1759: British Map

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British Map

Title text: West Norsussex is east of East Norwessex, but they're both far north of Middlesex and West Norwex.

Explanation

This comic is a joke similar to "How Americans see the world" showing how the average American has opinions on the world, often including jokes such as a lack of Africa, etc. This has been used before in 850: World According to Americans. The map also plays with the joke by noting it has been labeled by a specific American rather than "Americans".

Many areas of the UK are most familiar to foreigners thanks to their depiction in various fantasy novels and TV series. This map labels some of these, as well as including many silly names that simply sound like real British towns to an American ear. A protractor is shown off the coast of the Mull of Kintyre in reference to the "Mull of Kintyre test" - according to urban legend, the angle of the Mull defines the maximum allowed erectness for a man on films and home video releases in the UK.

Randall previously posted a map of Great Britain on his blog as part of the promotion for his book What If?. This map is from a very similar position and appears to have been traced from the same source, although there are some slight differences. Both maps include a sketch of Lake Windermere with boats on it, and both have the locations of London, Oxford and Cambridge labeled (the blog map also shows Edinburgh and Bristol - in this comic, these are labelled Eavestroughs and Minas Tirith). Both also contain references to Stonehenge and Watership Down.

Note that in British English, the correct spelling of “labeled” is ‘labelled’.

The title text plays around with the concept of the compass directions and how numerous regions (such as South "Sussex" and West "Wessex") incorporate such literal names in their description. Randall is creating similar sounding names which are nonsense-ish ("Norsussex" would be the region of the Northern-Southern Saxons), and placing them in relation to each other in ways which would be geographically implausible, similar to this old joke about Boston. However, in Germany there exists the region called Westphalia (Westfalen), and the eastern part of it is often referred to as East-Westphalia (Ostwestfalen), which sounds somewhat ridiculous. Part of the joke in the title text could be the fact that while three of the locations are fictional, Middlesex does actually exist.

Label on the map	Explanation	Actual location	Notes
Helcaraxë	The "Grinding Ice", an area of Middle-Earth. Like Helcaraxë, northern Scotland is cold, mountainous and in many areas inhospitable.	The Grampian region
Blick	Possibly referencing Wick, Caithness, one of the northernmost towns in Great Britain. The real Wick is substantially further north, off the edge of the map.	Near Rhynie, Aberdeenshire	This is the name of a goblin in the movie "Legend" starring Tim Curry. Could also reference the art supply store, Blick Art Materials.
Everdeen	Katniss Everdeen is the heroine of The Hunger Games series of novels and films.	Aberdeen	In colloquial Scots, its pronunciation is very similar to "Everdeen."
Highlands	No joke.	Scottish Lowlands	Maybe deliberate trolling - Scots have strong feelings about where the Highland-Lowland border is.
Norther Sea	Pun on the North Sea - i.e. a sea that is further north (or 'norther') than the North Sea.	Sea of the Hebrides
Loch Lomond	No joke.	Loch Lomond	Loch Lomond is the largest lake in Great Britain, and the third largest lake in the UK. It is the subject of a well-known traditional song, and was referenced in the "beaming" (teleporter) bit in the movie Spaceballs by the Scotty expy 'Snotty'. It also houses a distillery producing a whisky appreciated by Captain Haddock in The Adventures of Tintin. Thanks to the monster, Loch Ness is by far the most famous Scottish loch, so naming the second most famous subverts expectations.
Fjordham	Fjords are glacial valleys. "-ham" is a common English placename suffix from Old English, related to the modern hamlet or another root, such as that relating to river meadows, but not so common in the more obviously glacier-carved areas such as this area in Scotland. There are several villages (in England) named Fordham.	Near Oban on the Firth of Lorn	The Scottish word "Firth" is related to "Fjord", although Lorn is not a fjord in the strict scientific sense - it was formed along the Great Glen Fault by tectonics, rather than glaciers.
Glassdoor	Glassdoor is a website where employees can review their employers.	Stirling	Although it's shown near Stirling, the reference seems to be to Glasgow.
Eavestroughs	A dialectal word for rain gutter	Edinburgh
Seasedge	Procan's realm in Dungeons & Dragons. "Sea sedge" is also one of many common names used for Acorus calamus, the calamus or sweet flag.	Somewhere near the Scotland-England border
Chough	A species of bird in the crow family.	The Scottish Borders
Meowth	Meowth is a Normal-type Pokémon that resembles a cat. The name may allude to the Irish village of Howth.	Ayr
Glutenfree	Gluten-free food lacks the protein gluten. This allows coeliac disease sufferers to enjoy it, but has also become a dietary fad in itself.	Cairnryan, Dumfries and Galloway
Blighton	A mashup of Brighton and Blighty Or a reference to Enid Blyton, a noted UK children’s author.	The Scottish Borders	The real Brighton is much further south, on the south coast.
North Sea	No joke.	North Sea
Eyemouth	No joke.	near Newcastle-upon-Tyne	The real Eyemouth is further north, where "Seasedge" is marked on the map.
Earhand	A pun on Eyemouth.	Carlisle
Hairskull	A pun on Eyemouth.	Teesside
Belfast DeVoe	Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland, mashed up with the rock band Bell Biv DeVoe.	Belfast
Lakebottom	The Lake District. "-bottom" is a common placename across Northern England, and refers to a town in a valley.	Lake District	Below Lakebottom is a sketch of a lake with yachts on it. This is illustrative and doesn't correspond to any of the actual lakes which would be barely visible on this map. There are 16 'lakes' in the Lake District, but only one (Bassenthwaite Lake) actually has 'lake' in its name.
Braintree	Not a joke.	North Yorkshire	The real Braintree is much further south, near where "Paulblart" is on the map. Also a possible reference to the Braintree online payments platform (widely advertised on podcasts), or a stop at the end of the Red Line in Boston.
Skinflower	A pun on Braintree.	Yorkshire Dales
Bjork	Björk is an Icelandic singer.	East Riding of Yorkshire	The reference is presumably to York (historically known as Jórvík), although it's a bit too far east.
Weedle	Weedle is a Bug/Poison-type Pokémon that resembles a caterpillar.	Forest of Bowland	In the original Pokémon Red and Blue games Weedle is most notably found in 'Viridian Forest' which - like the real-life Forest of Bowland - is known for its diverse wildlife.
Eeugh	An expression of disgust.	Kingston-upon-Hull (generally just "Hull")	Pronounced 'ull by locals.
Crewneck	A shirt with a simple round collar.	Blackpool	There is a town called Crewe somewhat further south than shown in Cheshire.
Paisley	No joke. It sounds funny to Americans because it's associated with paisley fabric, a Persian-style print invented in the town. Possibly a pun on parsley, a herb.	Burnley	The real Paisley is in Scotland, near Glasgow.
Basil	Also a herb, and one of the most famous British TV characters.	Scunthorpe
Aidenn	An apparent pun on the Scouse accent: h-dropping and th-stopping mean the common "hey, then" would be pronounced "ai denn".	Merseyside
Hillfolk	Hillfolk is an RPG. "-hill" (referring to, well, a hill) is common in British placenames, and "-folk" (referring to a tribe or culture) is seen in Suffolk and Norfolk. Possibly also a reference to Hobbits, a race of little people that live under hills in The Lord of the Rings.	Manchester	Manchester's name does in fact reference hills: it means "castle on the breast-shaped hill"
Waterdown	To "water something down" is to weaken it. "-down" is common in British placenames and refers to chalk hills. Possibly a contraction from the book and movie: Watership Down.	Near Grimsby
Dubstep	Dubstep is a genre of electronic music with a heavy bass line.	Dublin	Dublin is the only non-UK settlement in the map, and one of two on the island of Ireland.
Borough-upon-Mappe	By being recorded here, this is literally a borough upon a map. The "-upon-" is a common element of placenames for towns on rivers, although there's no River Mappe. Possibly referencing the fact that the town is on a "mappe" (map)?	Lincolnshire Wolds
Fhqwhgads	"Fhqwhgads" is a joke from the internet web cartoon Homestar Runner, originating from the Strong Bad Email "i love you". In the cartoon, Strong Bad reads an email that was signed only with a random keyboard mash of characters, which he shortens to "Fhqwhgads," a name that became a running gag on the cartoon. Fhqwhgads was previously mentioned in 1571: Car Model Names.	Wrexham	This is near the Welsh border; Welsh names often look like a mish-mash of consonants to English speakers ignorant of Welsh orthography; within a few miles of Wrexham are towns like Yr Wyddgrug ("Mold" in English), Cefn-y-bedd, Gwernymynydd and Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog.
Cadbury	Cadbury is a British chocolate company.	Near Boston, Lincolnshire	Cadbury actually built a town for its workers... but it's called Bournville. There are several towns called Cadbury in the UK (where the Cadbury family presumably got its name), but none are near here.
Cabinetry	The art of making cabinets.	Near Oswestry	Several towns in the English Midlands have names ending in -try, including Oswestry. "Cabinetry" could be a pun on Coventry, which lies further to the east.
The Shire	The Shire is home to the Hobbits in Middle-Earth.	Midlands	Tolkien drew inspiration for the Shire from the West Midlands, although Tolkien was from the southern part of the Midlands (roughly where Dampshire is on the map). An internet posting titled "A Letter to the U.S" after the 2016 Presidential Election", falsely attributed to John Cleese, could also have been inspiration for this map. It in particular says: "3. You should learn to distinguish English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney, upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). Scottish dramas such as 'Taggart' will no longer be broadcast with subtitles.You must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is "Devon." If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become "shires" e.g. Texasshire Floridashire, Louisianashire."
Landmouth	Literal description.	The Wash
Brandon	Not a joke.	The Fens	There are several Brandons in the UK, the nearest being where "Keebler" is on the map. The area shown is borderline-uninhabitable, as it is marshland and lies mostly below sea-level. Only a few farms and isolated hamlets exist here.
Hamwich	A ham sandwich. Both "-ham" and "-wich" are common generic placenames. The village called simply "Ham" and the other called "Sandwich" are fairly close to each other, with a famous roadsign that points to "Ham Sandwich" between them. The bread-slices-and-filling foodstuff is named for the 4th Earl of Sandwich, and hence ultimately from the town of the same name.	Norwich	Likely to be coincidence but the "Cheese Hamwich" is a breaded cheese and turkey food product sold by Bernard Matthews Ltd whose food processing facility is based not far from this map location.
West Norsussex	Mash-up of West Sussex ("South Saxons") with the obsolete Wessex ("West Saxons") and never extant Norsex ("North Saxons").	Midlands
Redsox	The Boston Red Sox are a baseball team.	The Fens	The Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park. The map location is not far from the British Boston
Keebler	Keebler is an American cookie manufacturer best known for their elf mascots.	Elveden	The name of this village in Thetford Forest means "valley of the elves".
Bloughshire	Most British counties have "-shire" in their name. Originally it meant they were administered by a sheriff. However, they are usually no longer known by those names in Wales.	Powys
Lionsgate	A film studio.	Leicester	The word/suffix "-gate" in placenames often refer to ancient streets or roads, or possibly such a way through a gap that is natural (e.g. Ramsgate's cliffs) or in a city wall (which can thus be sealed, or 'gated'). There are no obvious inspirations for Lionsgate in that part of the country &emdash; Ramsgate, in particular, is at the extreme eastern end of the southern edge of the UK.
Kingsbottom	Another "-bottom". A possible reference to King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and one of its districts Fleabottom.	Suffolk Coast	Possibly named for the town of King's Lynn, also located in East Anglia but close to its north coast.
Aberforth	Aberforth Dumbledore is Albus Dumbledore's brother in the Harry Potter series. The name is sometimes translated as "from the river", but without any etymological references. "Aber" is Welsh for a "river mouth" or estuary, and is widespread in Wales, and occasionally found due to Celtic influence in other parts of the UK (such as Aberdeen).	Aberystwyth	Aberporth ("Mouth [of the] port" - the Welsh equivalent of the English name Portsmouth) is a real town located a little further southwest along the Welsh coast. Forth may be a reference to the Firth of Forth in Scotland, where "Firth" means estuary or fjord, and "Forth" is thought to mean "the open air". Aberforth would literally mean "the mouth of the river Forth", which is the location of Edinburgh in Scotland. Alternatively, "forth" in Welsh could be a soft mutated form of the Welsh name "Borth" (the name of a town - but not a river - a little further north along the coast), which is itself a soft mutated form of the word "porth" meaning port.
South Norwessex	Another mash-up of Sussex ("South Saxons") with the obsolete Wessex ("West Saxons") and never extant Norsex ("North Saxons"). Also southwest of West Norsussex.	Birmingham
Dryford	Would refer to a river crossing without water. "-ford" is a common placename element.	Shropshire Hills
Frampton	There are many Framptons in the UK. It means "town on the river Frome" - and there are also several River Fromes. The name is famous thanks to rock musician Peter Frampton.	Bury St Edmunds	see also "Southframpton".
Cambridge	No joke.	Cambridge	Cambridge and Oxford, the two most prestigious university towns, are correctly marked. Together, they form Oxbridge.
Kingsfriend	Possibly a joke about the royal patronage given to certain towns - for instance, Bognor Regis and Royal Wootton Bassett. Also Knighton (a King's friend?) is very close to this locale, and so is Kington.	Near the England-Wales border
Cair Paravel	Cair Paravel is the castle where the ruler of Narnia lives in the Narnia series.	Dedham Vale
Camelot	Camelot was (in legend) King Arthur's court.	Near the England-Wales border	The King Arthur myth did in fact originate in the Welsh culture. However, most sites associated with Camelot, such as Winchester, Glastonbury and Cadbury Castle, are in England.
Nothingham	A pun on Nottingham, famous for Sherwood Forest, the legendary home of Robin Hood.	Near Northampton
Cumberbatch	A surname, best known as that of actor Benedict Cumberbatch.	Harlow	The surname of a famous actress is replaced with that of a famous actor.
Dampshire	A pun on the county of Hampshire. Generically a joking reference to any county, particularly of the West Country, to imply it is particularly prone to rain.	Gloucestershire
The CW	An American TV channel.	Pembrokeshire	Presumably the placement is a reference to Welsh words such as "cwm" which use W as a vowel.
Whaling	The practice of hunting whales. May be a reference to other -ing towns like Reading (which is actually pronounced "redding", not "reeding"), and also to its location in Wales.	Merthyr Tydfil
Paulblart	Paul Blart: Mall Cop is a 2009 comedy film starring Kevin James.	Near Chelmsford	Possibly a humorous contrast with Cumberbatch above, a highbrow British classical actor followed by a lowbrow American movie character.
Oxford	No joke.	Oxford	See Cambridge. Surprisingly, Randall made no attempt to troll readers by switching the locations of Cambridge and Oxford. Or he did, but ironically from the wrong 'correct' assumption!
Moorhen	The moorhen is a waterfowl.	Gower Peninsula	Possibly punning on nearby Swansea.
Cardigan	No joke - it seems funny to Americans because of the knitted sweater popularised by the Earl of Cardigan.	Newport, Wales	The actual Cardigan is on the west coast. The name may be punning on the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, which is further south-west.
BBC Channel 4	A composite of Channel 4 and the BBC (UK TV operators) confusing the meaning of TV channel with a geographic channel. There is a BBC Four (digital TV channel) and a BBC Radio 4 (FM and digital radio) with an adoptive daughter-station (digital only, originally called BBC7), but none of these are ever really called "BBC Channel 4" by locals, and it is hard to say what detail 'an American' might think they'd know.	Bristol Channel
London	By virtue of being the capital and largest city, as well as a famous world city, London is one of the few cities in Britain that anyone, no matter how ignorant of British geography, can manage to name correctly.	London	It is not unknown for foreigners and British alike (even some residents of London) to assume that London has a more central location in England (such as 'The Midlands') or even further towards the north. Randall seems to be more knowledgable than this.
GMT	A reference to Greenwich Mean Time. Shown on the map near the London bourough of Greenwich through which the GMT meridian passes.	Greenwich (roughly)
Corbyn	A reference to the leader (at the time of publication) of the UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn.	The Cotswolds	May be a confusion with the town of Corby although it is not near the location shown.
Tems-upon-Thames	A joke about the counter-intuitive pronunciation of Thames.	Rochester
Minas Tirith	Minas Tirith is the capital of Gondor in Lord of the Rings and is built on the side of a mountain.	Bristol	Clifton Village, in Bristol, is built on the side of the Avon Gorge so could be compared to Minas Tirith. Nearby Cheddar Gorge is famous for its steep cliffs that resemble the landscape from Lord of the Rings.
Hogsmeade	Hogsmeade is the nearest village to Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books.	Dover	The fictional Hogsmeade was in Scotland. Randall shows the Channel Tunnel running from there, a possible reference to Hogsmeade's secret connections to Hogwarts.
Tubemap	The Tube Map is the map of the London Underground, widely considered a masterpiece of design.	Outer London
Cambnewton	Cam Newton is quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. "Cam-" is common for placenames on any of the several British rivers called "Cam", while "Newton" means "new town". Also possibly a pun on Camden Town, a touristic district in North London, although not its actual location on the map.	West Country
Efrafa	Efrafa is a rabbit warren in the story Watership Down.	Chidden	According to the story, the warren is located roughly here - the real Watership Down is in Hampshire.
Chansey	Chansey is a Normal-type Pokémon that carries an egg in a pouch. "-sey" is a common suffix meaning "island".	Dungeness
Oughghough	Playing on common place name elements, "oughghough" has no clear pronunciation under the rules of English. It could be "Uff-guff", "Oo-gow", "Uh-guh" or any combination of these sounds. The name looks similar to the real Loughborough ("Luff-bruh")	Barnstaple	Legend has it that Loughborough was once pronounced 'Loogabarooga' by a visiting Australian.
Sundial	A sundial is a clock using a shadow to tell the time.	Wiltshire	The location roughly corresponds with Stonehenge, an ancient stone circle that was likely used to track the sun (though as a ritual calendar, rather than a clock).
Dobby	Dobby is a character in Harry Potter.	Southampton	Similar to Derby.
Lower Bottom	Another -bottom. Also a redundancy, as the "bottom" is the lowest place by definition.	Devon
Southframpton	A confusion with Southampton which is nearby the location shown. The use of the postfix "frampton" is a reference to the "Frampton" elsewhere on the map, just as Southampton is distinguished from Northampton.	Milford on Sea	Frampton happens to be a common surname in the area.
Blandford	No joke.	Cornwall	The real Blandford is a bit further east, in Dorset, roughly under the m in 'Southframpton'.
Menthol	Menthol is a chemical with minty taste that produces a cooling sensation, and is used in mints and flavoured cigarettes.	Eastbourne	Possibly a reference to Methil in Fife (but possibly not).
West Sea	Literal description.	Atlantic Ocean	Historically, this was the name for the ocean off the UK's west coast. According to the list of sea areas used in the UK's Shipping Forecast, that region of sea is called "Lundy".
Tarp	Tarp, short for tarpaulin, is a waterproof sheet for storage and weather protection.	Teignmouth
Longbit	Literal description.	Cornwall

Transcript

[A black-and-white map of Great Britain. The detail on the map is minimal, showing mainly the outlines of the land, chevrons representing otherwise sparse areas of high hills or mountains, and points representing cities. The only other features are a small drawing of a protractor south of one peninsula, a lake with two small sailboats on the west side of the largest landmass, and a short dashed line in the southeast connecting the main landmass to another section of land across water. The caption in the upper-right states in large letters "A BRITISH MAP," then in smaller letters underneath, "LABELED BY AN AMERICAN." Most of the map's area is covered by labels for various features, which are listed below.]

[In Scotland, from north to south:]
  Helcaraxë
  Blick
  Everdeen
  Norther Sea (to the west)
  Highlands
  Loch Lomond
  Fjordham
  Glassdoor
  Eavestroughs
  Seasedge
  Meowth
  Chough
  Blighton
  Glutenfree

[In England, from north to south:]
  Eyemouth
  Earhand
  Hairskull
  Lakebottom
  Braintree
  Skinflower
  Weedle
  Bjork
  Crewneck
  Paisley
  Eeugh
  Aidenn
  Basil
  Hillfolk
  Waterdown
  Borough-Upon-Mappe
  Cadbury
  Landmouth (to the East)
  The Shire
  West Norsussex
  Redsox
  Hamwich
  Lionsgate
  Keebler
  South Norwessex
  Kingsbottom
  Cambridge
  Frampton
  Nothingham
  Cair Paravel
  Dampshire
  Cumberbatch
  Oxford
  Paulblart
  Corbyn
  London
  GMT
  BBC Channel 4 (to the West)
  Minas Tirith
  Tems-Upon-Thames
  Tubemap
  Hogsmeade
  Cambnewton
  Oughghough
  Efrafa
  Chansey
  Sundial
  Lower Bottom
  Dobby
  Menthol
  West Sea (to the West)
  Blandford
  Southframpton
  Tarp
  Longbit

[In Wales, from north to south:]
  Fhqwhgads
  Cabinetry
  Bloughshire
  Aberforth
  Dryford
  Kingsfriend
  Camelot
  The CW
  Whaling
  Moorhen
  Cardigan

[In Northern Ireland:]
  Belfast Devoe

[In the Republic of Ireland:]
  Dubstep
 

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Discussion

Might be a bit of a stretch, but Cardigan could also be a reference to Ceredigion, the Welsh county. --172.68.10.34 16:14, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

Ceredigion and Cardigan are the same word - Cardigan is just the Anglicised spelling. That's why it was formerly called Cardiganshire. The town is still called Cardigan, which is mentioned in the table. Schroduck (talk) 08:34, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Minas Tirith could be a reference to the gorges in North Somerset. It's slap-bang on Cheddar Gorge and Clifton Village (cliff-town) in Bristol is built on the side of the Avon Gorge. Camarones (talk) 12:54, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

The actual location for Braintree should be Essex not North Yorkshire. 141.101.98.171 15:22, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

When I first saw that, I was wondering how likely a Neopets reference was. Seeing that it's a real thing, and the creators of Neopets are from the UK, things make a lot more sense now. 108.162.210.196 14:43, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Could Highland be a reference to Highlander? 173.245.52.84 15:27, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

OK, I know you removed the </nowiki> that ruined the italics there, Davidy. Don't lie to me, you troll. Jacky720 (talk) 19:04, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Whoops, was removing autogenerated nowiki text from another user, missed the first tag. Also, that edit was completely unnecessary. 21:29, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

No it wasn't, see that "Please sign your comments" below? Leaving the <nowiki> made the italics become quotemarks, and if there hadn't been a </nowiki> at the end of it, it would ruin the rest too. But thanks for apologizing, just try to be more careful. Jacky720 (talk) 20:08, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

Blick could be referring to Wick , at the top of Scotland Please sign your comments with ~~~~

Waterdown: Near [the actual] Grimsby Interestingly enough, in southern Ontario, Canada, there's a Waterdown not far from a Grimsby. Waterdown is considered part of Hamilton, and is towards its northwestern edge, while Grimsby is to Hamilton's east. --VonAether (talk) 17:01, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

The protractor off the West coast of Scotland is a reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mull_of_Kintyre_test 141.101.98.215 17:44, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Blick could also be Oldmeldrum. 162.158.234.229 19:06, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Why aren't the coordinates part of the first table? NotLock (talk) 20:05, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Is Waterdown perhaps another Watership Down reference? Miamiclay (talk) 20:38, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Pity there's no Towcester :) 141.101.98.251 20:47, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

"Lakebottom" is equated with Lake Windermere (probably correct, largest lake in the Lake District) and the table states that many waterspeed records were set there. Arguably it is Coniston Water (same area, third largest "Lake" in the region) that is more (in) famous for speed records... Not that Randall references speed at all. 141.101.98.159 21:31, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

I agree with this, Windermere was home to only one (successful) water speed record attempt. Coniston is more popular for them as it doesn't have as many islands, so you can get a longer run in. Also, whichever one it is, it is drawn roughly east-west, whereas both Coniston and Windermere run north-south.

For me, the lake with the two boats is an obvious reference to the children's book 'Swallows and Amazons'. See wikipedia -- so these are neither speedboats nor yachts but rather sailing dinghies. There is however a discrepancy: they had a gaff rig, but it looks like Randall gave them a Bermuda rig.

Helcaraxë and Blick seem to share a single dot. Maybe Randall forgot to put a dot there, or there's some other reason? --108.162.216.112 22:58, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Helcaraxë and Highlands are areas, not towns, so don't get dots. 198.41.239.32 07:18, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

since Randal Munroe wrote the comic, and he is an american, the map WAS labeled by an americanJessep13 (talk) 00:08, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

‘Seasedge’ and ‘Eyemouth’ look like they should be Seahouses and Lynemouth. So far as I can tell, Seasedge is marked as a little north of Seahouses, roughly west of Lindisfarne (which suggests Haggerston; regardless, north Northumberland coast), and Eyemouth is marked approximately where Ashington should be; ‘Hairskull’ appears to be where Durham should be. 141.101.98.160 02:33, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

"BBC Channel 4" might also be a reference to Torchwood and other BBC Shows that were filmed in Wales (though did not necessarily air on Channel 4) Bpendragon (talk) 03:04, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

In fact, "Channel 4" is a channel not related to the BBC, so the reference to "BBC Channel 4" would be a mash-up between "Channel 4" and "BBC4" Gearóid (talk) 07:30, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

"Wessex", although "obsolete" as a place name, is still in common use as a descriptive term. For example, there is both a Wessex Police Force and a Wessex Water supply company. Gearóid (talk) 08:30, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

I know the "Fhqwhgads" reference from the Ikea-ripoff video game Home Improvisation - always thought it was a pun in that game on Ikea's Swedish product names. Is the Homestar Runner reference older? 141.101.98.162 09:05, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

I always thought it originated in Homestar Runner as a randomly typed name of an email sender. It's from Strong Bad Email #9 dated January 14, 2002, far predating Home Improvisation from 2015. 108.162.221.243 14:35, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

"Aidenn" is an alternate form of "Eden." It's best known for Poe's using it in "The Raven." If the actual location is Merseyside, it could be a wordplay suggesting divine mercy. Gmcgath (talk) 11:25, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

The “hey then” explanation for “Aidenn” is so tortured as to be implausible. It should be changed per the above comment. 172.68.55.81 13:19, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

The text [[1]] that is referenced for "The Shire" and attributed to John Cleese is actually a hoax, see http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/revocation.asp 141.101.98.181 10:19, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

And the reference in this piece to the incorrectness of "Devonshire" is completely wrong. Although the official name of the county is now "Devon", the form "Devonshire" has a pedigree going back over 1000 years and is still used in formations such as the Duke of Devonshire, HMS Devonshire, the Devonshire Regiment etc. The same goes for Dorset/Dorsetshire. Mikej (talk) 13:09, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

"Tarp" probably refers to the meme "It's a tarp!": http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=It%27s%20a%20tarp. Yodah (talk) 11:57, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Riffing on Boston?

The title text may be derivitive of an old joke around Randall's home town, where Boston has neighborhoods with geographically illogical names: The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South Boston, which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. BackBay was filled in years ago

Also, from the counties surrounding Boston: Norfolk is mostly south of Suffolk, except for a small gerrymandered piece that is in the middle between Suffolk and Middlesex.

Bottoms

"Bottoms" are not confined to Northern England. We have many bottoms here in Kent, which is not Northern. (See Lock's Bottom and Pratt's Bottom.) Also, "bottom" may refer to somewhere that is lower than somewhere else, but not necessarily in a valley as such. Also also, snurk. --141.101.98.143 12:45, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

"Bottoms" is not confined to Europe either, so don't feel special - we land-dwellers in North America use it too, usually to mean 'Low-lying alluvial land adjacent to a river' as defined in the dictionary! In more general terms, this would refer to land subject to frequent flooding, commonly called a floodplain. If you have a bottoms that never floods, you really should consider renaming it. --Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 04:15, 6 June 2017 (UTC)

• And "-folk" is not common in place names. It exists in Suffolk and Norfolk but two (among thousands) can't be called common. --141.101.98.143 12:53, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

Crewneck could also refer to actual crewneck sweaters, popularised by The Beatles in the 60's. The Beatles came from Liverpool... 108.162.246.41 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Blighton would be pronounced the same as the surname of Enid Blyton (1897-1968), a famous author of childrens' books known for their resolute white middle class-ness. But she is associated with southern England; she lived in Beaconsfield, west of London. 172.68.55.82 16:22, 24 November 2016 (UTC)

While I found this comic funny, what I found most humorous was the reactions to it. Facts: Randall drew a map of Britain, he said it was labeled by an American, and it included both real and made-up place names. Unfortunately, it seems that those commenting here and generating this article interpreted it as an American-bashing opportunity. I interpreted it as this: to the average American, Britain has a LOT of funny names for places and struggles with using appropriate directional prefixes. It's extremely funny how so many of you chose to see it in the least funny way possible, likely because you can only see it through your own eyes! --Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 05:14, 6 June 2017 (UTC)

Why does it list "North Sea" as "no joke" when on the map it's written "Norther Sea"? There must be some explanation for writing it this way. Is it actually pronounced that way in England or something? It's sometimes called "Northern Sea" (or am I thinking of the one near Alaska? Maybe that's the joke?). Bu never "Norther Sea". Unless it's meant to sound like "Northersea", like "Battersea"? 172.68.54.34 02:53, 18 January 2018 (UTC)

It doesn't - it lists "North Sea" as "no joke"; "Norther Sea" says "pun on North Sea".141.101.76.16 09:00, 18 January 2018 (UTC)

In what world is "paisley," a real place, a pun on "parsley?" Did someone just go through the list and think "hmm, these sound kinda like this word/phrase," regardless of all reason? 172.69.62.226 00:59, 8 October 2018 (UTC)

I just removed "a word meaning "to obtain by trickery or persuasion"" from the definition of "Weedle" - this meaning is a different word, spelled differently ("wheedle"). L-Space Traveler (talk) 14:40, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

Why is there a protractor? 108.162.237.96 15:48, 2 February 2024 (UTC)

(Moved to end, proper ordering.) Explained above/on main comic page. See: "A protractor is shown off the coast of the Mull of Kintyre in reference to the "Mull of Kintyre test" - according to urban legend, the angle of the Mull defines the maximum allowed erectness for a man on films and home video releases in the UK."

(Although it might also do double duty as a literally half-implemented version of a 'compass rose', also often seen on charts in some form or other. But, in that location, it would first and foremost be for the quoted reason.) 141.101.99.131 19:15, 2 February 2024 (UTC)