for a laugh today. The town of Dildo in Newfoundland, Canada is one such example of a place or name falling foul of changing times, or did it?
All it takes is some time and a look at an atlas, or Google maps to see that there sure are some strange place names around the world. Often the town names are in a language that isn’t English, but when an English speaker reads them the name means something completely different, even rude. Sometimes it can be both rude and funny. Dildo, Canada is one of the funnier ones.
But the town of Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada isn’t the only place with the same word in it. There’s also an island nearby with the same name.
Why was Dildo, Canada named Dildo?
It should be noted that Dildo may have been named as such in a deliberate way to cause offence to oversensitive readers. It is thought that Captain James Cook, who mapped the area, had a tendency to use his sense of humor when he named places. Even as far back as the mid 18th century a dildo was known as a sex toy.
There have been several attempts to rename the town in the 20th century due to the contentious connection with the female masturbation device. Despite the attempts, they have all failed, and Dildo, Canada persists to be the name of both the town and small island offshore.
